HONDURAS UPDATE

December

2015

Can Anything Good Come Out Of Danli ???

At this time of year we reflect on what has to be
the strangest story ever told. Over 2000 years ago, a
baby born of a virgin, in a stable, turned the entire
world upside down before his 33rd birthday. Without a
doubt, Jesus of Nazareth is the most influential person
in history. And yet many said of him, Can anything
good come out of Nazareth?
What you will read below is written by a 12-year
old girl that attends one of our centers. Her difficult
beginnings remind me of Jesus. I nicknamed her
Franci, only later realizing the coincidence of the name
choice. From the time I was Francis age, Francie
Nolan was one of my favorite literary characters from A
Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Just like Francie Nolan, our
Franci is self-motivated and sees education as crucial to
overcoming poverty and the horrors experienced in the
rough neighborhood she calls home.
I asked Franci to write about her life and bring it to
me when she could. The next day the ever-industrious
child appeared with her assignment in hand. Maybe she
will also be a writer Here is a snippet of her life:
I grew up in a box under a fruit stand, where my
mother worked. We couldnt afford milk so I lived on a
warm drink made of corn. Only Jesus knows what I
have suffered. Thanks to God, I started working at the
fruit stand when I was six years old and I will keep on
working as I want to go to school. Because of the love
and support you all have given me, I want to be a
doctor, or a teacher, and help other children, just like
you helped me.
Francis box is as humble a start as the Christ
Childs, except that she had no father at all. Many
would ask of her, or any one of the urchins that fill the
streets where we work, Can anything good come out
of Danli? We certainly think so. We cannot wait to see
what God has in store for Franci and so many like her.

I have been burdened for the working children of

Honduras from the day I arrived in 1998. While
children in the rural areas are poor, poverty seems even
harsher in the urban areas. It is rare to see youngsters in
the villages work for a living. But in the cities, often the
little children have no option but to peddle something.
When Jose and I first came to Linaca, we had to
ride the Chicken Bus to Danli. Several times a week we
braved asphyxiation on the brain-rattling journey to
check email, call home, and buy groceries. Arriving
mid-afternoon after working all morning, we often
stopped at Pollolandia, a.k.a. Chickenland, for lunch.
One day a young boy of about 8 was sitting in the
back of Chickenland as we entered. I recognized him
immediately. He unofficially worked at the grocery
store, competing with all the other street kids, to help
customers schlep their bags.
After ordering lunch, I asked the cashier if she
knew the little boy. She told me that he often came in to
rest for awhile during the heat of the day. When asking
if he ever bought food, she replied, Not once.
So I ordered
him a chicken
dinner and a
coke.
The
cashier
moved the
little guy next
to us and set
the meal
down in front
of him. His
eyes widened
in disbelief.
He sat there for a brief moment, and then devoured the

World Resources Group 509 Flamingo Drive West Palm Beach, FL 33401
Nelle Pettit Smith Phone: 561-758-2198 Email: npsmith@bellsouth.net

entire plate of food in less than three minutes. We were

worried that he might eat the bones...
After finishing, we enquired if he liked his lunch.
Shyly looking up at us with those big, brown, puppy
dog eyes, he nodded his head yes. When was the last
time you ate chicken? I asked him.
He gave me a look like I had three heads and said,
Today was the first time I ever tasted it. Imagine how
often that hungry child sat in the restaurant, smelling
the food, and watching others eat? It broke my heart.
Talking to him further, we learned he was
essentially a street child, and not in school. He quietly
informed us that he would like to enroll, but he could
not afford it. Or maybe the fact was, whoever was in
charge of him, simply didnt care. After that day, I
nicknamed him Chicken Boy. But we never saw him
again at the grocery store. I often wondered, and
worried, about what happened to him.
A year and a
half later, we were
visiting a friend in
Danli who had
started a school and
lunch program for
street children. Lo
and behold, there
was Chicken Boy! I
was overjoyed to
see him thriving in
that environment.
All of this happened
10 years ago.
Back then,
while burdened for the street children of Danli, we
lived and worked in Linaca. On top of that, we had no
resources human or funding to take on kids like
Chicken Boy. With the birth of our Open Sky Center,
we now have an answer to help kids like Chicken Boy
and Franci. It is a model that will serve us well, for
little cost, anywhere we go.
In March of 2014 Chelsey, pictured right with
Franci, joined us as a mentee/intern/daughter. Shortly
after she became a partner in the work. By 2015
Chelsey took Ivis under her wing, and together they
started the Girls House. Last summer they began the
Open Sky Center. Because of the mentoring Ivis had
received, within weeks she was running Open Sky
alone. Now Ivis has children of her own, in Franci and
five other young people that she mentors.

Most of the youth that we reach need extensive healing,

teaching, and mentoring. But with each new generation
the process
somehow goes
much faster. At
the tender age of
26, Chelsey has
grandchildren
in this work.
And, Jose and I
have great
grandchildren!
We start
January 2016
with 4 girls
living full-time
with Chelsey and
Ivis, working in different centers. Our goal is to enroll
all of them in University on the weekends.
We were able to raise $8500 from our challenge to
start a Hydroponics project for our young graduates.
We have so many exciting things planned for next year
that we cant wait to get going.
Starting work with the marginalized children of
Danli is a long-awaited answer to a prayer, teaching me
to never give up. Indeed, the fields are white to harvest!
We pray for all the laborers and funds we can get,
knowing if we dont train these kids, the gangs or Isis
will. As the young heroine Malala Yousafzai says,
With guns you can kill terrorists. With education you
can kill terrorism.
We are so
thankful to our
long-time, and to
our new, partners
for dreaming and
praying and
believing with us all
of these years. The
many talented
friends, who have
worked tirelessly
behind the scenes,
greatly humble us.
For Jose,
Chelsey, and all of
the team, I wish
each a Merry
Christmas and a Happy New Year!

World Resources Group 509 Flamingo Drive West Palm Beach, FL 33401
Nelle Pettit Smith Phone: 561-758-2198 Email: npsmith@bellsouth.net