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Helping young Hondurans build a better future through a proper diet, education and alternatives to life on the street Date published: 1/23/2007
By RUSTY DENNEN N ONE OF THE Western Hemisphere's poorest countries, it is the children of Honduras who suffer most--orphans abandoned by their families, street kids hooked on drugs, teenagers with no hope or education, girls who are moms at age 14. Here's a look at some other relief agencies with ties to the Fredericksburg area that are making a difference in Honduras: A place for malnourished childrenMirian E. Mejia is director of the Centro de Nutrición in El Progreso. There are 22 children here now, poor children who have parents who can't afford to pay for medical care and rehabilitation. "They tend to come from outside the city, where people are poorer," she says through an interpreter. "They first go to the hospital and then come here for rehabilitation." Pictures in a scrapbook tell the stories: children who are malnourished, with bellies bulging out--a classic symptom--girls and boys with severe rashes and genital infections. One child came in with a cigarette burn to the stomach. Run by donations from the Catholic Church, it sits in a gated compound on a side street. "The most important thing we have here is love for the kids. They need care because their parents aren't taking care of them." One child, Paola, came in at 4 months old. Smiling and intense, she runs into the arms of anyone who visits. She has no family. "Her mom smoked when she was pregnant and [Paola] has birth defects," Mejia says. Several University of Mary Washington students with the Campus Christian Community ministry have stopped in to play with the children on the floor, holding them, and later dancing with them. Ashley Davis, a freshman at UMW, who is fluent in Spanish, cuddles a little girl. "I want to take her home," she says. Several mothers come in to help feed the children. They drop by when they can. The place is clean and modern, rivaling any day care center in the United States, with a dormitory, dining room, television, little desks for the children. They have breakfast, lunch, dinner, naps and snacks. Empowering youth with education
Date published: 1/23/2007
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