Through our contacts in NPH International, we heard the grim news coming out of Honduras after two category 4 hurricanes made landfall just weeks apart. Widespread homelessness, collapsed infrastructure, a devastated agricultural system – at Project ESPWA we just knew we had to get involved. To date we’ve shipped two containers of Irish aid to the people of Honduras – everything from hospital beds to wheelchairs, construction supplies to first aid. The following is a report from our friends in NPH Honduras as they continue their relief efforts on the ground:
‘April 23, 2021, NPH Honduras conducted their second medical brigade to benefit Honduran families affected by Hurricanes Eta and Iota in November 2020. This time, NPH Honduras formed a team of 35 collaborators, among them five family medicine physicians, one ophthalmologist, nine nurses, one physical therapist, and other general collaborators to support with the operation of the brigade.
The team travelled to the community of La Reina, in the department of Santa Barbara on the northwest side of the country. This community disappeared after a landslide caused by the two November hurricanes. The community was located in the mountains above the municipality of Protección, but due to the extreme amounts of rainfall received during the hurricanes, the mountain collapsed and buried the entire community underneath mud and rubble. 300 families lost their homes and all of their belongings in the landslide.
These families were displaced and continue to live in temporary shelters set up by the government, or with family and friends as they await a more permanent housing solution. What is clear is that returning to their community will not be possible. Consequently, these families have great need for medical attention and basic supplies. NPH Honduras coordinated the brigade with a local parish that provided logistical support, as well as served as the contact point with the community members.
Over the course of one weekend, NPH Honduras provided emergency humanitarian relief to more than 200 families.
· 241 families from La Reina received medical attention and emergency humanitarian aid.
· 35 NPH collaborators provided care to families in need.
· 200 adults took rapid COVID-19 tests to detect for infection.
· 267 people received general medical consultations.
· 267 people (adults and children) received essential medicine to treat and prevent illness.
· 56 people received specialized ophthalmological care and treatment.
· 241 families received donations of shoes, clothes, diapers, beds, and bedsheets.
The work that NPH Honduras are doing is amazing. With limited resources and in difficult conditions they continue to get aid to those who need it most. May we take this opportunity to thank our Irish donors whose ongoing generosity is helping people rebuild their lives across Honduras.
