Honduran medical clinic is served by a Brethren-led workcamp.
By Ralph Miner

The damaged roof of a medical clinic in San Juan Bautista, Honduras, was repaired by a Brethren-led workcamp Jan. 11-21. Bill Hare, a member of Polo (Ill.) Church of the Brethren and the manager of Camp Emmaus, leads a workcamp group to Honduras every year.

This year the group partnered with the Christian Solidarity Program of Honduras (CSP), which selected the medical clinic in San Juan Bautista for project work. The clinic also serves neighboring villages, providing medical care for around 14,000 people. One of the important programs of the clinic provides vaccinations and immunizations for children.

The roof at the clinic was leaking every rainy season, and was beyond patching. The workcamp group removed the old roof and rotten timber, and replaced it with fiberglass roofing.

Joyce Person, pastor of Polo Church of the Brethren, was a co-leader of the workcamp group and provided spiritual leadership. Additional leadership came from Marcia Quick of Dixon, Ill., who was the group nurse.

John Fyfe and Charlie Smith represented Faith United Presbyterian Church in Tinley Park, Ill. After last year's workcamp in Honduras, the congregation decided to partner with Polo Church of the Brethren in sponsoring 10 acres as part of a growing project through the Foods Resource Bank, which allows urban and rural churches to work together in hunger ministry.

Other participants included Denise Check, Lucy Kokal, Buranapong Linwong, Sue McKelvie, Ralph Miner, Richard Person, Ed Olson, Ralph Royer, and Don Snavely.

An exciting development was that two Hondurans from last year's project, which was involved in building a school in a remote coffee-producing village, joined the group for the week, continuing relationships that are so valuable to such mission trips. Besides coordinating the Honduran workcampers, Linwong is involved in a stove ministry. The traditional Honduran indoor stoves do not have chimneys and burn a lot of wood, which results in deforestation and respiratory health issues. An energy-efficient stove with a chimney uses one third of the wood of a traditional stove, and can be provided for low cost because it can be made out of pottery produced locally.

After Sunday morning worship the workcamp group visited the neighboring village of Los Ranchos. Community leaders were delighted to share the results of a water project that had finally been completed after three years. The project stores 12,000 gallons of water and serves 300 people. A workcamp led by Church of the Brethren member David Radcliff had done the foundation work for the water project.

At the end of the week, school children put on a program of traditional dance for the workcampers, wearing traditional costumes to celebrate the successful completion of the roof.

Hare is already planning on returning next year to Honduras.

--Ralph Miner is a member of Highland Avenue Church of the Brethren in Elgin, Ill.

Source: 3/3/2006 Newsline
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