DID YOU KNOW??

Did you Know?

• Since 2010 we have graduated 511 students with an associate’s degree. Many of these students that have graduated have become doctors, lawyers, teachers, carpenters, technicians, medical technicians and a lot of them are working and continuing their studies to reach their bachelor’s degree in the field that they choose.

• 90% of the donations we receive for the sponsorship program goes to the students’ education. The other 10% we use to pay one paid staff and for use of transportation and office supplies. Many other ministries take at least 36 percent or more to use for staffing office supplies and transportation for their sponsorship programs.

• Here in Honduras with a population of 10 million and growing there is still a huge problem with the lack of work and opportunities for the people to grow and make change. 1.7 million live in the United States and that is a huge revenue that comes back to Honduras to support their families. This revenue also motivates the economy in Honduras as well. As in ministry we pride ourselves that out of the 511 students the majority have continued to live in Honduras and have found work here in Honduras. It is our goal as a ministry to promote students to find their way in their own country and to be able to support themselves and their families by the means of working in Honduras. This can only be accomplished through an education, change in Jesus Christ and a determination to try to make it.

• In 2024 Honduras has seen the closing of seven factories which details the loss of 20,000 jobs in the northern part of Honduras.

• The gang problem that exists in Honduras really is not the issue. The issue deals with political members of the country trying to push out other drug Lords so they can have complete dominance. These families have become past and present presidents of the country of Honduras. These families are affiliated with the gangs and use the gangs to run their drugs but the big source either comes from Colombia or Venezuela. These drugs are trafficked to Honduras then shipped to the United States from Honduras. The real issue is weeding out the corrupt government officials that are controlling the drug trafficking. Until then gangs will continue to exist greed of people will continue to exist and the corruption will continue to exist. President Bukele in El Salvador has weeded out the corruption in the government and thus in turn has cleaned up his country. This needs to be done in Honduras as well.

• Honduras public schools are completely supported by financial donations through nonprofit organizations such as Border Buddies Ministries, through other nonprofit organizations there are Honduras based, Rotary clubs, Lions clubs, and government officials who are looking for votes from the parents so they will donate a small amount towards a project in a public school. Without the help of nonprofit organizations, I believe personally that many of the public schools would be more run down than what they are currently at.

• Throughout the 21 years that we have spent in Honduras as full-time missionaries we have seen what happens to schools when they are ignored and not taken care of.  We have seen broken school desks, holes in roofs, whiteboards destroyed, teachers’ desks needing major repair, lights not working, outlets smashed, breaker boxes that don’t work, mildew and mold, door locks broken off, soccer courts that have concrete busted up, no libraries, no kitchens to provide a lunch, no toys whatsoever to play for recess or for gym activities, lack of books, computers outdated and old, English teachers they’re not equipped to teach English. These are the challenges that we face as missionaries in choosing a school to help. Because there’s so many schools that need the help. Now can you imagine trying to study and get good grades and keep your mind focused on what you must do to get an education with the conditions that you’re studying in.

• When we choose a school, we do it by prayer. We may visit 20 schools and they all look good, but we must listen and wait to see God’s presence and His will for us to help the school. This is not an easy task because many times the conditions can look very scary, very hard, and the community could be very much difficult to work with. It is hard to describe in any way how to listen to the voice of God, but we do know that we will see confirmations through teachers, students, parents or in our hearts that we know this is God’s will. Border buddies has been able to help 9 different schools in Honduras with new classrooms, new electrical, new painting, practically changing the condition from old to a brand-new school.

• Physical, mental, sexual violence. Unfortunately, Honduras is not exempt from suffering this evil. According to figures presented by UNICEF, nearly two-thirds of Honduran women have experienced some form of violence. Approximately 63% of children and adolescents have suffered physical punishment and/or psychological aggression by their caregivers.

• Agriculture is the mainstay of economy in Honduras. The primary sector employs nearly 60% of the workforce.

• Honduras is best known for the production and export of agricultural products like coffee, fruit and sugar cane as well as for textiles from factories in Honduras called maquila’s.

• If you talk to coffee plantation owners, the biggest problem is finding workers for the harvest of coffee. Most people have migrated to the United States or to Spain. This has become a bigger issue because once coffee comes in and ready to harvest and there isn’t anyone to pick the fruit it will die quickly. The result is a loss of product and financial gain. The other reason is that the average coffee picker gains 200 Lempiras or $9.00 per 50lb. sack. This is why the majority of families in Honduras who work on cutting coffee will use children that are tall enough to reach the plants and cut coffee. On average a family of 5 will pick from 2-3 sacks per day. They will work in the months of November to the end of January. This is the prime time for cutting coffee. 

• The market is paying on average (which changes with the market daily) $256 per 50lb. sack of cut, clean and dried coffee to be sold on the market.  Enjoy your cup of coffee knowing the only ones who are gaining the profit are the plantation owners that are large (20acres and above filled with coffee plants) and those who are purchasing/selling coffee on the market. Those who cut, clean, toast and package make minimum wage or less.

• In the years leading up to 2020, school enrollment in Honduras suffered a steady decline. In 2018, 81,000 students (4.06%) dropped out. In 2019, some 105,000 students (or 5.39 percent of the total) abandoned their education to seek work, join gangs, or migrate without documents to the United States.

• “I want to be a doctor.” “I want to be an engineer.” “I want to be an artist.” These are just a few of more than 5,000 dreams that teenagers have shared. In Honduras 26% of the young ladies from the age of 18-13 will experience a teenage pregnancy. Most of the youth do not practice protection. As missionaries we have witnessed that most of the teenage girls that are active in sexual relations and are pregnant are usually in a relationship with an adult male in his twenties. Most not all are promised the world by the young man and that “he truly loves her” but once the teenager is pregnant the man leaves her. Normally because he doesn’t want the responsibility, or he has a family already, or he doesn’t want to be caught and brought up on charges for having sexual relations with a minor. However, we have witnessed that most Honduran families accept the teenage pregnancy and support raising the child and supporting their daughter. 

• Honduras faces formidable challenges, including weak institutions, endemic corruption, narco-trafficking, pervasive poverty, food insecurity, gender-based violence, impunity, citizen insecurity, reported difficulties for civil society, human rights violations and abuses, and inequitable access to economic opportunities and social services.