In a small rural village in Honduras, Doña Santos, is inspiring change, despite the various challenges she has faced. Doña Santos recently became widowed, something which affected both her and her children drastically, but she did not let grief stop her. In a short time, she went from helping to sell vegetables from someone else’s land to having her own cultivation space. Now, she has a team of young people from the community who support her in distributing the vegetables she harvests, and she is already planning to open her own local business.
Doña Santos is part of Church World Service’s program involving 75 families in Honduras which supports nutritional food security and family agriculture, focusing on health and nutrition training for rural families to strengthen their capabilities and promote their development. “Water problems have always been an issue around here. I didn’t know how to use the water pump before; everything was much harder. Then, we started learning more,” Doña Santos shares. In addition to her main project of fruits and vegetables, Mrs. Santos has a chicken coop and is getting ready to receive a pig.
Local CROP Hunger Walks provide crucial funding for these efforts. The Monroe CROP Hunger Walk will be held on Sunday, October 27 at 2 p.m., beginning at Monroe United Methodist Church on Maple Avenue; 25% of funds raised will go to local food pantries and the rest to hunger fighting and disaster relief efforts in places like Macuelizo, Honduras.
If you would like to register to participate in the Walk or to volunteer, please email Fred Schuepfer at fredsc@juno.com.
Fred Schuepfer
2024 Monroe CROP Hunger Walk Coordinator
Monroe