Honduras

Letter from Compassion Honduras Director Yolanda Rodas

Dear Sponsor,

May the Lord’s blessing be upon each one of you!

My name is Yolanda Rodas, and I have been the Compassion Honduras Country Director for seven years, yet I have been part of Compassion for 14 years. I am married and have two precious children: Gerardo, who is five years old, and Isabella, who is almost three. They are a blessing!

By the grace of God, I have been able to see different stages of Compassion’s ministry as I had the opportunity to take different roles at the office. This has been very useful in my current position since I can understand, at a closer level, what happens at the field with the churches and children they serve.

Our office in Honduras began in 1999, yet some work had begun in some regions since 1974 with the support of the offices in Guatemala and El Salvador. Currently we are working with 200 local churches and more than 57,000 registered children.

During these years, I have seen how many lives have been transformed through the dynamic that exists among sponsors, beneficiaries, churches and Compassion.

I wish to thank you for all the support that you bring on a daily basis to the children in our country, expressed through your sponsorship, prayer, letters and gifts.

I am convinced that the sponsorship you provide really does work, for I have seen it throughout all these years. Registered children and youths enjoy more opportunities than other children who are also in poverty. I have seen homes being transformed as the cycle of poverty has been broken, thanks to the work of the church and the support that you offer. Many of our youth have been the first ones in their families to complete high school and university education, or they have had the opportunity to learn a trade to sustain themselves and their families. Many children have been diagnosed in a timely manner with a certain illness that could have taken their lives away—yet receiving adequate treatment allowed them to live a better life.

Most importantly, I have seen entire households being changed with the transforming power of Jesus. Each church that ministers in the lives of beneficiaries is giving hope to these families through the gospel.

In our country, we fight each day against poverty, violence and corruption, which are the main challenges before us. Many of the children live in the most violent and poverty-stricken regions of our country. Each day, these young people and children suffer the pressures of joining a gang, for there they are offered a “family” or money. Some of them live in constant fear of having a family member murdered or losing their own lives. Access to the health public system is also a challenge. Even though there are hospitals and community health centres available, they lack qualified personnel and medicine. Education has improved during the last years, but there are still obstacles to overcome, for the system has not yet reached an adequate educational level for our children.

In each of these challenge areas, churches are making their best efforts in counterattacking the effects of such overwhelming poverty and have become an oasis in the middle of the desert for these children and youths.

My vision for 2017 is that we, as Compassion Honduras, become a better support to the church so they can effectively implement ministry for children and youth. If each church is well equipped, the impact will be even greater on the children and their families. We are also working to improve communications between sponsors and children so they can be more effective and help strengthen the relationship.

Please continue to support our children and youth. I wish you could see their smiling and radiant faces when they receive a letter from you; because even though many of them do not know you, you are important. You are someone that loves them selflessly and who demonstrates a genuine interest in their wellbeing.

Thanks to each one of you for being part of this movement that is changing generations in our beloved Honduras. You are sowing in a good land and we appreciate the prayers you always speak for each one of our beneficiaries.

Yours truly,

Yolanda Rodas de Núñez

Country Director Compassion Honduras