Boston to Honduras

La Ceiba, Honduras.

Let’s start with Honduras. It’s located pretty much in the center of Central America (Guatemala and El Salvador to the west, Nicaragua to the southeast). It’s roughly the size of Tennessee and has a population of around 7,500,000.

For about three centuries Honduras was part of Spain’s kingdom in the New World. Turns out it wasn’t so new after all. The Mayans and later the Lencas (along with several other groups) had been in the area for quite some time. Because of Spanish conquest, 90% of Hondurans are now Mestizo — a mixture of European and Amerindian descent.

Worker in Tegucigalpa, the capital city. http://www.daylife.com/photo/0bbQfQYbe26EL

Honduras relies heavily on exports like coffee and bananas to the US for its economy, and it has a poverty rate of 50% and an unemployment rate of 28%. The nation is nominally Roman Catholic because of its history with Spain, but in practice there are tremendous physical AND spiritual needs — in other words, need for the Gospel. Youths head 10% of Honduran households, and there are an estimated 180,000 orphans. Of the estimated 20,000 street children in the nation, only half have even temporary shelter.

Now on to La Ceiba. It’s a port city on the Caribbean coast (the Eco-Tourism and Entertainment Capital of Honduras), and it’s the third-largest city in the nation at about 170,000. It has a reputation as a party city; the famous carnaval in May more than doubles the population with tourists. On a daily level, the city is largely a center for pineapple exports through a branch of the Dole fruit company. Its tourism doesn’t make it any great exception to the national rule; there is incredible disparity between wealthy tourists and the poor struggling to survive.

http://lagringasblogicito.blogspot.com/