Love is Boss – Honduras Notes to Living Table and New Branches

From Rabbi Amy Ariel

Living Table UCC,

Miguel and I thank you for hosting a fundraiser for Love is Boss, and for welcoming me to share a few words. I am glad we got to meet or see one another again, and I also enjoyed getting to know some of your New Branches partners from Spirit of St. Stephen’s and Lake Nokomis Lutheran. Miguel received the funds Monday morning and those dollars, now lempiras, are already helping people.

B’vracha,
With Blessing,
Rabbi Amy Ariel

From Dr. Miguel Dulik

I would like to put things in perspective, what your contribution means down here.

$5.00 gets 11-year-old Toñito a snack and a drink for lunch and to school every day in Las Vegas, where he is in 7th grade, the only child from his town of Nueva Palmira in the “colegio” (high school). He gets a ride from his cousin who needs gas for his motorcycle. Toñito’s backpack weighs about 20 pounds and in this heat he would collapse if he had to walk the four-mile round trip to school!

$10 gets groceries for a little family of three for about four days: Orlin, who at age 24 had a stroke during the height of the COVID pandemic, recovering very well but still with a limp, caring for his wife Sara and little kids Angie and Gael.

Victor and Sindi, who named their little boy Maicol after me, and daughter Sheyla; Elí, who survived at least three brushes with death as a child, likes to help his mom and dad, and any number of others who just have no other recourse.

$20 can pay for some emergency health care, like a broken bone (Antonio), or a cut from a machete that slipped in your hand (Marcos), or an accident, very common with motorcycles (Jairo) – at least the initial treatment.

$50 can help a young mother as she prepares for her baby, with vitamins, check-ups, even ultrasounds. Right now, we are waiting on Sandra and Ameya, both due in July.

$100 can help with repairs for a mototaxi, which get beaten to pieces on the dirt roads around here (Chemo drives the mototaxi for his work). And there are longer, farther needs, such as when someone is going to a medical appointment in Tegucigalpa, the capital city (Juan Carlos).

And don’t forget birthdays! Necho is ready for his cake and special dinner in just a few days for his 11th birthday. It’s usually an expense of about $30 or $40 for the whole family to enjoy!

Thank you to everyone who joined the raffle or made any other donations! You certainly made all of us WINNERS here in Honduras!
Miguel

Thanks again!

To learn more about them, including years of updates and stories as well as current news, please visit their longstanding GoFundMe page. Make a small donation yourself so that you’ll receive their emails directly and hear their stories when they share them. To donate or learn more, please go through their GoFundMe. Every penny goes to the community in Honduras by the next day, to be spent in the local economy in ways such as those noted here.