Here are 10 things we have accomplished in 2022 together with you, our partners, staff and local communities in the Caribbean and Latin America.
In Honduras, working with our partner CEPUDO, you supported scholarships for 15 men and women to become truck drivers, completed 2 greenhouses at the vocational school so students can learn hands-on skills in agriculture, and you continue to support 3 beekeepers and 13 coffee farmers with tools and training.
With the help of Canadian farmers, partners and volunteers, and with your support, we have been providing meals to children and families since 2008. This year, we reached the incredible milestone of 25 million meals! We work with the largest local charities in Haiti, Jamaica, Guyana, and Honduras to feed children.
In July, Canadian volunteers built Valley Christian Ministry Basic School. In August, Bourne Gordon’s Preschool and Kindergarten was our 25th school with Helping Hands Jamaica volunteers! We continue to work with you to provide greater access to a safe and quality education. This year, over 170 infant and primary students spaces were added.
On August 4th, a ceremony was held in San Antonio, Honduras to officially open the Health Clinic! People from nearby communities attended and celebrated this exciting new building, which will now save many families from having to travel hours to seek medical care. The clinic serves approximately 1,000 residents and offers general care and treatments for different illnesses.
200,000 pencils and 46 scholarships to students were provided in time for back-to-school, thank you! The scholarships include school fees, books, and a daily school lunch. Students have had a more meaningful educational experience this year with your support.
Young women in Honduras and Jamaica received over 500 period kits to maintain proper hygiene and keep their bodies healthy. With your support, girls are able to overcome “period poverty”, the inability to afford the necessary products for their monthly menstrual cycle.
The final 15 homes were built in Derac, Haiti, completing the project for a total of 60 homes. Now, a community garden is under construction for families to grow, eat, and sell their own food including okra, eggplant, and fruit trees.
12 families in the village of Baramita, Guyana now own 24 chickens – a source of eggs and poultry meat! Baramita is a remote community where 95% of people live in poverty and the cost of food is extremely high; families often go hungry.
400 students in a remote, Indigenous village in Guyana received backpacks filled with school supplies and a pair of shoes that grow with them!
This year, you stocked hospital and health clinic shelves with medicines and PPE worth over $1.7 million in Jamaica and Honduras, providing more access to healthcare.