HONDURAS SISTER PARISH UPDATE

– February 23, 2021

Dear Mission Benefactors,

The year 2020 was different for so many of our Parishioners at St. Michaels, as well as for our brothers and sisters in Honduras, due to the effects of COVID-19. As a year approaches from the halt in a large part of our lives, the Sister Parish Council of St. Michael will continue to pray for the health and wellness of all of our fellow parishioners.

Even with the devastating impact COVID-19 had on so many, our faith and dedication to our Honduran community has remained strong. Due to the generosity of our St. Michael’s parishioners, our annual campaign in 2020 for our Sister Parish in Honduras allowed us to maintain all of our programs as well as provide relief for COVID-19. We write this letter to share all the accomplishments from the past year and share our humbled appreciation for the dedication to help our brothers and sisters in Honduras.

THE STATE OF HONDURAS DURING COVID-19

It is hard to share the numbers impacted in our Honduran community due to lack of appropriate testing, reporting and care for those in the Our Lady of Suyapa community. However, our Sister Parish Council acted immediately to help with relief to the Honduran healthcare workers for COVID-19. A shipment of $7,000 worth of PPE was sent to Honduras and distributed to local clinics and healthcare personnel in Nueva Palestina (home of Our Lady of Suayapa Church) and a hospital in Juticalpa, Honduras. Juticalpa is one of the few major cities in Honduras where patients are being cared for with COVID-19. With the support of St.

Michael parishioner’s generosity, we will continue to find innovative ways to continue to support the healthcare community in Honduras.

PPE included

  • 2,000 Disposable Face Masks
  • 300 N-95 Respirators
  • 500 Isolation Gowns
  • 400 Face Shields

OUR PROGRAMS: SPIRITUAL, EDUCATION, MEDICAL, AGRICULTURE

We thank you for your dedicated support to our Honduran community. With our celebration of the 20th year in Christian Solidarity with Our Sister Parish in Honduras, we reflect on how the programs positively impacted their community for 2020.

SPIRITUAL

  • Mission in February to celebrate the feast day of Our Lady of Suyapa
  • Assistance with building of seven Churches in outlying villages
  • Church maintenance, spiritual programs and youth formation support

EDUCATION

  • 866 students for the 2020 school year and over 2,000 children since 2002
  • Education mission in February 2020 to help distribute backpacks, school supplies and uniforms

MEDICAL

  • 48 roofs and floors in 2020
  • 285 smokeless ovens in 2020
  • 250 First Aid Kits. First aid kits consist of items such as tooth paste, tooth brushes, bar soap, band aids, hydrocortisone cream, gauze, antibiotic cream and Advil or other NSAIDS. Education regarding health, hand hygiene and dental hygiene are provided to parishioners as they receive their first aid kit.

AGRICULTURE

  • Provided 46 farmers with fertilizers and guidance, including 20 new members in our 2 year program. We assisted with yucca and garden crops, too.
  • Established a “Demonstration Farm” to highlight the progress we have made and allows farmers to see firsthand the results of improved farming methods so they can do at their own farms, including crops not normally grown in Honduras.

Again, the Sister Parish Council thanks you for your continued support to the Our Lady of Suyapa Parish. Please continue to pray for our brothers and sisters in our Honduran community as they continue to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. We strongly thank you for your continued generosity and dedication to our Sister Parish.

Peace in Christ,

The Sister Parish Committee