about honduras
Honduras is the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, second only to Haiti. Extreme poverty affects 47% of the total population and 75% of the rural population. In October and November 1998, Hurricane Mitch devastated this small nation in Central America. Mitch pounded Honduras for 10 days, obliterating about 70% of the agricultural crops and destroying an estimated 70-80% of the country’s infrastructure — electricity, roads, bridges, schools, clean water. Across the country, 33,000 houses were destroyed, an additional 50,000 damaged. Most important, Mitch left some 5,000 people dead and 12,000 injured. The aftermath of something so devastating was quickly seen in many ways — increases in diseases of all kinds — including cholera, typhoid, yellow fever, and malaria, to name only a few. Former Honduran President Carlos Roberto Flores once said that Mitch put his nation back 100 years.
Short-term mission trips provide an opportunity to contribute significantly to many of the needs of the Honduran people. Participants experience an expanded view of the Creator, the great need in the world and the relative unimportance of “things” in their lives. These are trips of “reverse mission” where some of life’s most important lessons are learned from the poorest of the poor.
43,870 sq mi (slightly larger than the state of Tennessee)
Government: Constitutional Democracy
People: 90% Mestizo, 7% Indian
Population: 6,249,598 (growth rate 2.5%; 60% of Hondurans are under age 25; 3.3 million children are under age 15)
Language: Spanish, Creole English and other Indian dialects
Major Industry: Coffee, bananas, beef, sugar cane, tobacco & forestry
Religion: Predominantly Roman Catholic, with other Christian sects
President: Porfirio Lobo Sosa
Capital City: Tegucigalpa – pop: 1.2 million