As Rosita swings on the swing set, the soft breeze tousles her curls while warm rays of sunshine bathe her surroundings and whisper to her of a Father she is just getting to know. There in the back and forth of her swinging this small child is removed from the extenuating circumstances that are the reality of her short life. Read the rest of this entry »
I entered the Casita Feliz on a special mission. A joyous place, filled with happy voices, smiling little faces and tiny hands reaching out to be squeezed, the “happy little house” is the new dwelling of Alicia, 7 years old, Read the rest of this entry »
“Mommy, where’s my dad?” It’s the question that day by day five-year-old Max asks his mother Lola, one of the 15 single mothers who seeks refuge at PAHS. Lola simply evades her son’s question and changes the subject. Just like she did, her children are growing up without knowing their father. Four decades ago, at the age of two, Lola came to our children’s home. She was not malnourished or sick, but her mother did not have the resources to sustain her. Lola was always characterized as a devout and responsible lady. She finished her high school and received the opportunity to study at Unadeca, the Adventist University of Central America located in Costa Rica. She spent a year studying nursing; however, the “bad decisions” that she made occasioned that she abandon college. Years later, she bore her first son, Elden, who is now 14 years of age, and then she had Max. Both children have different fathers whom they do not know. The bad decisions that Lola made when she left the university has made her carry the responsibility of raising two young children, without work and without financial resources.
Lola sees the need to seek assistance for her children from the same institution that she grew up at and that gave her many chances. “When you have the responsibility of raising children alone it is difficult because you have to play the role of mom and dad, and you had to work hard to provide education. I prayed to God, and He enlightened me to return to this place,” says Lola. Elden, her eldest son, is now in seventh grade and is happy to be able to receive education, and Max will start school next year. Lola is considering a sewing course at the Technical School. Along with her son Elden, Lola was re-baptized, and they are now active members of our church.
However, there is one more factor added to the complication of becoming a single mother. Although Lola was 27 when she had her first child, there are many young girls that become single mothers at as young as fourteen years old. The statistics show that of every 1,000 pregnant women in the country, 140 are teenagers. Such is the case with *Maria, who at age 16 became pregnant. This was the same year that she was to graduate from high school. She hid her pregnancy for four months and managed to finish school. She is an intelligent young woman who was highly likely to achieve her dreams and is much appreciated by everyone at our institution, but the birth of her son changed her plans. Three years have passed and in this time she has had to overcome many obstacles; Maria lost her scholarship to study and now she has to work to provide support for her son. She is aware that the bad decisions that she made as a teenager are affecting her life. Unfortunately, this is the reality of many young girls in Honduras. Despite having the opportunity to be successful in life, many continue making bad decisions.
“I like to walk ´chuña´ (barefoot), that´s why I don´t use my shoes”, says Cristian, while a shy smile is shown in his face, but the true reason by which he prefers to be barefoot, is because his shoes are uncomfortable to him. This is the third time that Christian is received in Pan American Health Service. The first of them was exactly six years ago, when he was only nine months old. Severely undernourished, he spent three months in rehabilitation, during that time he recovered successfully. At the end of the treatment, his parents decided to take him back home. However, about six months of leaving PAHS, Cristian returned again undernourished, the causes were unknown. His parents simply did not have an explanation for the relapse of the boy, he was admitted back into the institution, and spent a few months in which managed to regain his health again.
Although he managed to overcome malnutrition, maintaining a normal weight, we noticed a serious problem for Cristian, who was about to turn two years old and still could not walk. He suffered a small distortion on his feet. Some physiotherapists, who visited us from the United States, gave him some therapies that helped him to take more strength in his feet, and with the use of orthopedic shoes Cristian finally gave his first steps. Finally, we received help from an orthopedist, who diagnosed a condition called ´talo verticalizado´, which is a malformation in his heels. Now, for the third time, Christian is back in PAHS, as in the desire to help the child we are taking the necessary steps in order that he could take part in a surgery to correct his problem. He walks with difficulty, but thanks to God because he no remains prostrate, he is a hyperactive child, who despite his problem knows how to enjoy life. Cristian has a big family, with nine brothers, his family has to work very hard to put the bread on their table. The youngest sister is just a three months old baby, that just like Cristian when he was a baby, is suffering from malnutrition.
Unfortunately, this is the state of many babies who reach the world directly to face the jaws of death, and the famine that plagues our country, Honduras, especially in southern area is one of the roots of the disease. Meanwhile, we pray to God that every one of our children can recover his health soon, and do not miss the food at their table, and also pray for Cristian´s, hoping that he could soon be able to walk normally. Read the rest of this entry »
Maria Suyapa
How many Suyapas are outside there?
When she was two years old, our Suyapa had the appearance of a six month old baby. She did not speak or walk and she could not eat by herself. She looked extremely thin; her case is one of the most serious in our hospital ward. When we realize how dreadful malnutrition can be, we simply asked ourselves, why? How can this happen? , It is probably the negligence of both the parents and the society. Is it our country, Honduras; that faces the problems? Suyapa almost died because she did not have milk on a daily basis. And the questions continue to come. Cases like Suyapa´s are frequent to our staff. We need a regular education program for parents, and for responsible leaders of each town. We need to teach cooking classes and sponsor programs for gardening. We have to do all we can to be helpful for society. The innocent children are not the guilty once. One of our objectives is to fight against the malnutrition in Honduras, and stop the unnecessary death march. It is estimated that fifty children in Honduras died each day from malnutrition.
Rosita
Is enough to observe her little smile and her beautiful eyes to feel that you love her, she is a sweet and beautiful girl who arrived at PAHS three years ago, with only 14 months of age, finding in our institution her new home, she is Rosalinda Pineda.
To Rosita, life has taught her really hard lessons since she was a baby, first she lost her sister, three years ago, because of the malnutrition, she died the day before that personal of PAHS arrived to her community, she did not have the opportunity that Rosita had to recovery. The center of health of the community of San Antonio, place where the family lived, communicated with PAHS to ask for aid for the older sister of Rosalinda, nevertheless her state health was very serious and she died before we could arrive at the community, but Rosita, that seemed was destined to suffer the same fate, if she did not receive immediate medical attention, had the blessing to recover her health. Then, another tragedy for the baby, her father died and the abandoned mother does not have to whom to resort reason why is maintained to itself gathering sweepings in the streets.
Rosita does not have a stable home to go, that is the reason for her remain in PAHS, the place that has become in her new home, the only home that she knows, and it will continue being while it allows it to God. Thanks to the will of our God, Rosita is now five years old, the same age that had her older sister when she died by malnutrition. But the destiny of Rosita has been different, doubtless God has very special plans for her. Rosita will attend to the kinder garden the next year, and from now she is really excited for going to school.
Ramoncito
Even when he is three years old, little Ramon had to be taken part of a surgery attach to parasitism. He had abdominal surgery a month ago in a publical hospital, parasites (amoeba,) were causing an obstruction, nevertheless Ramoncito could not remain in the hospital for his recovery, and his father, desperate, went in search of aid for the recovery of his son, who besides suffering parasitism was severely undernourished. The boy came to PAHS three weeks ago, with a second degree malnutrition. Ramon can not speak or walk, because of his undernourishment, but he just start to eat by himself, and repeat words.
His father comes to visit him every once in a while. Let´s pray for Ramoncito´s recovery and for all the children in PAHS. Thanks.
You can write to us at:
Pan American Health Service , Inc.
PO Box 888
Keene, Texas 76059