We anticipate that during this school year, which started February 15, 2023, we will be expanding our program to at least fifteen children. We are now seeking new sponsors.
Education impacts poverty
The Vision Forward
Get involved
If you are interested in becoming involved, go to the Ministry of Presence site here:
Also please donate to the project fund, which helps both the children and their families. 100% goes to the poor. There is no administrative fee.
Holy Week Retreat 2019
Present children, mothers, fathers, and our missionary assistant.
Johana Cruz, at 15 years old, wanted to be a nurse. The Ministry of Presence is making her dream come true.
Serving families in need
The Ministry of Presence continues to serve the needs of the entire family, as it has for the last five years. It provides medical assistance, emergency aid, and pastoral care. But most important of all, it creates long-lasting friendships.
One of students has been living in a stick and mud shack which is falling down. We hope to raise money this year to replace it with a new weather-tight house. Stay tuned for more information.
Although schools in Honduras are public, and supposedly free, there are many additional costs that poor families cannot afford. As a result, many children stay home. The Ministry of Presence seeks to address this problem.
When we met Johana Cruz, she was fourteen years old. She lived with her family in an adobe house up in the mountains. Her mother cleaned houses for $12 a day, but only for two days a week. She also helped a woman bake pastilitos (dumplings) for extra money. Johana's older brother sometimes worked in construction.
Even today the family are so poor that up to three people sleep in a bed. In the kitchen, they cook on a wood stove and have no refrigerator. Feeding the family can be a problem.
Since she was fifteen, Johana has wanted to be a nurse. As a nurse she will probably earn about $15,000 a year. Not much by US standards. But what a difference that would make to this family. That income would be brought into the family, and perhaps another child could get an education, or Mom could get some technical training. The long-term impact is tremendous.
UPDATE ON JOHANA'S STORY: She has been accepted as of January 2023 into San Jorge Hospital's Nursing Program, in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, where she is studying and interning. At the end of the program, she will have the opportunity to join the hospital's staff.
Note: Site secure at point of donation.