New year, New growth and New HOPE

Laundry day

I wish I could adequately share how hard life is for women in Honduras.  It is the very thing that ignited the passion that has fueled my work in this place. As a matter of fact, I quickly learned that as women live in poverty, every part of life is a challenge and obstacle to overcome to change their current circumstances.  So, while working to improve the life of women in Honduras, it is about knowing and systematically removing these obstacles that are in the way of real change.  

The Mi Esperanza training school is a free program, however, bus fare and childcare are expenses often beyond the capability of the women to pay.  Lack of child care is the most cited reason for missing class or eventually dropping out all together.  

When entire families are working or looking for work from day to day, just to survive, there are often no consistent and reliable caregivers for children.  Women become locked into poverty with no way out.  

As we have developed and grown Mi Esperanza the very obvious next step to our program has been an on-site daycare center.  A space to provide a safe and instructional environment for young children of students and employees.  Until now we had not had the space to move forward with our vision for expansion.  We remained confident God would provide what we needed at the right time.  

In January, some more space officially became ours!  It may not look like much, but we have big plans!  We are beyond excited to move forward with our planning and development. We know there is a lot to do, but we cannot wait until our doors are open to our artisan’s, employee’s and students' children. We are grateful and overjoyed by God’s faithfulness to us.

Sometimes prayers take a while to be answered and God teaches patience in the process. Over the years I have learned to rest in God’s timing, because he has never failed me.  Waiting feels painful and is more frustrating than I care to admit, but I need it…… we all need it.  Waiting challenges us to look beyond and bigger than ourselves. Waiting is not an easy thing, but dreaming and building hope while waiting continues to be a beautiful thing. 

Keep both eyes open for our day-care center building campaign “RAISING HOPE” and how you can be a part of this exciting new chapter in Mi Esperanza’s story. 

Peace, Lori