Hats Off To Honduras;
Wellesley Hills Church Delivers Hats and Hope to Honduras Villages
 What do you get when you bring together seven 'seasoned' women, a 5,000 foot mountain, and 250 t-shirts and baseball caps? You get to see an underprivileged and formerly self-destructive woman become a self-sufficient, responsible, and hopeful mother and business person.
Seven women, including Acting Associate Minister The Rev Eileen J. Morris of Wellesley Hills Congregational Church UCC, recently traveled to Honduras with Honduras Hope, a non-profit organization run by Rev. Bill Briggs and his wife. The organization is dedicated to supporting the economically and politically marginalized poor rural communities of Honduras.
Although one should never ask a lady her age, these women ranged from 52 to 73 years. But that didn’t stop them from making the long trip, painting the walls of a boarding house for children going to school, or riding horseback up a 5,000 foot mountain to deliver over 400 pounds of supplies.
"These women wanted to step out of their comfort zones," said Morris. "They went to listen and learn and have a better understanding of how life is like in a place very different from Wellesley Hills. And then take that experience back to the congregation to help make them part of the journey -- to share their deeper understanding of spirituality and the problems of the developing world." Before the trek, the women raised over $3,500 for the trip -- not for travel costs as each person paid her own way -- but for donations to the Honduras community. Then in an effort to involve the congregation in a more meaningful way, they collected new or gently used hats and t-shirts to be donated to the non-profit organization.
The monetary donations were used strictly for missions, to buy supplies for people in need. With just a fraction of that money, the women were able to supply the cash to have chicken coops built for a new chicken farm and outfit an entire kindergarten class with furniture, classroom supplies and toys – "from jump ropes to jacks," said Morris.
Most items were purchased in the Honduras community in order to keep the money in the local economy.
"San Jose is a mountain community of squatters -- people without formal title to their land," explained Morris. "An elementary school was built there, but there was no kindergarten class, and no money to establish one." Add one other obstacle: San Jose sits at the edge of a cloud forest and is accessible only by foot and horseback. The women worked with Honduras Hope to arrange to have furniture built by the local technical school and then delivered by the locals. But five of the women endured a 5-hour horseback trip up the mountain (plus 2-1/2 hours down) to deliver needed supplies and classroom materials to the San Jose people.
"During one of our visits with Bill Briggs, we were introduced to a woman named Francis," explained Morris. Honduras Hope often gives money to start local micro-businesses, and Francis had turned to Briggs for help with her dream of starting a clothing business. Francis told the women her story: Years before, she had been part of a gang, was tattooed in gang marks, got involved with drugs, alcohol and prostitution, and was ousted and shunned by the community. Then as a result of the gang activity, she was shot in the hip and now walked with a limp. When she originally asked Briggs for aid, he said he would only help her if she 'cleaned up her act.' Briggs believes that community development is both an inward and an outward journey. Inwardly the spirit must change to the belief that "I am Somebody"; as outwardly the belief becomes "together it is possible."
According to the Honduras Hope website, Briggs believes this change is visible in the smiles, growing confidence and positive attitude blossoming in villagers, farmers and young people.
Francis explained that she was in the process of 'cleaning up her act' -- in the past two years she had quit the gang, had her tattoo removed and had become a responsible mother to her child. All she needed now was $200 to buy a bale of used clothing (enough to fill the back of a pickup truck) to sell in the village so she could become self-sufficient.
"We offered the woman an opportunity," said Morris. "We would give her all the t-shirts and hats we brought with us and if she could prove she could sell them, we would give her more money to seed the business."
"We stopped by her house the next day and there milling all around were the Honduras people wearing Wellesley Swim Team shirts and Babson College caps. It was an astounding sight," said Morris. Francis had hammered nails on the front wall of her house and hung the hats on them. Then she put out a card table and had the t-shirts neatly folded on it. Although this is the typical way merchandise is sold in the village, Francis had done her homework – beating the competition's prices and moving the merchandise. Everything was sold in two days. She then told the women that because of the profit she made, she only needed $100 to continue the business.
"We gave her the money," said Morris. "Her response was 'You will be proud of me.'
"We have real hope for Francis."
Share Your Still Speaking Story
 Tell us how God is speaking in and through your church. Have you reached out to the community in unique ways? Initiated a new mission project? Found a new way to minister to those within the congregation? Share your story and help us to spread the good news! Contact Marlene Gasdia-Cochrane, Editor, at cochranem@macucc.org.
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