Angeles Para Honduras - Blog

Call Us: 802-238-5657

Email Us: [email protected]

Kevin is Walking

11/26/2024

KEVIN'S STORY: UPDATE
11/15/2024
Kevin is Walking!
Click the link below to see Kevin walk.
www.youtube.com/shorts/qyAAr6clqwM

Below: Kevin arriving at Ronald MacDonald House, Kevin & Mom at the Prosthetics Clinic, and Kevin being fitted for a new foot and leg on his first day in the US

Kevin arrived in the US on Monday. We picked him up in Fort Lauderdale and drove him and his Mom to Orlando on the same day.
Kevin was so excited to be here. Not only would he be able to walk again, but it was his first plane ride ever, and he got to see exotic cars he never expected to see in real life.
Our first stop was the Ronald MacDonald house, where he checked into his very nice accommodations. We then went to the Prosthetics & Orthotics Association, where he was seen that same day by his Spanish-speaking doctor.
It was thrilling for us to be a part of his journey. When we first met Kevin, he was despondent & suicidal; we never expected all this to be possible.
Today, we learned that Kevin has already received a new right foot and a new left leg and is learning to walk this week. We expect he'll be here in the US for up to 2 months to learn to use his new prosthetics.
Kevin will be coming to West Palm Beach for the Thanksgiving holiday at our house. We are extremely thankful for all of you who have made this remarkable story come true.

November 26th, 2024

11/26/2024

KEVIN'S STORY
A TRAGIC AND INSPIRATIONAL EXPERIENCE
KEVIN IS COMING TO THE US FOR TREATMENT

From Left to Right: Kevin & John in Honduras, Ronald MacDonald House in Orlando, Prosthetics and Orthotics Association in Orlando

The story of Kevin Daniels is both tragic and inspiring. From the depths of despair after his electrocution to the promise of rehabilitation as he begins his journey to the US to obtain prosthetics, this story will show you what can be accomplished when people care.

Kevin will stay at the Ronald MacDonald House in Orlando during his treatment at The Prosthetics and Orthotics Association in Orlando. The story begins in 2023 when Kevin turned 19 and was able to get a job with the Honduras Electric Company. Kevin had a great desire to help his mom with the family finances because she only made $200 per month as a teacher in Honduras. She had raised Kevin and his brother as a single parent from an early age and had managed to see Kevin through to graduating from high school. This was a rare feat as many Honduran children only finish the mandatory sixth grade and don’t have much chance to make a living allowing them to have a comfortable life in their own country.
Kevin will receive a new left leg, a new right foot and a new right hand at the Prosthetics and Orthotics Association of Central Florida in Orlando. Kevin was granted free care here. Shortly after starting work at the electric company, tragedy struck as Kevin accidentally touched a high-tension wire and was severely electrocuted. As a result of this accident, Kevin lost part of one leg, the foot on his other leg, the hand on his right arm and his left arm was rendered largely paralyzed.
John Dewane, President of Angeles Para Honduras, (APH) learned of Kevin’s plight last December through a relative that sought assistance from APH with his medical care. Disappointingly, the Honduras Electric Company refused to provide any financial support or healthcare for Kevin as he had not been working for a long enough time at the company. This is shocking to Americans as that would not happen here.
John spoke to Kevin’s Mom on the phone and learned firsthand of Kevin’s situation. John asked what he could do to help, and his mom said that Kevin was terribly depressed and had no hope. She had been looking for items that featured Kevin’s favorite singer but had been unsuccessful. She asked John to see what he could find. John decided to send money to Kevin’s mom, and she was exuberantly grateful. John spoke with his mom again in January and although she told John she didn’t need anything, he sent more funds as he was aware of their dire situation from other sources
John was able to find three blankets with images of Kevin’s favorite singer which he carried to Honduras during his next trip there in March. John drove two hours to meet Kevin personally. When he arrived, Kevin was in a terrible state of mind because a local pastor who had just visited was using Kevin to raise money for his cause and then keeping it for himself and referring to Kevin in what he felt were demeaning terms when he used his case to raise money.
John was able to turn things around by presenting Kevin with the three blankets he had managed to find for Kevin. This gift had the effect of quieting him and allowing him to relax so John could have a long heart-to-heart talk with Kevin. They talked for more than an hour as John related some of his own experiences with illness and near death. John told Kevin that his recovery inspired him to start APH and be able to help many others and hopefully Kevin also. John told Kevin you never know what God has in store for you and maybe someday Kevin too could use his experience to give hope and inspire others. This seemed to resonate with Kevin and before John left, they were hugging, and Kevin was smiling.
After John left, Kevin’s mom took a picture of Kevin sleeping while wrapped in the blanket with another one pinned on the wall. She said this was the first time she had seen Kevin smile in a very long time. She related that Kevin asked her that if something ever happened to his mom if John could be his dad. So sweet. John told Kevin that if that ever that happened, he would be Kevin’s foster parent like he had been for several other Honduran children.
With some of the money that John had given to Kevin’s Mom, she was able to travel to Tegucigalpa to seek help and treatment for Kevin at an orthopedic center. They were able to perform small operations that improved conditions around his missing foot but that was all they could do. However, this group was aware of an organization in Florida called Prosthetics and Orthotics Institute of Central Florida (POI). They made an application on Kevin’s behalf to have him treated there and to receive prosthetics for free! In September we were notified that Kevin had been accepted into the program. They would treat and rehabilitate him, but Kevin would have to raise the money for him and his Mom to travel to Orlando, find housing and meals while there and be prepared to stay for at least a month. What great news.
John immediately went into action to try to make it possible for Kevin and his Mom to come to the US. Kevin’s first appointment was scheduled for November 11, 2024. John sent money for the plane tickets to Fort Lauderdale and plans to pick them up and make the three-hour drive to Orlando. In addition, John had heard he might be able to get Kevin and his mom free housing at the Ronald MacDonald House (RMH) which was just four miles from the clinic where Kevin would be treated. John quickly made an application to RMH and we just received the happy news that he would be given 30 days free housing at RMH for him and mom.
John has made a budget for all the financial needs to make Kevin’s stay possible. We still need to raise money so that Kevin can get transportation to and from the clinic and RMH twice a day. We need to provide daily meals and finally for transportation back to Honduras when Kevin’s treatment is completed. We will be grateful for any support you can give us for this worthwhile endeavor.
It is true that Kevin is a little above the age we generally provide support for Honduran children. However, one of our key goals is to make it possible for children to get the education they need to complete high school and enter the workforce. it is hoped that meaningful employment can be gained making it possible for these children to secure a livelihood that will allow them to remain in their home country rather than migrating to the US. We feel Kevin’s case applies here since he did the necessary to obtain such employment only to have it taken away from him because of his accident. We want to restore his ability to provide for himself and be comfortable in his home environment.

WORK TRIP TO HONDURAS - Rehab of New Dawn Grammar School 3/24/24 - 3/30/24

3/30/2024

The New Dawn Grammar School is located on the outskirts of Choloma, Honduras. It has 310 students and was in very poor shape when we first visited in December 2023. We chose to help this school because it possessed strong leadership and staff and demonstrated the commitment of the parents and students to improving it.

Perhaps most inspiring was the decision to add three grades to this school. Education is only mandatory until 6th grade. When children complete 6th grade, they are, on average, 12 years old and not equipped to enter the workforce. To continue their education, they must enroll in private school. The decision to add grades 7, 8, and 9 to this school was made and funded by the parents.

The school had made great progress in building the new classrooms but was short on funds. In addition, there was no money to improve the existing classrooms, which had desks beyond repair and floors so full of potholes that it was difficult to level them. Accordingly, we provided funds for 100 new desks and materials such as concrete, cinder blocks, windows, and doors. What was so inspiring and gratifying was that as soon as these materials arrived at the school, the parents immediately put them to use. By the time the children returned to school in February 2024, much of the new construction had been completed and they had been able to repair all the floors with new concrete.

In December, we had promised to return to Choloma with a group of Americans who would help with the final stages of rehab during the Holy Week week vacation when we would have access to the school while the kids were away. Six American adults traveled to Honduras to help paint the interior and exterior of the entire school. John Dewane as well as Desiree and Mason Maltais had been sponsoring orphan families in Honduras for several years. Two of John’s children and 3 of the Maltais’ children, all teenagers, joined us for the week to help with the project. In addition, the school principal, teachers, parents, and 7th, 8th, and 9th grade students joined the workforce, making a total crew of 30 workers. With this dedicated crew, we painted the entire school, inside and out, in record time. Before and after photos and crew photos are shown below.

A group of 30 workers comprised of American volunteers, the principal and her husband, teachers, parents and 7th - 9th grade students painted the school inside and out in temperatures exceeding 105 degrees Fahrenheit.

Before and after photos of the exterior front entrance to the school. Colors for the project were mandated by the Federal Government. The principal was given several color options to select from.

.Before and after photos of one of the new classrooms constructed by the parents. They had raised most of the money for the project but had fallen short when we visited in December. We provided funds to finish construction which were used to purchase concrete for the floors, doors and windows and more. Notice the dirt floor present in the December photo. The adjacent photo shows the new concrete floor and the desks purchased by Angels for Honduras. The upper photos show the new windows in the classroom, the exterior paint job and the volunteers standing in front of a plaque commemorating Angels for Honduras.

Before and after of the building exterior and the stage.

Before and after photos of an old classroom. Notice that a new cement floor has been installed to replace the old floor with holes and cracks.

Every day the parents cooked us a fabulous authentic Honduran lunch. This day we were served an amazing Honduran pork roast.

Volunteer for Work Mission to Honduras

1/30/2024

Join us in Honduras to work on the rehabilitation of a grammar school. The trip will be from 3/24 to 3/31/24. We are supporting Nuevo Amanecer (New Dawn) Grammar school in Choloma. During our trip we will be helping parents complete a rehab of New Dawn. We will be painting, fixing and cleaning the school during their school break to complete renovations made over the year end vacation. Lodging will be at the Copantl Hotel in San Pedro Sula. Volunteers are responsible for their own travel expenses. Click here to learn more about the project.

HONDURAS CHILDREN EDUCATION FOUNDATION PROJECT UPDATE

1/15/2024

Over the weekend of Jan 13/14, significant progress was made installing new floors at Nuevo Amanecer (New Dawn) Grammar School. The cement Angeles Para Honduras donated was delivered late last week and the parents lost no time in using it to put in a new floor. The parents and a professional got together to work on this project. When the pro learned the cement had been donated by APH he decided to donate his professional time to the project! This is the kind of community commitment that makes our work in Honduras successful. One of the parents made lunch for everyone working on the project. See the pictures below and the following video to see the parents installing the new floor: https://youtube.com/shorts/pegP5lsHCGo

Honduras Trade School Rehab - Mario Ugarte Chaloma

1/13/2024

During the week of January 8, 1500 cinderblocks donated by Angeles Para Honduras were delivered to Mario Ugarte Technical School. The blocks are needed to complete the sealing of the space between the side walls and the roof of the trade school classroom buildings. Currently birds are able to enter through these spaces and nest in the eaves of the building. The birds leave droppings throughout the building making it un-hygienic for the students and damaging to the school equipment and supplies. We cannot begin to modernize the technical school equipment and classrooms until these spaces are fully sealed. Below are some photos of the blocks being delivered as the school administrator and Rafael Ugarte look on. We have included a photo of one of the buildings that has already been sealed with cinder blocks. Fortunately, a local cement company has donated cement so this project can get underway quickly.

Honduras School Renovation Project Update New Dawn Grammar School, Chaloma

1/13/2024

This week progress is being made in our project to renovate Nuevo Amanecer (New Dawn) grammar school located in Chaloma, Honduras. Last year we purchased 100 new desks for the school to replace desks damaged beyond repair. They have now been manufactured and are on the truck ready to be delivered to the school next week. We also purchased cement to be used to repair the badly damaged flooring in some of the classrooms as well as for the new classrooms which are being built. The cement was delivered earlier this week. Last year we purchased doors and windows so the new classrooms could be completed. Those were delivered last year. Below are some pictures of the progress and the deliveries.

Cleft Palate Surgery Mission, Ruth Paz Foundation Hospital

12/19/2023

My daughter, Elizabeth Blasberg, is a facial plastic surgeon. She and a colleague have volunteered to go to Honduras to perform cleft palate surgery and other surgeries for children in need in Honduras. On Wednesday, December 13, 2023, we visited Ruth Paz Foundation Hospital as a possible venue for the doctors to perform these surgeries. We learned that there is a great need for these surgeries as facial plastic surgeons are almost non-existent in Honduras. They welcomed our visit and will help us coordinate this mission.

Ruth Paz Foundation Hospital is in downtown San Pedro Sula not too far from the Hotel Copantl where we were staying. We were met by the hospital coordinator, Marcela Martinez, who is extremely knowledgeable, welcoming and speaks fluent English. The meeting was arranged by Rafael Ugarte who accompanied John, Walt and Rafael’s wife Evelyn on the tour.

We took a lot of photos, and I’ve assembled some of them in an album. Here is the link to the PHOTOS: https://photos.app.goo.gl/pdRNLqU8DH4aUpmP8. Be sure to click on the video as I was able to enter in the operating room all suited up and take pictures. They were performing two operations at once and the operating room was filled with medical professionals. Also, one of the photos is of a directory of all the medical doctors they have on staff with their specialties listed.

We got to see all the facilities of the Hospital from waiting rooms, patient rooms, operating rooms, pre op and post op recovery rooms, supply closets, the pharmacy, the lab and much more. When we finished the tour we met with the medical director, Dr. Juan (Johnny) Craniotis who is a pediatric surgeon with a specialty in colo rectal pediatric surgery. No one else wants to do colo rectal but he loves it and is passionate about what he does. He does other surgeries also.

Dr. Johnny gave us a history of the Ruth Paz Foundation hospital and described the various things they do. He has been with the hospital for many years and saved it from closing after the government didn’t follow through on their promise to help them financially. He made the decision to take in paying adults to keep them financially afloat.

They are visited regularly by various medical missions that come to operate on patients where they don’t have the resources or doctors. They have not had a plastic surgeon on staff until very recently when they hired a very “green” Dr. They were delighted that our doctors are willing to come, and they fervently want their new Dr. to learn from them as he has very little experience.

We learned that it takes about 40 days to get missionary doctors approved to perform surgeries in Honduras. As Ruth Paz is very familiar with the application process at the Ministry of Health, they will make the request. What remains is for us to coordinate a time that is mutually convenient for this mission to take place and then follow up with the applications. We also learned that it will not cost us much to do these surgeries at this hospital as they are very well equipped. Nevertheless, we will want to raise money for the travel and hotel accommodations for the doctors when they go to Honduras.

Visit to vocational school Mario Ugarte Centro Tecnico Vocacional - 12/12/2023

12/16/2023

Today we traveled to the Mario Ugarte vocational school in Choloma. It is named after Don Rafa’s grandfather who donated the land for the school. We met with the new administrator for the school.
The school is quite a big complex comprised of 6 buildings on a large plot of land. The six buildings house classes for electrician training, welding, auto mechanics, industrial mechanics (mostly training to work in clothing factories), a computer room and several classrooms for academic classes.

The new administrator, pictured above, took over from the previous administrator who had the job for 12 years. Under his leadership the school suffered serious decline. Today, the school has 210 pupils, but it has a capacity to have 600 students. The new administrator is a young man who is very ambitious and has already made noticeable improvements. In the 6 months since his arrival, he has painted the exterior of all the buildings, purchased lawn equipment so that the grounds look beautiful, installed cameras to protect the equipment and monitor all the classrooms, built a stage for events like graduations etc and has plans to do much more. We liked him and believe he is trying to get the school back on track. He wants to make this trade school a model for others in Honduras to emulate. This dovetails with our thinking to make the grammar school a model for others in Honduras to emulate.

We think that this will be a good project for us because again, it fits into our vision for giving Honduran children an education which will allow them to create a sustainable life for themselves in their own country. We learned that when the children graduate, they are all able to find meaningful employment at the foreign factories in Choloma, working for other businesses and even working for themselves. Nevertheless, it will be a big challenge to get this school back on track.

The previous administrator allowed the equipment to deteriorate and age without replacing much of anything. A big problem is that there is a gap between the sidewalls and the roof that allows birds to nest inside the building. The classes and equipment get covered with bird droppings, feathers and other debris and must be cleaned every day. The administrator has started a project to seal this gap with cinder blocks so the cleanliness of the rooms and equipment can be maintained. A local cement company has donated the cement bags for this project and he needs to acquire cinder blocks ( 60 cents each) to keep the project going. No new equipment should be purchased until this project is complete. We have committed to purchase the cinder blocks necessary to get this important project underway.

Once the school classrooms are sealed, we can then start to help the various courses of study by purchasing the equipment they need to get up to date. For example, in the industrial mechanics building there are very old and dirty commercial sewing machines that the students need to learn how to make shirts and other clothing. They need at least four different types of sewing machines to sew on the sleeves, buttonholes, collars etc. They can purchase these used machines from the clothing manufacturers at about $600 each. When kids graduate from this course of study, they are almost guaranteed a job at one of the foreign clothing factories right in Choloma. The other courses of study are also suffering from having old equipment or no equipment at all.

We can only focus on improving one course of study at a time. It will take some time and capital to get this school back to a level that will attract the students to get enrollment up to their capacity of 600. However, once they get there the school will become self-sustaining because the students pay a tuition of about $34 per month and this is mostly provided by the children’s parents.

Visit to Nuevo Amanecer Grammar School, Monday, December 11, 2023

12/16/2023

On Monday, December 11, 2023, we visited a grammar school in Choloma that we would like to support called Nuevo Amanecer (New Dawn). It is located on the outskirts of Choloma and isn’t too hard to reach. It was about a 15-minute ride from the highway down a very bumpy dirt road. We like this school because it embodies a lot of the themes that are important to us, and they desperately need our help.

It is a grammar school which currently has about 310 students ranging from kindergarten to 8th grade. The parents are in the process of constructing more classrooms so they can add a ninth grade and a computer room. Don Rafa took us to the school where we were met by the principal, the president of the PTA and two other PTA members.

CLICK ON THE FOLLOWING LINK TO SEE A PHOTO ALBUM OF OUR VISIT:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/oKDoZFPt1v17MSap7

In Honduras, the schools receive money from the federal government for the original construction of the school. Thereafter the federal government gives the town annual financial support, 5% of which goes to the schools. It is used to pay teacher salaries. The parents are then responsible for the ongoing maintenance of the school including daily janitorial work. The parents also must purchase all the books and school supplies for the children. As a result, the schools are in very poor condition. The children are on vacation until February. It was hard to imagine 310 kids in this school every day, but they make do. The desks are in terrible shape. The parents have a project to paint and repair the desks, but we estimate about 100 are beyond repair. We committed to purchasing 100 new desks and travelled to a locally owned desk manufacturing company in Choloma to purchase the desks.

We were very impressed with the commitment of the parents to the school. They have raised most of the funds for the new construction and are building the classrooms themselves. They have everything they need for the project except the doors and windows and the bars that must go over the windows to guard against theft. We will provide these items for the completion of the project at a cost of $1200.

I mentioned above that the school embodies a lot of the themes that are important to us. We want to see Honduras become a better and safer place for the future of today’s children. We believe that education is the key to help make this happen. Currently, education is only mandatory to the 6th grade and many children don’t even get that far. When they leave school, they are theoretically 12 years old and there are very few opportunities for these children. Some go to work with their parents, but many others find their way to the cities in search of opportunities. Many of these kids find nothing and are recruited by the gangs. They are used to collect money from businesses that are being extorted by the gangs. If the business doesn’t pay, they are instructed to kill the owners. If they don’t collect the money the gang kills the kids.

This pattern of violence is one of the major reasons Hondurans leave their country to find a better life in the US. They want to escape the violence of the gangs and are forced to pick up and leave everything to save themselves and their families. Hondurans are the largest group of migrants that make it to the US border seeking asylum. They are desperate to get in because if they are forced to return to Honduras it’s a death sentence.

We feel that is important to keep children involved in education for as long as possible to avoid them leaving the system and falling into the orbit of gangs. This is one of the reasons we like this school so much. The parents are motivated to build a school which will keep the children in the school until 9th grade when they are at least 15 years old. Many of the kids will be 17 or 18 when they finish 9th grade. When they are that age, it will be easier to find employment, or they can then enter a vocational or technical school so they can learn skills that will allow them to create a sustainable life in their own country. Choloma is the home to many factories of foreign companies. Because of foreign child labor restrictions all employees must be at least 18 to get a job there.

We would like to help this school get into good shape to provide an educational environment that allows the children to be successful in life. We would like to concentrate our efforts on this school to make it a model for what can be achieved with the combined efforts of the parents, the children and Angels for Honduras. We know we are too small to win this battle by ourselves, but we can set an example of success for others to copy.

There is a lot to be done and we have taken some small steps to make a difference. There are floors to fix, fans to repair or replace, junk to get rid of, classrooms to complete, walls to be painted, bathrooms to be fixed and a lot more. We would like to get a group of interested people to come to Honduras to help with these projects. We could arrange for work crews to come to Honduras for school breaks around Easter time and in June. Don Rafa has agreed to be the crew boss and define the needed tasks for the crew. We envision that the crew would stay at the Copantl Hotel in San Pedro Sula and take the 30-to-45-minute drive to the school everyday by a chartered bus. The principal’s husband has such a bus! The parents we met were so excited about this project that they immediately offered to cook everyone the best breakfast, lunch, and dinners possible. We think only lunch will be necessary, but the enthusiasm of the parents was so heartwarming.

“Please be advised that this standard form was created using a Weebly form. The data is captured within the Weebly website builder, and does not automatically flow into the Flipcause system or into any other software.

If you have need for a different type of form, please reach out to your Success Team for more information. You can also learn more about the different types of forms that are available to you by clicking here.

Support Us