Honduras

In Honduras, your generous support is helping churches reach older people and those with disabilities.

Smiling older man with Earth graphic and red flowers by a brick wall.

A stamp style graphic with the copy 'Honduras' and 'World of Difference'

Welcome

Honduras is one of Latin America's most precarious and least developed nations, facing many challenges. Widespread corruption wastes essential resources, while inequality leaves many families trapped in poverty. The country is held back by extremely high rates of violence, driven by street gangs and organised crime, forcing many to live in fear. Honduras’ vulnerability to frequent natural disasters – including hurricanes, storms, and flooding – repeatedly devastates infrastructure and agriculture, leaving many families facing hunger.

Even in the face of these challenges, your faithful regular giving is making a World of Difference for families in Honduras, training and resourcing pastors and whole churches to reach out with practical support to their communities.

Watch this short welcome video from Santiago Benitez, a Transforming Communities Facilitator in Honduras.

Here’s how your donations are supporting families

Slide 1 of 3 You're responding to poverty through local partners and churches

Your support helps families by providing resources and training to create resilient, self-sufficient communities and equips local churches to address injustice, poverty and environmental issues.
Slide 2 of 3 You're equipping churches to respond to disasters and emergencies

Your gifts are supporting churches to respond to disasters, such as the hurricanes that tore through Honduras in November 2020, destroying homes, infrastructure and crops.
Slide 3 of 3 You're protecting children and young people from abuse and violence

Your giving helps churches become safe, supportive spaces for young people – helping to raise awareness about abuse by educating the church, community leaders and parents.

World map illustration in yellow with a blue pin on Central America.

Map of Central America with Honduras highlighted in teal.

Where is Honduras?

Located in Central America, Honduras borders Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua, and has a long Caribbean coastline.

Your impact in Honduras

Slide 1 of 3: 76 church leaders have been trained on the principles and practices of transforming communities

Slide 2 of 3: 138 local churches are partnering with us to develop community projects which will transform their communities

Slide 3 of 3: 2,070 people have been reached through local churches working as centres of transformation in their communities

76 church leaders have been trained on the principles and practices of transforming communities
138 local churches are partnering with us to develop community projects which will transform their communities
2,070 people have been reached through local churches working as centres of transformation in their communities

Suyapa finds hope and healing in Honduras

Your gifts are helping older women struggling without support…

Portrait of a woman sitting in her home with patterned backdrop and a yellow graphic overlay.

Suyapa in her home in Colonia Ayestas, where her local church is bringing hope and practical support.

Suyapa’s life was torn apart when her eldest son was killed, when he was just 22. ‘One day, when he was coming back home, right there down below, he was shot and died,’ she says.

Suyapa lives in Colonia Ayestas, a community on the outskirts of the capital, Tegucigalpa. Honduras is one of the most violent countries in the world, largely due to high rates of gun and gang violence, particularly in cities, where powerful groups engage in drug trafficking, extortion and territorial disputes.

Suyapa’s son didn’t finish his education because he had to work to support her and his younger sister when their father walked out on the family. ‘I had problems with my husband,’ Suyapa says. ‘He found another partner and left me with my son and my daughter. I had another baby, but he died when he was six months old from diarrhoea.’

The sudden, violent death of her son and the loss of her baby badly affected Suyapa. ‘I fell into a depression and was taken to the Mario Mendoza Hospital in Tegucigalpa.’

Now, aged 59, the struggles Suyapa has faced have taken a huge toll on her physical and mental health. She used to earn an income from doing people’s laundry. ‘I'm not working anymore. I don't feel strong enough,’ she explains.

With no social support, women like Suyapa in Honduras would be left to fend for themselves. But your generous gifts are making a huge difference to many women like her, through training and equipping local churches to respond…

A woman walks up a rocky path alongside a brick wall with an umbrella in hand.

A group of older women sitting in chairs at a meeting.

Top: Left: Suyapa outside her home in Colonia Ayestas, on the outskirts of Tegucigalpa. Bottom: Right: Suyapa enjoys the support and fellowship of her church family.

Thanks to training from Tearfund, Suyapa’s local church pastor, Joel, started to provide for the physical as well as the spiritual needs in his community. ‘As a church, we pay special attention to elderly people, who are highly neglected in our country. We draw close to them and create safe spaces where they can have fun, enjoy recreation, talk, speak, be listened to, and receive care.’

The support of her local church has made a significant difference to Suyapa. ‘Since I joined, I have experienced the love of my church,’ she says. ‘They’ve helped me and looked after me.

‘I am in the elderly group and I feel good, because [group leader] Norma is a great sister, a woman of faith, so are all the people in the church. I like to serve. As the word of God says, we must help our neighbours. I am very grateful to God.’

‘I spend my time praying to the Lord, asking God to keep me safe and protect me in this home.’

Close-up of a smiling man and woman standing side-by-side in what looks like a home.

Pastor Joel and Suyapa who is benefiting from the care and support provided by her local church.

The church helps group members like Suyapa with their daily needs, including a food basket and other practical support, as well as fellowship, prayer and worship. The church recently pooled resources to help rebuild Suyapa’s home and aim to start the work soon.

‘I'm doing well now,’ Suyapa says. ‘I spend my time praying to the Lord, asking God to keep me safe and protect me.’

Your faithful, regular gifts are bringing about whole-life transformation, not only for women like Suyapa but also for entire families and communities. Thank you.

Local recipe

Baleadas sencilla

Baleadas are to Honduras what tacos are to Mexico, and are served in communities across the nation. A classic Honduran baleada is a folded flour tortilla filled with mashed refried red kidney beans, sour cream (mantequilla), and crumbled cheese.

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 400g can of red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
¼ tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
1 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp paprika
150ml water
Salt and black pepper to taste
2 large flour tortillas
50g sour cream
75g feta cheese, crumbled

Instructions

Heat olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat, add the onion and cook for about 10 minutes.
Add the crushed garlic, drained beans, cayenne, cumin, paprika, salt, pepper, water and simmer for another 10 minutes, stirring often.
Mash the beans using a potato masher.
Heat each flour tortilla individually in a dry pan over medium heat for one to two minutes on each side.
Transfer a warm tortilla to a plate. Spread a layer of the refried beans over one half.
Add a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkling of crumbled cheese.
Fold the empty half of the tortilla over.

Portrait of a smiling older man with a map overlay, wearing a blue plaid shirt.

Pastor Mario, who created the Hands of Hope project to support people with disabilities.

Reaching out with hands of hope

Mario is the founder and pastor of Living in Love and Faith church in Flor del Campo, on the outskirts of Tegucigalpa, where he has served for 15 years. His ministry is defined by a lifelong commitment to the practical application of the Gospel – supporting people’s physical and emotional needs, as well as providing spiritual support.

Through training and support from Tearfund, he created the Hands of Hope Pastoral Action project, working alongside fifteen other local pastors.

Portrait of a senior woman sitting in a wheelchair indoors, looking at the camera and smiling slightly.

Paula, one of the many people receiving mobility and medical support through the Hands of Hope project.

'Hands of Hope was created to help people with disabilities get around here in Flor del Campo,’ says Pastor Mario. ‘To do this, we obtained wheelchairs, nebulisers [a medical device used by people with respiratory conditions], and portable toilets, crutches and canes to people who need them.

'The project began a year ago, and at least 15 families have benefited from it. Most have been given wheelchairs, while others have received crutches and nebulisers.

'We have received very positive feedback from the community, which encourages us to continue doing what we’re doing. The first person we loaned a wheelchair to is a member of a church that isn't part of our pastoral group, but he told us that's exactly what all churches should be doing. He congratulated us and encouraged us to keep going.

Two women, one in a wheelchair, smile in a home setting with brick and personal items around.

Paula, who is supported by the the Hands of Hope project, pictured with her daughter, Ana Maria.

‘The help of Tearfund has been very significant, it’s very important. Because even though I had already had this vision, we always felt the need for more knowledge.’

Your incredible generosity in prayer and giving is having an amazing impact. Around the world, local communities are being empowered to help families who are struggling, caring for people in greatest need. These examples from Honduras highlight just some of the incredible work being achieved across the many countries you support.

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Welcome

Here’s how your donations are supporting families

Slide 1 of 3 You're responding to poverty through local partners and churches

Slide 2 of 3 You're equipping churches to respond to disasters and emergencies

Slide 3 of 3 You're protecting children and young people from abuse and violence

Where is Honduras?

Your impact in Honduras

Suyapa finds hope and healing in Honduras