Roatan, Honduras
THE HERNANDEZ FAMILY
This is Ana and Carlos Hernández. Carlos is a bricklayer. Currently, he has a temp job making about $18 a day, (when he gets to work). Ana takes care of her two adorable grandchildren Jair and Waldin. She gets paid by her daughter around $25 every month. Ana has 4 children: Karen (Mom of Jair and Waldin); she is 22 years old. Karen works as a salesperson at a souvenir shop and makes around $20 a day. Walter is 18 years old; he's in 10th grade, Arnold is 16 years old; he is in 7th grade and works to pay for his school expenses, (he works as a bricklayer’s helper). Luis is 13 years old; he is in 8th grade. Carlos is the step-father of Ana's children. Ana and Carlos have been living together for more than 5 years. They all work hard to support each other. In spite of the difficulties in their lives, they all have worked very hard to get a piece of land to build a nice and strong house for their family. Ana was only 9 years old when her mom was killed. She was not able to study, and thus can barely read and write. Since then, she has always worked to provide for her brothers and her own family. Let's work together to help this family. Let's plan to build a home for them!
THE MATAMORO FAMILY
Alex and Vilma have been married for almost 7 years. They have two lovely children named Osiel and Emily. Osiel is 5 years old and Emily is 3. Vilma used to take care of her nieces and nephews, but the money she earned was not enough to help Alex and her family. Currently Vilma works at a supermarket in the cleaning area. She makes around $350 a month. Alex works in the same supermarket as a security guard. Alex is a hardworking husband and a very responsible dad. Life has not been easy for Alex and Vilma. They have been saving little by little to buy a piece of land. Their desire and biggest dream is to one day build a home for their children. Are you the one that will help them by making their dream come true?
THE CASTRO FAMILY
Miguel and Delsy have been married for almost 8 years. They have a gorgeous daughter named Amely, who is almost 3. Miguel is a firefighter and earns about $350 each month. Besides being a firefighter, he also works as a volunteer to train other firefighters. Miguel has always worked since he was a little boy. His parents had a little shoe making business. He used to help his parents to make and to sell the shoes. Miguel’s dad passed away a while ago, and his mom Maria lives with him now, she is 68 years old. He has been a very responsible son, dad and husband. Unfortunately, Delsy was not able to grow up with her parents. Her dad abandoned her and her three brothers when she was only 9 years old. Since then, Delsy has had to work. Delsy grew up selling food out in the streets and studying at the same time. She was able to study all the way to high school. Currently she is unemployed and stays at home to take care of her little girl. Let’s make Miguel, Delsy, Amely and Maria's (Miguel's mother) dream come true. Let’s build a beautiful and safe home for them.
THE PACHECO FAMILY
Karen is a single mom. She has three beautiful sweet boys: Alrick, Sonny and Andrew. Karen's biggest dream is to give her boys a better life than the one she had. Karen was able to finish her studies all the way to highschool. Unfortunately, she has not been able to find a decent and permanent job. Currently, Karen works at a souvenir shop as a salesperson. Her pay depends on two things: A cruise ship must be in port and how much she gets to sell during any given day. Karen’s ex-husband does not help her economically to support her children. She has been a dad and a mom to her three boys. Karen has been able to get a piece of land to build her children a nice and comfortable home. Let’s be part of Karen's dream! Let's give her and her boys a hand by providing a home for this family.
THE CARBAJAL FAMILY
Elba (age 40) grew up with both of her parents. However, when she turned 11 years old, she moved to live with her aunt. Her parents were so poor that they could not feed her and support her with her studies. Today she works sweeping the streets. She earns about $350 monthly. Mario (age 46) also grew up with both of his parents. He had to work as a child as well. Currently, Mario is working as a security guard; his monthly salary is about $300. Elba and Mario have been living together for 10 years. Elba already had two children (Blanca and Erlin) when he met Mario. Blanca is 23 years old. Erlin is 20 years old. He works as a construction helper. He doesn’t have a permanent salary, because he doesn’t have a permanent job. Ashley is 10 years old, she is in 4th grade. Marvin is 7 years old, he is in 1st grade. Franklin is 4 years old. Elba Sarai is 3 years old. Isamar is 10 months old.
THE MECILLAS FAMILY
Day by day Jessica and her husband work as hard as they can to give their daughters a better life. They have been living on Roatan for about 7 years. Jessica works at her home making piñatas to help with the expenses of the house and their daughters education. Her husband works as a mechanic earning a percentage of the income from the cars he gets to fix during the month. He works 7 days a week and does not like taking a day off. He says that the more he gets to work, the more money he gets to earn to feed his family. There are two beautiful daughters in this family. Naydili 10 years old and Neiri Giselle 4 years old. Building a home for the Mencillas family will absolutely be huge blessing for their life.
THE BAUTISTA FAMILY
Bertilda is 40 years old. She has three children named: Jonathan, Noé and Javier. Jonathan is the oldest, he is 19 years old and is in 12th grade. Jonathan studies and works to pay for his own study expenses. He works at a restaurant in the storage area. Noe is 17 years old and in 10th grade. Noe studies and works to pay for his studies as well. Javier is 5 years old. Bertilda’s husband passed away 6 years ago. Sadly, he was an alcoholic and was killed by somebody else. Bertilda has always worked, even when she was married. Currently she rents a little place and sells food and sodas for living. Bertilda is such a hardworking woman and a very responsible mother. Bertilda’s mom, Gilma also lives with them. Together they have been saving money little by little to buy a piece of land. Their biggest dream and desire is to build a safe, strong and comfortable place to live in. Let’s make the Bautista family dream come true.
THE LOPEZ FAMILY
Angel, 34 and Gregoria, 38, have been married for 13 years. They have been living in the island for almost 8 years. They have two lovely children; Angel Junior, 13, is in 7th grade and Angelica, 11, is in the 6th grade. Angel and Gregoria work as hard as they can to provide for their family. Angel works at a lumberyard loading trucks. He grew up with both of his parents. However, they couldn’t afford to send Angel to school. Angel’s parents had a farm. They grew corn, beans, banana, etc. Unfortunately, the money they got from selling their crops was not enough to give Angel an education. Angel left his home at the age of 13 years old. He moved to Roatán to look for a job to support his parents and sibblings. Angel was able to finish 6th grade a few years ago. Gregoria also grew up with both of her parents. She did have the opportunity to get her dregree in sewing. She worked for three years at a clothing manufacturing business before moving to Roatán to look for a better life and to support her parents. Currently, Gregoria has a little convinience store. She sells products such as: chips, sodas, water, candies, etc. Together they have dreamed of giving their children a more stable life than the one they both had as children. Let’s bless this family and build a home for them.
THE ENAMORADO FAMILY
Mirna is 42 years old and has 6 children. She sells fruits and vegetables in front of her house. Mirna’s 2 middle children ive with her, but the 2 youngest live with their grandparents in the mainland, because the house where they are currently living is too small. Licci is 24 years old and works as bus driver. Her salary depends on comission and tips from tourists. She has two cute children named Genesis, (10 yrs) and Angelo, (1 yr). Licci has a relationship with Jeffrey who helps Mirna sell fruits and vegetables as well. Keyla is 22 years old and has one more year of high school to finish. She stopped studying because she coulnd’t afford it. She helps her mom to sell fruits and vegetables. She has two beautiful children named Natalia, (4 yrs) and Marvin, (2 yrs). She has a relationship with Carlos who also helps Mirna to sell fruits and vegetables. Mirna has a relationship with Entimo and they have been living together for 7 years. Entimo is 47 years old and helps in the family’s small business. The Enamorado family needs a nice, strong and comfortable home. Will you be the one to help?
THE AGUILAR MONTOYA FAMILY
Arturo and Alma have been living together for more than 7 years. Arturo works as a truck driver in a lumberyard. Alma works in a hotel in the laundry area. Alma has five children. Gina is 22 years old, she is in her 1st year of college and she also works at a bank to pay for her studies. Henry is 17 years old and is in 10th grade. Carmen, is 16 years old and is in 11th grade. Alma has been helping out her niece Esther and her nephew Elder for the last 5 years. Esther, studies and works in a super market and Elder works at a purified water company. Elder is married to Kelin. Together they have a child named Elder Jr. who is 8 years old. Kelin and Elder Jr. currently live in the main land. Elder decided to move to Roatán to earn more money to support his family. Even though Arturo is not Alma’s children father, he has raised him as his own children. Daily they all work very hard to support each other. Let’s give a hand to the Aguilar Montoya family. The Aguilar Montoya family needs our help with a home.
THE STANLEY FAMILY
Byrt is 31 years old. He was born in Roatán. Byrt’s dad passed away when he was only 9 years old. He studied only up to 8th grade and stopped studying because he couldn’t afford it. So, he started working to support his mom and his other two sibblings. He met Lesly 10 years ago. Byrt has been not only a hardworking son, but also a very responsible dad and husband. Byrt works at the municipality in the water department. He earns around $400 monlthy. Lesly was born on mainland. Lesly’s dad abandoned her and her 3 sibblings when she was very little. Her mom couldn’t support her 4 children so Lesly decided to marry in order to help her in some way. Sadly, Lesly’s first husband abandoned her when she was just a few months pregnant. She decided to move to Roatán to look for a better life for her and her baby. Lesly met Byrt when her 1st baby was 1 year old. Together, they have been working as hard as they can to support their family. They have three lovely children named: Anderson, (11) Rosy, (8) and Justin, (5).
THE RODRÍGUEZ FAMILY
Denia has been living in Roatán for more than 8 years. She and her husband moved to Roatán looking for better opportunities for their family. However their marriage did not work out and they separated a couple years ago. Denia studied until the 6th grade and then began working. She always worked for other people either selling clothes or working in a convinience store. She has two beautiful young boys, Ever and Byron. Ever is 12 years old; he is in 7th grade. Byron is 9 years old; he is in 5th grade. Currently, Denia rents a house to live in and also to run her own small convenience store. Unfortunately, it’s still not enough to build a strong and comfortable home for her and her children. Denia’s biggest dream and desire is to have her own house, so she no longer has to pay for rent, but rather save that money to give her children a better education, so they can have better opportunities in their lives.
The wild cane school
The Wild Cane Community is located on the north side of the island of Roatan, in between the towns of Coxen Hole and Sandy Bay. This small bilingual community was home to much of the islands wild sugar cane, thus the areas name. Currently there is a small kinder and preschool here that hosts a large number of students. However, there is no government sponsored elementary school, which means families here must transport their children to nearby towns for their education. This is a costly endeavor and many students simply leave school as their families cannot afford to send them. Sheila Henry, (pictured on front cover, far right) does not believe this is right and has dedicated her life to seeing that these children received a quality education. For years she has operated a small, one room schoolhouse in the community. Today that house is home to a classroom which provides an education for more than 90 students each and every day. Shiela believes she can do more. Click here to download the Wild Cane School Proposal
The Lawarence Family
Cheslee Emerson Aquirre Lawarence (30) is married to Isela, (21). They have a beautiful daughter named Glenda, (3). Cheslee and Isela have been living together for 4 years. Cheslee moved to the island with his mom and his sibblings when he was very little. Cheslee’s mom passed away a few years ago. His dad abandoned them when they were very young. Cheslee works in the municipality in the department of boat cleaning. He makes around $300 monthly. His brother moved to the States to look for better opportunities to support his family. Cheslee takes care of his brother’s son, Orestes Lawarence. Orestes is 13 years old and in the 7th grade. Isela does not work outside the home and takes care of her daughter Glenda. Their biggest desire and dream is to own a strong and comfortable home for their sweet family.
