Celebrating Children’s Day

The month of September provides many opportunities for fun to our children. Besides the excitement building up to the Independence Day parades mid-month, September 10 is a day set aside to celebrate children.Piñatas, sweets, games, gifts and many visitors were all part of the Child’s Day celebrations on our campus this year for the children of the Casita Feliz as well as the Homes.  It is a special time set aside to recognize the love and joy that these special gifts of God bring to our World!

SIMS '13

A student from LLU during the medical brigade

The dental and medical Students from Loma Linda University, CA, along with Dr. Tom Wieg and his family spent their New Year Holidays attending more than two hundred patients in the dental clinic and the remotes villages that they visited, El Dorado, La Fe and Los Caminos.They also participated in our celebration for the new year. Thank you so much LLU students for putting your energy, talents and love for our People in Honduras! We greatly appreciate it!

One Nation One Day

This past Sunday 2000 Missionaries from the United States arrived to spread the love and good news of Jesus Christ through all 18 Departments (a political division like States or Counties) of Honduras. Some are evangelists and teachers, but most are here to minister with hands and hearts to the health and needs of the people, as they unite in prayers of faith to intercede for Honduras. Groups of local pastors, health professionals and students have been organized and assigned to work with those who arrived on Sunday. One Nation One Day Centers are set up in the largest educational institutions in each departmental capitol, bringing hope to this country which is said to have the highest homicide rate in the world.  The principle objective of the initiative is to rescue youth who are being coerced by gangs into a life of delinquency.  Violent gangs and trans-national crime have stirred up high anxiety among the Honduran people. Please join us as we pray for the climax of this effort which will be held on July 20^th.

A new school for our neighbors

The dream of a new school became a reality for more than one hundred little ones who have been meeting in a temporary lean-to for several years in the near-by communities of Las Palmas and La Torre.  Pan American Health Service donated a lovely hill-top site for an architect with Schools for the Children of the World of Mears, MI,  to coordinate and assist the efforts of the children’s parents, the Yibrin family and our local municipality of Santa Cruz to build the three-room school.  Construction began in February with the students and their families providing the unskilled labor.  Working together, the school was finished and inaugurated on July 12, 2013.

Breaking the Cycle of Poverty Through Education

After watching them grown through the years, our hearts were filled with pride and great joy to witness Patty, Ana Elsi and Dinora receive their university degrees in Nursing. Ana Elsi completed her degree with a thesis to become a licenced nurse. Having achieved her dream of becoming a profesional nurse she is now joining our work team at Servicio Panamericano de Salud (PAHS Honduras). Meanwhile Patty and Dinora will return to their university in Costa Rica, UNADECA, to complete their degree to be licenced nurses also. We are deeply grateful to all our supporters who have made this great achievement possible for our girls! A special thanks to those who sponsored their scholarships Mend a Child Foundation, Dr. Larry & Jean LaClair, Paul & Sheryl Selivanoff, Dr. Carlos & Graci Japas and John Beldin.

The Technical/Vocational School graduates 70 young people

Seventy students graduated from the Dr. Stephen Youngberg Technical Vocational School on December 6. The graduation ceremony took place in the lovely facilities of the local university campus of Universidad Cristiana Nuevo Milenio. The graduates received certifications and diplomas in Auto Mechanics, Sewing, Wood Carving, Wood Working and the EDUCATODOS program - 6th and 9th grades. The joy and pride of the students and families was a pleasure to behold and it fills the PAHS team with great satisfaction to know that we are helping to break the cycle of poverty through education.

New Graduates

It is a great source of joy to witness the graduation of 6 of our young people! Thanks to our alliance with the Mend-a-Child Foundation, PAHS has the honor of seeing Josue, Johana, Yeimi, Stephany, Gaby and Yini receive their secondary school diplomas on 24 de Noviembre from Centro Educacional Adventista. They are now eligible to enter University in search of their dreams. Josue will pursue a degree in theology, while all the girls wish to pursue careers in the medical professions:  Johana and Stephany want to be nurses; Yeimi wants to be a dentist and Yini wants to be physician. We are sure they have what it takes to succeed in their chosen fields!

HSBC Employees bring an early Christmas to the Casita Feliz

Christmas arrived a month early for the little ones of our Casita Feliz Nutritional Rehab Program thanks to a group of employees from two different HSBC locations, one in San Pedro Sula – Primera Avenida - and the other of Villanueva. This generous and loving team of givers – some of whom brought their own children along - shared presents and supplies along with a wonderful spirit of joy and love. Seated around the Central Plaza’s Christmas Tree the children’s faces lit up as one by one they were called by name to receive a beautifully wrapped gift. The fun continued with a hot lunch and a delicious cake which the team served the little ones. It was a lovely and unforgettable gesture of love which filled our hearts with gratitude and happiness!

CARE and Cargill of Honduras share of their bounty

A partnership of CARE and Cargill of Honduras in support of a group of Agriculturist in various development programs made a generous donation of food and produce to PAHS/Servicio Panamericano de Salud in an event which took place on Friday November 8 on our campus. It was a time to get acquainted and to become familiarized with the work to expand and support agriculture in Honduras and for our benefactors to see first-hand what PAHS does to support the most vulnerable of the population.  The donated food items will be used in our Nutrition and Home programs. We are grateful to each of these groups for their great generosity and for being socially responsible companies that share of their bounty with our children!

Professional Practicum completed

Johana, Josue, Yeimi and Gaby

Johana, Josue, Yeimi and Gaby completed their professional practicum or internships after finishing their course of study for secondary school which included a technical specialty in computers. The young people spent six weeks at different companies in San Pedro Sula, learning about what it takes to be a professional on a team and to be a part of the work force. They were successful in meeting their objectives and received good reviews and a few even had invitations to join the permanent staff. We are proud of each of them for setting a high standard and for the great impression they left at their respective places of practice.

Found by the Angels

Maria de Los Angeles (Mary of the angels) is a fitting name for this young woman – the single mother of two boys, ages 6 and 15 - who probably did not imagine that her life could change so much from one day to the next. Thanks to some “angels” disguised as physicians who showed up in a medical team in the small mountain community where her mother lives, Angela received a second-chance at life in May 2012. First examined by Dr. Gretchen Whisenant of the CTMC medical team, Angela explained she had seen many specialists and had undergone multiple tests and all assured her she did not have a chance to live long because of thyroid cancer that had spread and grown throughout her neck and upper chest. Dr. Gretchen’s husband, Dr. Dewey Whisenant, envisioned this young mother having a good prognosis if she could have the appropriate treatment and together the Whisenants came up with a plan to support Angela in fighting for her life. With the assistance of PAHS and Central Texas Medical Center a team of volunteers from the CTMC May Mission Team put together a larger support system to have Angela travel to San Marcos, TX for a life-saving surgery. We are grateful to have had the opportunity to witness this miracle.

Central Texas Medical Center - a blessing for Honduras

The Central Texas Medical Center (CTMC) arrived with a well organized Medical Team for the second time this year in October 2012. Teaming up with PAHS/Servicio Panamericano de Salud, they treated over 1,500 people during the week in four communities: San Antonio de Cortés, Concepción del Sur, Canculunco and Peña Blanca. The 18 professionals that made up this team traveled back to their homes in Texas happy to have had an experience of serving those in need and making new friendships.

Independence Day Celebrations

September 15 is a special date for our country, Honduras, as well as for all the Central American countries as it commemorates Independence Day.  This is why our children dressed in patriotic fervor, took to the streets in an organized parade hosted by their school to celebrate our nation’s Independence Day.  Set to the cadence of their school’s Marching Band our children of all ages participated in different squads all with the intent to commemorate this special season as they wore the pride of their country on their faces, pride at being born in such a beautiful nation as Honduras!

Celebrating Children’s Day

The month of September provides many opportunities for fun to our children. Besides the excitement building up to the Independence Day parades mid-month, September 10 is a day set aside to celebrate children. Piñatas, sweets, games, gifts and many visitors were all part of the Child’s Day celebrations on our campus this year for the children of the Casita Feliz as well as the Homes.  It is a special time set aside to recognize the love and joy that these special gifts of God bring to our World!

Golden Anniversary Parade

Centro Educacional Adventista - the educational center our children attend for private education - celebrated their 50th Anniversary this month, and as part of the celebration our children participated in a parade honoring the milestone of their alma mater.  The students were happy to be part of this special celebration and with great pride marched on behalf of their school through the street of our local town, Peña Blanca.

Our mission in August

Three new little patients have been admitted to our Nutritional Rehabilitation Center during the month of August. Without a doubt they will recover from the fight they are waging against the malnutrition that has stolen their health, and they are a reminder that makes us anxious to find more little ones in need of support for their fight against hunger. Two of the children are siblings Cindy and Jesus, ages 4 and 2 years respectively; they are from one of the poorest areas in our country and a place in which malnutrition is still rampant. Our third little patient is Michael, 2 years old, who is from a nearby town close to Lake Yojoa. Soon we will see their smiles emerge; please keep them in your prayers as they reach this milestone of recovery from malnutrition.

PAHS attends the International ASI Convention in Cincinnati, OH

As member of the Adventist-Laymen’s Services and Industries (ASI) PAHS attended the annual convention which was held this year in Cincinnati, OH. Our administrative staff used the opportunity to meet with both long-time as well as new supporters and it is time to update and refresh skills. It is a pleasure to be able to meet with supporters and other organization members from around the world to share of our work and to hear stories of triumphs and challenges of what as a group are able to accomplish in the service of others to make this world a better place!

A visit to the Zoo

Our children had the pleasure of experiencing an unforgettable, educational and fun trip to the Joya Grande Zoo in a nearby town. The trip was sponsored thanks to the generosity of Peter and Beth Malgadey of Florida, friends of Bonnie Gray a faithful volunteer of over a year.  Our children were able to see animals they had previously seen only in photographs such as a lion, giraffes, tigers, leopards, hippopotamus, and crocodiles among others.

Helping the environment creatively

Thanks to an innovative project spearheaded by volunteer, Bonnie Gray, our campus appears cleaner. The children decorated 20 five-gallon buckets as small trash receptacles to be placed in strategic spots around our campus. This has given the children the opportunity to learn in a fun and creative way the importance of caring for the environment by avoiding the habit of littering and keeping our environment trash-free.

Medical and Construction Team from Oklahoma

Dear friends from the Crossings Community Church, in Oklahoma, USA came to our campus to give of their construction and medical talents to the community. Working together with Heart for Honduras, they hosted a medical clinic on our campus for a day and then went out to different communities nearby during the week. Their construction team worked on the building that will house our Nutritional Rehabilitation Center soon. Our deep gratitude goes out to the team for their great help in furthering our mission to bring health care to our communities!