October 2008 Articles
Elsa Eulalia Hernandez of Rio Maria
The women in Fundación Adelante's Rio Maria Asamblea arrive for their bi-monthly meeting, settling in on the chairs around the little comedor (small eatery) where the meeting is held. Throughout the meeting, the bustle in the kitchen of the comedor can be heard, as cooking begins for the day. As the meeting ends, and most of the women leave to focus on their responsibilities for the day, one of the women puts an apron on over her smart skirt and a bandana over her hair. Elsa Hernandez started this comedor nine years ago, and has been running it ever since, now with the help of her youngest daughter who is 23 years old.
Over the past two years, Elsa has had six loans from Fundación Adelante. At the time of her first loan, Elsa also had a pulperia (small store that sells basic necessities) in her comedor. She says she remembers her first loan vividly; it was for 1500 Lempiras (about 80 USD), and she bought rice, sugar and manteca (lard) in bulk to sell in her pulperia. Since then she has closed her pulperia, as having two businesses was a lot of work; now her focus is her comedor. Her most recent loan from Adelante was for 2500 Lempiras, and she invested it in her comedor, buying chicken and oil for cooking.
Elsa says she has enjoyed watching her business grow with loans from Adelante; she has noticed improvements in her life and business because of her work with the organization. But what she has enjoyed most about involvement with Adelante has been the meetings and educational charlas (talks) she has with her Asamblea twice a month. She says the talks they have had about business and health have been very useful, and she has been able to put into practice the issues they cover in both her business and her personal life.
By the time the Adelante women have cleared out of the comedor, Elsa is hard at work in the kitchen. She's joined her daughter, as they prepare the fried chicken that is her specialty.
10th Anniversary of Hurricane Mitch
October 29th, 2008 will mark the tenth anniversary of Hurricane Mitch's landfall over Honduras. Known as the deadliest hurricane in over two hundred years, the data describing Mitch are both awesome and terrifying. At the time, Mitch tied as the fourth strongest hurricane on record and it is still the second longest hurricane, with 33 hours at category five status1. However, most of the damage caused by Mitch in Honduras was not due to wind, but water; an incomprehensible 75 inches of rain fell on the republic in a total of four days1. One area recorded 25 inches in a single day. Mitch's total death toll will never be known, but with estimates of between 11,000 and 18,000, the National Climate Data Center called Mitch the deadliest Atlantic hurricane since "The Great Hurricane" of 1780 killed more than 22,000 people1.
Although Hurricane Mitch's path of destruction spanned Central America, parts of Mexico, and even reached as far away as Florida, Honduras was by far the nation most affected by the hurricane. Over three million citizens (51% of the total population) became homeless through the complete obliteration of 25 villages1 and 30,000 homes, and the damage to an additional 50,000 homes. A total of $3.8 billion in damages to property, communications and transportation infrastructure included the destruction of 92 bridges3, damage to 70% of roads2 , ruin of 90% of banana crops2 and 70% of total crops3. The reigning president, Carlos Flores, stated that Hurricane Mitch would set the country's development back 50 years, and other sources estimated it would take the country 15-20 years to recover.
International aid in the form of food, medicine, rescue personnel, and construction materials flooded into the country immediately after the hurricane passed and crisis-level damage control began. However, the rise in poverty as a result of Mitch would prove to be a much longer-term and more complex setback. In response to this problem, Tony Stone, Stanford-graduate aerospace engineer and native of La Ceiba, returned to his childhood home and established Fundación Adelante in 1999. Adelante's success has been extraordinary. From September 2000 to December 2007, Adelante has disbursed over 42,000 loans to 11,665 clients totaling over 1.6 million dollars. Although, a number of microfinance institutions were already working in Honduras at the time of Mitch, Adelante unique mission to work with the poorest of the poor has helped to improve the standard of living of 44,600 of the least fortunate Hondurans5.
A comparison of several vital statistics indicates that, in some aspects, Honduras has shown marked growth since 1998, and in others it is still lagging behind. Some signs of development during the past decade include reductions in birth rate, population growth, and infant mortality; and increases in life expectancy and literacy across all age categories and both genders6. Furthermore, the percent of the population living on less than $1 a day has decreased by a dramatic 32%7, and unemployment/underemployment has decreased slightly. In contrast, the country's transportation infrastructure has yet to recover - the country still has 13.2% fewer highways than it did before Hurricane Mitch and 9% fewer airports6. Clearly, the overall trend is in the right direction, although there is much work yet to be done.
La Ceiba Rotarians Receive Governor
Article from Diario El Tiempo - Saturday, September 27 th , 2008
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| Jose de la Rosa Muñoz, president of the La Ceiba Rotary Club, hands over to Rene Licona, director of the Adelante Foundation, a check valued at $175,100. |
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| Rene Licona, director of the Adelante Foundation, with Manfredo Reyes, Sophia Anderson, and Mike Wiesner, all members of said Foundation. They posed for Diario El Tiempo during the act of handing over a check in dollars that the Rotary members from Whatcom County North, Washington, gave through the Rotary Club of La Ceiba. |
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The director of the Adelante Foundation, Mr. Licona, hands over to Tim Carpenter, of the visiting club from Washington, a plaque of recognition. |
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Patty Rosenthal de Canales, Rey Canales, the Rotary president Jose de la Rosa Muñoz, pose with the governor Rodolfo Bianchi and his wife Florence Cerezo de Bianchi. |
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The Rotarian governor from district 4250, Rodolfo Bianchi, made his annual visit to this city's club with the purpose of exchanging ideas and supervising the projects the club is currently carrying out. The distinguished visitor was accompanied by his wife, Florence Cerezo de Bianchi, and his assistant in Honduras, Rey Canales and his wife Patricia Rosenthal de Canales; the group was received by the local president, Jose de la Rosa Muñoz. The extensive program included a work session, in which Bianchi urged his fellow club members to increase group membership in order to create new service projects in benefit of the community. He also insisted they persevere with the vaccination against polio, water purification, nutrition, and literacy campaigns.
During the reception the La Ceiba Rotarians handed over a check valued at $175,100 to the Adelante Foundation. The Whatcom County North Rotary Club, from Washington, donated this money through a commission that was present in this city, and included Rotary members James Bodeen, Dick Donahue, Tim Carpenter, and Mike Hammes. The Adelante Foundation is an institution that supports women with small businesses that help to sustain the economy of their respective homes.
Photograph of the Month
Clients shouting slogan in Irias Navas assembly.
Adelante Foundation joins Facebook
We have joined Facebook (http://www.facebook.com) and would like it if you would join too. Facebook is a social utility that connects people with friends and others who work, study, and live around them, and helps to encourage solidarity among those who would like to help different organizations at the grassroots level. Help us to spread the word about our efforts to end poverty in Honduras through micro-finance by joining us today with our Facebook Cause (http://apps.facebook.com/causes/59913) and Facebook Group (http://vupload.facebook.com/group.php?gid=26542997926).
Adelante Foundation joins Ammado
We are also proud to announce that we have joined Ammado.com (http://www.ammado.com/Nonprofit/adelante-foundation), a global online community that connects nonprofits and socially engaged individuals dedicated to positive change on both the global and local levels. You can become a member of Ammado.com (http://www.ammado.com) today and help us spread the word about our efforts to end poverty in Honduras through micro-finance.
GoodSearch.com and Goodshop.com
We are excited because starting June 24, 2008, the Adelante Foundation is now on Goodsearch.com and GoodShop.com ! With more than 62,000 non-profits and schools participating, GoodSearch has become a popular and unique way to help raise money for important causes. All you have to do to participate is visit GoodSearch.com or GoodShop.com and under "Who do you GoodSearch for?" search for the "Adelante Foundation." It is free for you and helps us to raise the money we need to continue providing micro-loans to women in Honduras. >Visit GoodSearch.
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1Source: National Climatic Data Center, "Mitch the Deadliest Atlantic Hurricane since 1780," 2004. Total rainfall estimates range from 50-75 inches in areas with the heaviest rainfall. However, since much of the rainfall-measuring equipment was destroyed in the storm, the true amount will never be known.
2Source: USAID report, "Effects of Hurricane Mitch, October-November 1998," Nov. 20, 1998.
3Source: United States Geological Survey webpage, "Hurricane Mitch, Central America," last updated February 20, 2007.
4Source: Inter-American Development Bank, "Central America after Hurricane Mitch," 1998.
5Ninety-nine percent of Adelante's clients are women who, during the last decade in Honduras, have had an average of four children each.
6CIA World Factbook, 1998 and 2008 reports, respectively.
7UNICEF State of World's Children, 1998 and 2008 reports, respectively. |
