NATIONAL NEWS

Nationals preparing prudent opposition

Anette Emanuelsson
Honduras This Week

Here at the blue and white headquarters, the National Party recently held a convention that drew up the guidelines for its coming four years of opposition.

Two months after the Liberal Party took over the Honduran government, the Nationals are beginning to reconstruct. Their recent party convention decided that in order for the party to stay in power for more then one mandate period at a time it has to open up and listen to what civil society has to say.

According to the Secretary of the National Party, Juan Orlando Hernandez, the loss was a result of a failure to attract the indecisive vote without any party affiliation, normally around 30 percent of Honduran voters.

"The independent voters wanted to see new faces, they were tired of the traditional politicians," said Hernandez.

Therefore, the new National catchword is apertura, as in opening up for new influences. "We will approach civil society organizations, listen to what they have to say about the government and give them a chance to gain a hearing for their petitions in Congress, in the local governments and in a future government."

According to Hernandez, contact with civil society was one of the weaker sides of the outgoing Ricardo Maduro government, who he says was unable to communicate the long-term benefits of his tough economic policies. However, he believes the perception of the former government will improve with time when "the positive results of the economic measures are felt."

Still, Hernandez agrees that the popular discontent with Maduro was not only due to communication failures.

"It was a reformist government that had success on a macroeconomic level but it could have been gentler with the Honduran people in its economic measures. Although the free market has to be respected the government should intervene to make sure it doesn't beat up the poorer segments of society."

As an opposition party, the current motto is prudence. For the first 100 days of the government of Liberal President Mel Zelaya, the Nationals have promised to give him the benefit of the doubt, and maybe even for as long as two years according to Hernandez.

"We don't want an early confrontation because the situation of the country is very delicate," said Hernandez, citing the violence afflicting Honduras as a reason for caution. "If we go to the media and accuse the government for not doing its job and not having a plan for counteracting crime we would contribute to an instable social climate," said Hernandez, suggesting that it is better to discuss these issues in private with the Minister of Security.

He also mentions the hopes raised by Zelaya's campaign promises, such as removing taxes on fuel. Hernandez believes most promises will be difficult to fulfill because of the restraints in public spending demanded by the International Monetary Fund. "If the opposition parties don't act with caution, this environment could be explosive, although that doesn't mean that we won't say what we have to say."
Because with the freedom that comes with being in opposition, the National Party obviously does have a lot to say about the current government.

"I am worried by the lack of coordination between different governmental sectors," Hernandez said. He is also critical of the large number of Liberals having been promised jobs in the public sector. Although the winning party in Honduras traditionally lets go of large number of people belonging to the opposition parties, this new administration has gotten rid of more Nationals than ever before acording to Hernandez. That not only means a loss of knowledge but also a financial loss since high compensations have to be paid to those laid off.

Hernandez hopes that Zelaya increases government credibility by letting the sectors that received campaign promises know as soon as possible whether they are viable or not. "If he can't fulfill a promise he should sit down with them and renegotiate, or there will be an increased mistrust of politicians that will affect us all."
For the National Party to regain the trust from the people, the answer is initiative.

"We can't be only an election party but we have to live in the moment and be in constant action."

The people have spoken - What now?

George Reynolds
Honduras This Week

Courtesy of UNDP
Kim Bolduc, Representative of UNDP in Honduras, handing over a petition to President Zelaya.

Nobody could deny that certain sectors of Honduran society suffer from poverty, sexual discrimination, unemployment, and a whole range of other hardships. It would also be fairly difficult to deny that the sectors of Honduran society that remain unaffected are not doing enough to help. But the signatories and supporters of a new petition, Queremos ser Escuchados, hope that this is all about to change.

Of course, they have to remain realistic. Josenzo Jiménez de Luis , UNDP Deputy Representative, maintains that it would take great arrogance to assume that he, and other backers of the proposal, will be able to single-handedly influence President Zelaya, or indeed his government. But he hopes that the high-profile ceremony in which the document was officially handed over to the President will help to raise the profile of what he and many other organizations are trying to achieve. It is not so much about persuading the President, as it is about persuading the classes whose attitudes govern much of the Zelaya administration's policy.

Queremos ser Escuchados (We Must be Heard, if you are liberal with the translation), was born from the intense debate and discussion that followed a report on the state of democracy in Central America, which was initially released in August 2004. Supported by the Organization for Development in Latin America (PRODDAL), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), and the European Union, as well as nearly thirty organizations from all over Honduras, it has undeniable diplomatic clout. But it remains to be seen how much of an effect the presence of these organizations has, if indeed there is one at all.

The petition is hardly revolutionary as to its contents, although this is not surprising: any conscientious President should be aware that certain people in his country are poor and hungry. What it does offer, however, is a formal documentation of quite what problems are afflicting Honduran society, and what the signatories propose be done to resolve them. This is not a complaint - it is an official (and admirable) use of the signatories' rights as citizens in a Democracy to highlight the country's problems, and bring them to the attention of people who can really help.

Among other things, these people can help by persevering with and improving the Strategy for the Reduction of Poverty (ERP); keeping macroeconomic indicators stable; and agreeing on an employment policy that creates higher productivity, competitive salaries and social benefits. Queremos ser Escuchados also proposes that the government develop its long term strategy; promote gender equality; streamline national energy policy; intensify the fight against corruption and prevent and punish it more effectively; strengthen the fight against public insecurity and organized crime groups; revitalize the production industry; and promote ecological sensitivity and democratic participation.

It is an exhaustive list, and one that could produce many headaches in the Zelaya administration. Certainly, no one is expecting an instant solution, but Josenzo is certain that it is in his country's long-term interest to find one eventually. PRODDAL clarified that "demands made by the public should not necessarily be thought of as political instability; but it [instability] can be created unless they are heeded; that is to say, if they are not heard and valued." This all sounds rather ominous, but it is not the distant prospect of unrest that should motivate the politicians. Rather, it is the facts: that many citizens of their country are suffering, that many women are discriminated against, that to secure the country's future it is essential to secure jobs for the 65% of the population who are under the age of 25. And finally - above all - it is the fact that, in Josenzo's words, "democracy and poverty are simply not compatible".

Simplified investment attracting business

Anette Emanuelsson
Honduras This Week

Courtesy of FIDE
Vilma Sierra, executive director of FIDE.

After Congress approved the last set of attached laws last week, Honduras is set to enter the US - Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) on April 1st. And according to FIDE, a non-profit organization assisting foreign companies wanting to invest in Honduras, CAFTA is already starting to attract investors. Recently, FIDE were contacted by a Brazilian textile company, the world's largest, wanting to enter the American market via Honduras.

"Our region is of interest to investors because of our proximity to the United States," agreed Vilma Sierra, executive director of FIDE. "But also because of the investments Honduras is making in infrastructure, for example the improvements of the port in Puerto Cortes.

FIDE assists potential investors with a wide range of services. They carry out market surveys, put foreign companies in contact with local suppliers and potential partners, set up meetings with government authorities, bank representatives and legal consultants, provide information on transportation, wage rates and productions costs and help with immigration procedures. If necessary, they even find schooling for the children of investors. All free of charge since the services are financed by the industrial parks in the country.

FIDE has been promoting investment in Honduras since 1984 but starting this year they will be more proactive. "We won't be sitting around waiting for investors to contact us anymore but go look for them ourselves," said Sierra. "The global competition for attracting investors has increased enormously, especially since the Chinese entered the market, and we have to be more aggressive in order to attract investment." Currently, FIDE is focusing on a handful of sectors where Honduras has been proven to have a competitive advantage, for example; textile and automotive parts industries.

But to offer a competitive business climate, Honduras needs to get rid of several administrative bottlenecks holding back its development and discouraging investors. Therefore, FIDE is also working to simplify the procedures that companies have to go through when setting up their business. "Last year, we focused on seven critical administrative procedures. In the department of Francisco Morazan we managed to reduce the time it takes to register property from 31 days to only five," said Sierra. "The paperwork at the Tegucigalpa Patent Office now takes two days instead of one month. And most importantly, registering your employees in the Social Security Office takes three days instead of nine months and I hope we can lower it even further," she continued.

Speeding up the process in the different authorities is often a question of attending to details, such as updating technical equipment or streamlining the procedure.

"In the Social Security we simply eliminated a very old procedure that everyone thought was required by law but which turned out to be completely unnecessary. They were asking for documents from several government agencies that really were of no use and only collected dust in a storage room."

Five years ago it took on average 120 days to go through all the procedures necessary to open a business. Now the number is down to 62 days and Sierra is hopeful for the future.
"By 2007 it should be only 15," she said.

One of the businesses that have used the services of FIDE is Manufacturas de Automatización Avanzada from Mexico. They came to La Lima and Honduras one and a half year ago, following their biggest customer Lear Cooperation.

General Manager Jose Luis Orosco is a member of The United States-Mexico Foundation for Science, a bi-national NGO promoting scientific and technological collaboration. In 2004, they carried out a study on the development hubs of Latin America and according to Orosco, Honduras was one of the countries that stood out. He cites three main appeals. First, government stimulation, specifically the tax exemption of the industrial parks. Second, a strategic geographic location in the centre of Central America and with the port in Puerto Cortes. Third, he mentions a relatively well educated population. "Honduras has very good engineers compared to the rest of Latin America," said Orosco.

Orosco contacted FIDE who invited them to a tour of industrial parks and provided information on legal framework, social security, and all the steps needed to register the company. In one and a half month, the paperwork was done and the company could start its operations. The only problem was getting the residence permit which took a year and a half. That doesn't influence Orosco's opinion though. "Honduras is certainly becoming very attractive for investors."

Paramedics for children continues one man´s legacy

Anna Smith
Special to Honduras This Week

Anna Smith
Paramedics for Children Muco Cordona, Rodger Harrison, Pam Cox, Toni Guerra and Marco Tulio.

The health and education of the indigenous communities in Copan has steadily been improving during the last nine years thanks to a local non-profit organization based in Copan Ruinas.

Paramedics for Children (PFC) was first established to help the children of the indigenous communities in Copan after the devastation of hurricane Mitch. In the years since, the organization has developed many branches of outreach in the mountain aldeas of Copan.

Handing out packages of school supplies four times a year to small rural schools in twenty-two indigenous communities has always been Paramedic for Children's core program. In addition, the organization has shipped in 29 ambulances donated from the U.S. to communities in Guatemala and Honduras and has run over 300 EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) courses to train community volunteers to run ambulance services.

Another ongoing project is a family medical clinic strategically placed on the route to the aldeas just outside of Copan Ruinas. PFC funds a subsidiary program for a local doctor, who receives a salary and a fully furnished clinic rent- free, as long as the doctor keeps his fees low in order to serve the local indigenous population. PFC also funds children in the aldeas who need to travel to larger hospitals in the cities to have radical surgery for deformities such as cleft palates and tumors.

Rodger Harrison, the president and founder of Paramedics for Children, first came to Honduras in 1998 to participate in a medical relief effort with other paramedics. Harrison, 55, originally from North Carolina, fell in love with Copan Ruinas, and he soon returned with the hopes of finding more areas of need in the community.

It was when Harrison met a local Copaneco named Hector " Muco" Cardona that the idea of helping in the mountain villages began to take shape. "Muco was the full inspiration for going in to the mountains and helping in the aldeas", reminisced Harrison," He knew where the poorest people lived and what their needs were."

PFC soon grew to include Vice-president Pam Cox, also a paramedic, and many local and international supporters who donated a great deal of their time to bring improved education and healthcare to the Maya Chorti people of Copan. PFC also created a search and rescue division, where up to twenty paramedics can be mobilized internationally within 24 hours. This division has provided emergency relief in Honduras, El Salvador, and in Indonesia last year in the aftermath of the Tsunami.

Despite their international presence, PFC has always retained their strong grassroots programs in the aldeas of Copan. Harrison tells of the first few years of volunteering in the aldeas with Muco Cardona, when they brought school supplies on horseback to remote mountain villages. The Maya Chorti are the direct descendants of the Mayan race in Honduras, and this indigenous group in the department of Copan have the lowest standard of living in all of Honduras, with few avenues for improving their socio-economic status.

"Most children don't attend school beyond the 3rd or 4th grade up in the aldeas, as they work with their parents in the coffee or corn fields to help make ends meet" described Harrison," The majority of the schools in the aldeas only have one room that often houses 125 children at a time, from kinder to 6th grade."

Harrison describes the grassroots solution that Muco Cordona created to solve the basic problem with education in the aldeas.
" Muco recognized that there were many children attempting to attend school in the aldeas but that they could not afford school supplies. It was his idea that we bring school supplies to the aldeas. This program is still running strong nine years later, providing the means to an education for over 1,500 children in twenty-two schools four times a year."

Pam Cox explained the generosity of spirit that Muco Cordona brought to PFC, bringing his passion for the Mayan culture and children to everything that he touched. "Muco's love of his Mayan culture found its way into almost every conversation, teaching others to be fascinated with the culture as well. He was just that, a teacher. He taught all these lessons by example."

Muco Cordona tragically lost his life recently, succumbing to hemorrhaging stomach ulcers March 7, 2006. While his absence will always be sorely felt, he left a legacy of providing for the indigenous population of Copan that Paramedics for Children is continuing to fulfill in his memory.

Donations to Paramedics for Children can be made to www.paramedicsforchildren.org.

Family-run business lights up cigar market

George Reynolds
Honduras This Week

George Reynolds/Honduras This Week
Honduran Vintage cigars are produced by a small family-run business in Copan.

At first glance, there is little to distinguish Honduran Vintage cigars from those in the countless other boxes that clutter up the windows and displays of trade and tobacco stores throughout Honduras. Around Copán, which boasts an ideal climate, tobacco is big business, and so it may be surprising that the company that makes Honduran Vintage, Trabajo del Occidente, has not yet progressed from a small, family-run business.

Established in 2005 by the mysteriously-titled Nelson G and Luis B, the company has been making cigars to a rigorously high standard for a little over a year. Productivity is tiny - 500 cigars or fewer per day, according to demand - and the company have to make to with a hired apartment to serve as their factory. Within, in addition to cigars made from the tobacco grown on local fincas in the west of the country, they make their own boxes, also with quality and appearance in mind.

Demand is hardly overwhelming - they cater mainly for the tourist market; with many gringos anxious to leave the country with some form of souvenir, a box of cigars can make a slightly alternative yet welcome gift. However, this is no mere tourist tat: connoisseurs have heaped acclaim on the cigars, praising the fine balance of rich taste and strength, and citing the well-fermented tobacco as the source of this success.

There are two principal brands, Rey de Copán and the distinctive Honduran Vintage, which features a Mayan head on the lid of the box. Nelson (or Luis) explained that this link was an easy one to make: after all, tobacco was nearly sacred in Mayan culture, and with the ancient ruins near to the company's powerbase in Santa Rosa de Copán, the product practically markets itself.

The cigars are sold all over Honduras in small quantities. Stores selling them can be found in San Pedro Sula, La Ceiba, Tegucigalpa, and Tela, and of course in and around Copán. Recently, a handful of boxes has also started to make it across the Guatemalan border. These are the uncertain first steps of an enterprise still very much in its infancy, but the two founders hope that if they stick to their successful formula of low production rates and high quality, with particular emphasis on the appearance, consistency and taste of their cigars, investors are certain to be drawn in. After all, Coca Cola started off in a pot in some guy's back yard.

Two Shootings Shock Citys

The inhabitants of the capital were shocked on Tuesday by two attacks that happened within the same hour.

A retailer and an auditor of the Institute of Military Previsions (IPM) were killed in shootings, the first on the boulevard Juan Pablo II and the second one in the neighborhood San Angel in Tegucigalpa.

The first victim was was killed at the intersection of boulevard Juan Pablo II when two men on motorcycles pulled up alongside him while he waited for the traffic lights to change.

The area was surrounded by police and personal security, because of an event sponsored by the United Nations Development Program taking place nearby which President Jose Manuel Zelaya Rosales was attending. Nevertheless, one of the criminals parked his motorbike near the left window of the light truck, and proceeded to fire around 25 shots in a matter of seconds.

The killers escaped on their motorcycles and are yet be tracked down.

La Tribuna

Honduran Cardinal Fears New Religious Wars

Honduran Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga has voiced fears about a new outbreak of religious warfare around the world.

In an interview with the Italian daily La Republica, the Archbishop of Tegucigalpa said that he saw an urgent need for "Worldwide education in respect, tolerance, and seeing one's neighbor as a brother and not as an enemy."

Racism is also a problem, he said, and the tense situation in the Middle East raises the ugly prospect of new religious wars.

"It is worrisome that with the conflicts of the Middle East comes the idea of the religious war and what is serious is that in this situation the United Nations have proved to be weaker than ever", he stated.

El Heraldo/CWN

Uncontrollable Fire Nears Tegucigalpa

A fire that has consumed hundreds of hectares of forest and has left one dead, continues advancing and threatens the municipality of Tatumbla on the approach to the capital.

The fire has already claimed the life of María Carla Rivera, student of the Pan-American Agricultural School in Zamorano, and has hospitalized two minors who are suffering from severe burns.

100 people from the Logistical Army Support Unit (CALE), appeared at the scene, where the intense fire quickly consumed the weeds and pine trees, to help the neighbors and inhabitants, who desperately tried to put out the flames.

The Tatunbla authorities of have made an urgent call to the central government for support to be sent from the capital, realizing it would be impossible for them to contain the gigantic fire.

El Heraldo

New Easter Security Iniative

The National Commission of Accident prevention (Conapra) is preparing for more than two million people to travel during Easter Week.

Conapra has requested a budget of 30 million lempiras to implement the security plan.

There will be more than 15 thousand people in charge of supporting and offering security and protection. The security will be in force on all the highways and national beaches.

A total of 150 control posts will be located throughout the country and along the main routes where more than 195,000 vehicles are expected to drive.

Last year Conapra registered a total of 47 deaths; all through accidents, many alcohol-related. Conapra intends to ask the National Congress for a Dry Law to be passed for the duration of Holy Week.

El Heraldo

Hondutel open for business

Anette Emanuelsson
Honduras This Week

Jacobo Regalado, new General Manager of Hondutel, makes the first phone call ever from the Municipality of Tatumbla, Francisco Morazan.

Honduras' state run telephone company Hondutel, is going after a new image. On February 1st, renowned San Pedro Sula businessman Jacobo Regalado took over as general manager, succeeding a line of military officers and politicians. As the first manager with a business profile, he hopes to bring the efficiency and the market oriented mindset the company so badly needs on the dynamic telecommunications market.

In October 2003, the national Honduran telecommunications market was opened up for competition but the big blow came on Christmas Day 2005 when Hondutel lost its monopoly on international phone calls, which up to then had constituted sixty percent of the company's income. With 22 competitors on the fixed telephony market and prepaid cell phones making inroads, old monopoly practices need to be changed.

Regalado and his team are currently doing an inventory of the financial resources and physical installments left behind by the former administration. Like all Honduran state authorities and companies, Hondutel has seen a radical change in management due to the recent change of government and typically there is limited cooperation between the old and the new administration. However, Regalado is aware that on a competitive market that system is unviable. "I want to strengthen the strategic planning department to give Hondutel both medium and long-term visions and goals that will be fulfilled irrespective of the administration in power," he said.

Losing the monopoly on international phone calls is expected to cost Hondutel 70 million lempiras annually. Regalado's plan for recuperating that money includes several steps. First, he wants to make better use of the existing installments since the inventory has found idle capacity in the telephone exchanges. Out of the existing 577,000 phone lines, only 397,000 have been allotted to customers.
Second, he is looking to expand. In a country such as Honduras there are significant possibilities of growth in fixed telephony. Only 24 percent of Hondurans have a telephone - either fixed or mobile - and Regalado believes that number could grow to 40 percent, which is the Latin American average. Only this year, there will be almost 100,000 new phone lines.

However, in order to handle the expansion, an improvement of customer service is fundamental. On average Hondutel takes four months to install a telephone line and there are currently 40,000 sold lines waiting to be installed.

"Assuaging that dissatisfaction is an enormous challenge," said Regalado, who hopes to implement a better coordination between sales and construction departments. "We shouldn't sell phone lines more than one or two weeks before we can guarantee the installment."

Hondutel also plans to move beyond the fixed telephony market and find new income sources through new services such as mobile telephony - where they already have been assigned a bandwidth - and ADSL-internet.

Obviously, the new investments need to be financed. Hondutel had proposed a 1.2 billion lempira investment plan that was cut down to 400 millions because of the conditions set up by the International Monetary Fund, trying to limit the size of the state apparatus. Instead, Regalado is looking to enter partnerships with the private sector, for example in the area of ADSL-internet, where Hondutel would contribute with its extensive copper network and the partner with technical know-how.

The copper network Regalado sites as one of the strengths that Hondutel do have, in spite of its many shortcomings. Another one is the brand. "When it comes to telephony, Hondurans prefer Hondutel and we have to take advantage of that position so that in the future they prefer us in all sorts of telecommunications," Regalado said.
As a third strength he mentions the personnel.

"I am convinced that human resources are a company's most valuable asset. In Hondutel we have many people with a large technical capacity and I know that we can count on their support to carry through the necessary changes."

Because there will be some changes in personnel. At the moment the new management is evaluating the different departments to see where cut downs or increases in manpower are necessary. Already established is the need for more technicians working in installment, reparation and maintenance of the network. Regalado also wants to increase the number of people working at the 192 helpline, an essential part of an improved customer service.

Regalado knows he has got his work cut out for him.
"When I got the job people said that they didn't know whether it was a punishment or a prize," Regalado said.

Some fear Hondutel could become another ENEE - the state electricity company that has had serious economic problems - but Regalado is confident that Hondutel can do much better.

"My vision of Hondutel is a strong, profitable and dynamic company that can read the market signs and react to satisfy the demand."

University principal resigns

Rosibel Pacheco
Honduras This Week

Anette Emanuelsson/Honduras This Week
The National Autonomous University of Honduras (UNAH) was left without a principal on Tuesday.

On March 14th Guillermo Perez Arias resigned from his post as principal of the Honduras National Autonomous University (UNAH), three months before the end of his term. Three other university officials, including the vice principal, resigned along with him.

Guillermo Perez Arias was elected principal in June 2003 after some controversy. The December 2002 election had been postponed because of problems with technicalities in the voting process and the candidate initially supported by the university, Mario Pineda Valle, later withdrew his candidacy due to political influence. Instead, the government imposed Perez Arias as the new candidate and on June 29th 2003 he became the new principal of UNAH.

Talking to the national press, Perez Arias said that the reason behind his renouncement was the fact that he didn't agree with the concentration of power in the new Transition Commission. He also told the press that he will put in a request to be reintegrated as a teacher at the Faculty of Law.

Anette Emanuelsson/Honduras This Week
“Out with the corrupt” - graffiti on the UNAH campus. 

Since Congress inaugurated the UNAH Transition Commission on May 19th 2005, it has been dedicated to carrying through an integral reform of the university, while the Parliamentarian Commission in charge of monitoring the UNAH has requested monthly reports from the Commission on its work.

According to studies carried out by the Commission, the systems currently at work in the financial department, the purchasing department, the student registry and the department of human resources are obsolete, not transparent and in need of a profound change. With support from the Swedish Development Agency (SIDA), the Commission has proposed the creation of a workgroup in order to structure and implement a modern, efficient and transparent administration as soon as possible.

The Commission has also elaborated a plan on academic reform that was handed over to Congress in July 2005. The academic reform includes a general evaluation of the staff and a self-evaluation of educational programs on all levels. Workshops have been organized in all the different faculties, graduate programs and departments on campus. The obsolete UNAH Organic Law from 1957 has also been reformed.

The most salient feature of the Commission's work is probably the uncovering of corruption in the faculties of medicine, odontology and economy.

The UNAH teachers' association held a general assembly this week, also attended by members of the Transition Commission. The teachers present were optimistic but cautious about the future of UNAH. They acknowledged the merits of the Transition Commission, played down the importance of the principal's renouncement and also discussed the necessity of a university reform in order to give Honduras a sanitized and structurally strong institution. And without a doubt, the teacher's association is the right place for asking questions and giving answers, since it was here that the concerns and dreams of a new university first arose ten years ago.

Rosibel Pacheco is a Mathematics teacher at UNAH

Casa Alianza breaking a vicious circle

Emma Barlow
Honduras This Week

Emma Barlow/Honduras This Week
Break the circle - Casa Alianza’s new campaign against the selling of glue to children. 

Casa Alianza have been lobbying for the rights of street children aged 12 to 18 since 1988.

The latest of their campaigns is set to tackle the illegal selling of glue to street children in Honduras.

The selling of glue to children is already outlawed and the production of  Cobblers Glue - originally used in shoe factories is closely monitored. The two major producers of the glue implemented some responsible measures to make the glue unattractive to users; one took the type of glue out of production and the other modified the formula, removing the ingredients that induce the narcotic affect. Unfortunately the original formula was leaked and a network of illegal underground production lines has developed.

The problem has now escalated into a major concern. According to a study conducted by the University of Social Work in Guijon, Spain, in 2004, 83.6% of street children are addicted to the substance.

This new campaign is a joint operation between Casa Alianza and HEKS (the Swiss Protestant Church) which shared the view that vulnerable children need to be protected. In their coming together they have created the campaign 'Break the Circle,' which is broken down into three parts. The first, launched this week, includes an extensive television, radio and poster promotion and concentrates on educating the general population on the issue, motivating support and most importantly participation in stamping out the issue by reporting sightings of glue being sold to children.

Marcia Villeda, the President of the Commission of Children and Families in National Congress and principle player in the campaign - nicknames this first stage 'Break the Silence'. She cites the reasons for her involvement with the campaign, "I am worried that no one gives the correct relevance to important issues effecting our street children - I came into politics because of my concerns with children. In government we can make and pass laws but we need to make people respect them in practice," "People in Honduras are aware of this problem but are too comfortable in their own lives to become involved in issues effecting the lower classes," she said. "Many may be in the presence of these situations every day but there is great ignorance as to what the laws are."

She places great importance on this campaign and is hopeful that as the public becomes aware of the issue and its laws - progress will be made in clamping down on those who provide this substance to children.

The jail term for anyone caught selling glue is six years, something which Casa Alianza suspects that even the suppliers and sellers are not fully aware of.

The next stage of the campaign is to provide information to the public and children alike in what glue abuse does to a child's mental health and internal organs. When these two stages have been completed it is hoped that the third stage - educating the public and children on the penalties of selling glue to children will run smoothly and the reports and conviction will steadily begin to increase.

Rural women's association exporting to Germany

George Reynolds
Honduras This Week

Courtesy of Oxfam
Two members of women’s association COMUCAP turning coffee into fertalizer. 

It is 11 o clock in Tegucigalpa's Hotel Plaza del Libertador, and Dulce Marlen Cointreas, clearly uncomfortable with the media attention, cuts a small - some would say frail - figure as she sits on the sofa, preparing for her interview. But as soon as she starts talking about what she and many other women have achieved in the rural area of La Paz, she changes: animated, she has facts and stories of her own experience to add to her account, and it is clear that COMUCAP means a lot to her, as it has done to so many others.

We are sitting on this sofa waiting for a conference to get underway. Oxfam, in conjunction with the European Union, are celebrating the three-year anniversary of their latest initiative to help to develop sustainable agriculture in Honduras. Working through five implementing agencies (of which COMUCAP is one), Oxfam has been trying to raise food security for the rural Honduran population (70% of which lives below the poverty line), and also to raise the overall income of this demographic. The EU was attracted by the similarity of Oxfam's initiative to its own plans, and to date has invested some 1.5 million euros in the project.

COMUCAP - an association for rural women in the La Paz region - has achieved genuine success over the last few years, and Dulce - now coordinator of the organization - speaks with some pride about all that she and her fellow members have accomplished. She originally worked 11 hours a day without pay, before Oxfam was able to give her a small salary. She devoted her time to resolving some of the myriad problems experienced by her fellow women: they were the submissive victims of much domestic violence and discrimination; and of course there was also the specter of poverty to combat. Through a rigorous literacy program, and with Oxfam's help (who bought some land to allow the women to create an organic farm), Dulce has been able to raise the women's self-esteem and offer the possibility of a much more active role in society.

The most obvious manifestation of this is the thriving micro businesses that have emerged. Although the lack of skills and literacy problems were an initial hurdle, there are currently two collective and four community bases in La Paz, and even in the smallest communities there are organic coffee collection points where fertilizer can be made from the surplus beans. With funding from the American Intercontinental Bank and Spanish charities, COMUCAP has started developing new products, from Aloe Vera soap and shampoo to organic wine to chocolate soymilk. Perhaps the outstanding success story, however, is that of the regional Organic Coffee, which has recently made its way into the German market. Over a million hundred-pound bags have been sent overseas, and they will be distributed on Teutonic shores by a Catholic Women's Association, who became involved through the Fair Trade Agreement.

The group is still fighting through red tape to get a brand name approved, but while she waits Dulce has plenty of ideas for the future. She hopes to spend three years promoting her coffee in Germany, and plans are afoot to break into the North American market, where contact has already been made and a tentative agreement has established a fair selling price.

But for all her talk of international business, it is clear that the most important thing to Dulce is the project's success in the local community. As well as helping on an ecological level, and improving farming efficiency, the Oxfam project has totally changed the lot of women in rural Honduras. Now, literacy classes are being run more or less self-sufficiently, as the more educated younger villagers teach their seniors. Women are now self-motivated, wanting to better themselves and acquire the necessary skills. But the ultimate proof is that Marcalla, only five years ago a hotbed of machismo chauvinism and discrimination, recently celebrated International Women's Day. Oxfam claims it has helped save 1730 families from poverty, but its work in highlighting the rights of once-repressed rural women is arguably just as important.

Missions to Honduras

Marco Caceres
projecthonduras.com

March 13-20, 2006/ Comayaguela
Life Church of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma will send a 20-25 member mission team to work in Hope for Honduras, Inc.'s (www.hopeforhonduras.org) Life and Hope Project above Comayaguela (Francisco Morazan) during March 13-20, 2006. The work will vary from construction and repair and feeding children to medical/dental care and evangelism. Contact: Ron and Shelley Jones, hondoron@multivisionhn.net

March 25-April 1, 2006 / Comayaguela
Victory Life Church of Birmingham, Alabama will send a 20-25 member mission team to work in Hope for Honduras, Inc.'s (www.hopeforhonduras.org) Life and Hope Project above Comayaguela (Francisco Morazan) during March 25-April 1, 2006. The work will vary from construction and repair and feeding children to medical/dental care and evangelism. Contact: Ron and Shelley Jones, hondoron@multivisionhn.net

April 2006/  Tierra Santa
Support, Inc. (www.tierrasantasupport.org) will lead a team of adults and high schools students to the Hogar Tierra Santa home for abandoned children in the town of Villa de San Antonio (Francisco Morazan) during April 2006. The mission will last five days. The group will present a daily bible school session filled with familiar Bible stories, puppet shows, craft projects, games, music, and snacks. A separate work crew will be completing building projects at the new land for Hogar Tierra Santa. Contact: Bob Seitz, Bob.Seitz@TierraSantaSupport.org

April 1-8, 2006/ La Lima
World Missions (www.lacimaworldmissions.org) of Lexington, Kentucky will sponsor a dental mission to Honduras during February 23-March 3, 2006. The team will be from the University of Kentucky. This will be the first dental mission to Honduras for the group. Contact: David Sperow, david@lacimaworldmissions.org

April 1-9, 2006 / El Cajon
The Friends of Barnabas Foundation (www.fobf.org) of Chesterfield, Virginia will sponsor a medical mission team to El Cajon (Cortes) during April 1-9, 2006. Contact: Rev. Linwood Cook, friendsofbarnabas@hotmail.com or Tom Parrish, (434) 822-0956

April 21-29, 2006 / La Mosquitia
Send Hope, Inc. (www.send-hope.org) of Allen, Texas, will sponsor a dental mission to La Mosquitia (Gracias a Dios) during April 21-29, 2006. Contact Tom Brian, DDS, atbdds@yahoo.com

April 22-30, 2006 / El Paraiso
Christian Medical & Dental Associations (www.cmdahome.org) of Bristol, Tennessee, will sponsor a medical/dental mission to El Paraiso (El Paraiso) during April 22-30, 2006. Estimated mission cost per team member is $1,600. Contact: Ron Brown, gho@cmdahome.org

April 23-29, 2006 / Comayaguela
Life Church of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma will send a 20-25 member mission team to work in Hope for Honduras, Inc.'s (www.hopeforhonduras.org) Life and Hope Project above Comayaguela (Francisco Morazan) during April 23-29, 2006. The work will vary from construction and repair and feeding children to medical/dental care and evangelism. Contact: Ron and Shelley Jones, hondoron@multivisionhn.net

May 3-17, 2006 / Catacamas
World Gospel Mission (www.wgm.org) of Marion, Indiana will sponsor a mission to the El Sembrador farm school for underprivileged boys near Catacamas (Olancho) during May 3-17, 2006. Estimated cost per person is $1,545. Contact: Brad and Mary Kay Phillips, marykay58@mac.com

May 6-14, 2006 / Lake Yojoa
The Friends of Barnabas Foundation (www.fobf.org) of Chesterfield, Virginia will sponsor a medical mission team to Lake Yojoa (Santa Barbara) during May 6-14, 2006. Contact: Rev. Linwood Cook,friendsofbarnabas@hotmail.com or Ellen Bruny, (804) 285-4690

Anette Emanuelsson
Honduras This Week

There has always been female representation among the statues outside Congress. Now the female representation inside of Congress is on the rise.

On March 8th, International Women's Day was celebrated under the theme Women in Decision-Making: Meeting Challenges, Creating Change. Fittingly enough, the last Honduran elections saw the number of women in Congress go up from only 7 to 30. Women now hold approximately 23 percent of the congressional seats, which means that Honduras has climbed from 121st place to 33rd in the Inter-Parliamentary Union's ranking of women in parliaments around the world.

The drastic change is largely due to changes in the electoral system. According to Honduran law, at least 30 percent of the names on primary election ballots have to be women. But in the 2001 elections the law didn't have much result. Women were systematically listed at the bottom of the ballots and although they were eligible in theory, it was close to impossible for them to be elected to Congress. However before the last election the electoral law was reformed so that voters could vote for any person listed on the ballot regardless of the order decided by the party. When people could chose freely the result was a fourfold female representation.

Lizzy Flores is the new vice-president of Congress - the first woman to hold that position in Honduras. She describes the record number as highly significant but also points to the fact that the last election saw a reduction in the number of female mayors. "We must keep fighting for more space," she said, adding that some women think that politics are dirty and ruthless and therefore don't want to run for office. "But that is not true since it is the people participating that create the politics."

Elvia Argentina Valle, Secretary of the Congress Board of Directors, has just begun her third term as a representative of the department of Copan. She believes that women play a somewhat different role than men in Congress. "Men are generally not as sensitive when it comes to issues concerning children, adolescents, women and the elderly," she said. "We need the participation of women to make them understand the importance of these questions." She gives the new law on paternal responsibility as an example, which aims to force fathers to take legal responsibility for their children. The lack of political will among the leaders of Congress has prevented the passing of such laws until now but according to Valle the new President of Congress, Roberto Micheletti, has promised to be supportive of traditional women's issues.

But Valle also emphasizes that women should not only focus on so-called soft issues. She herself is a member of congressional commissions on energy, national defense and legislation, aswel as being the vice-president of the Women's Commission.

According to Valle, "If we really want to fight poverty we have to look into all sectors of society." When asked how willing the political parties are to include women, she said, "if they realized that more than 50 percent of voters are women, we wouldn't have needed a law on female participation."

Carolina Echeverria Haylock knows how difficult it is for women to participate in politics. She is the first woman ever to represent the department of Gracias a Dios in Congress. "La Mosquitia is a very closed society with lots of machismo that doesn't allow women to participate." She calls for a combination of creating awareness in society and giving women more economic resources so that they don't have to depend on men but can control their own destiny.

Dilma Quezada Martinez has been a member of Congress since Honduras's return to democracy in 1982. She is also the former president of the Inter-American Commission on Women. "Women used to be seen as something nice to look at but we weren't given much influence," she said. The fact that five out of nine members of the Congress Board of Directors are women, as compared to only one in 1982, she sees as evidence that things have changed. "Of course there is a lot left to be done but now we have stopped complaining and entered the scene."

Anette Emanuelsson/Honduras This Week
Elvia Argentina Valle representing Copan.

Between frustration and hope

Anette Emanuelsson
Honduras This Week

Courtesy of FOSDEH
According to FOSDEH the social cost of maquilas is far too high.

Two months ago former president Ricardo Maduro described the achievements of his administration in a televised speech to the nation, many of them in the area of economic policy. Now FOSDEH, an umbrella organization for civil society organizations, publishes their evaluation of Maduro's four years in the government.

The title of the document is "Entre la frustración y una nueva esperanza" - Between frustration and new hope - and the inputs come from member organizations while financial statistics are taken from the Central Bank.

The frustration refers to the high expectations Honduran civil society had on Maduro - expectations that according to FOSDEH were never fulfilled.

"During his campaign civil society was mesmerized by his political rhetoric since he talked about democracy and participation," said Ileana Morales from FOSDEH. "He made us expect a closer cooperation between the government and civil society which never happened."

According to FOSDEH's report, the economic and political orientation didn't change in comparison with former governments. Instead of the grassroot Maduro they hoped for they got Maduro the businessman. Morales is suspicious of many of the commercial deals brokered by the Maduro administration, for example the tourism development projects around Tela that she thinks above all serves the interest of people with ties to the government. But the biggest blow to his image as a social reformer came with the package of economic measures introduced during his first six months in office.

To Maduro's benefit, Morales says that he entered the scene in a very difficult moment, with a legacy of financial and social problems to deal with and international lenders to satisfy.

"Honduras has to be watched by the International Monetary Fund since we wouldn't survive without the loans so obviously you can't take any extreme measures in the financial area. However, FOSDEH feels that you always have to try to find new solutions."

According to FOSDEH's calculations, 11 000 million lempiras were lost to corruption in 2004, only counting the cases reported in the press. They also list the tax exemptions of the assembly industry and the fast food restaurants as priviliges that should be reduced before taking measures affecting the poorer segments of society, such as increases in VAT and higher prices on public services.

"The money that goes to corruption and tax exemptions are not enough to fight poverty but they are resources that if well spent could make a difference," said Morales, who doesn't understand why fast food chains are tax-exempt.

"Fast food chains don't pay tax as an incentive for tourism but most tourists don't come here to eat at Pizza Hut."

And the employment opportunities brought by the assembly industry don't justify any special treatment according to FOSDEH.

"I can't deny that they generate around 100,000 jobs. But the salaries are low and the social cost provoced by the maquilas are high. And the maquila industry is a volatile capital. It is here today but tomorrow it could be in Nicaragua," said Morales.

According to FOSDEH there have been some positive results at an institutional level during Maduro's administration, through laws and proposals, but they are still waiting for practical results.

Looking ahead, Morales is afraid that with the government of Mel Zelaya civil society will make the same journey between hope and frustration. "At the beginning of a new government there is always a lot of hope because of all the promises made in the election campaigns. Zelaya has a more popular image, more rural than Maduro, and he is a speaker with a common touch. But he will have to deal with a country with burning social issues."

Morales predicts that Zelaya will spend most of his time putting out small fires, calming unsatisfied sectors like the teachers, the doctors, even the business people. "That means that he won't have time to deal with the larger social and institutional questions."

Improving the health of street children

Emma Barlow
Honduras This Week

Emma Barlow/Honduras This Week
Francesa Randazzo and Kevin, one of the patients visiting the clinic.

The Medicos Sin Fronteras continues to be a driving force in the rehabilitating of the street children of Comayagüela.

At its small base - 400 street children use the facilities on a regular basis. Whether needing immediate medical attention, a shower, or simply a safe environment in which to relax for a few hours there is someone to found at the clinics of MSF everyday.

Living on the street poses many risks and makes for a life plagued with danger - disease, rape, drug abuse and violence.

The clinic opens its doors to children and young adults from babies to those aged 25 - a feature which sets it apart from other charitable operations like it. Many organizations will only treat those aged 18 and under, though as assistant coordinator Francesa Randazzo explained "Those aged 18 are still only children, on the street they have received no education and have little social skills."

Street children are never truly healthy because of the conditions in which they live. Sickness and disease are a large problem and the children often suffer with respitory and skin troubles - obvious symptoms caused by living on the street amongst the traffic with little sanitary hygiene.

The two full time doctors at the clinic often deal with injuries as a direct result from violence. "Many of the children complain of institutional violence and harassment, all too often by police."

Sexual health and drug abuse is another concern, though it is untrue that HIV/AIDS is more prevalent amongst those living on the street - unfortunately the upward spiraling spread of AIDS is a national problem and not one confined only to those who are homeless.

The most difficult and important problem to tackle are the social and psychological conditions that the children may be suffering from. "It's not always just a matter of drug therapy - these children have been through so much," Randazzo pointed out. MSF has a full time psychologist and social worker who work closely with the children and through its many cooperating contacts can even help organize a therapeutic home to go to.

Randazzo had an interesting answer to the street children into gang members debate. She insisted that street children and gangs are a very different and separate social problem and street children are very unlikely to turn to gangs, "They do not like order and organization - they like to be free to do what they want. They don't dress smartly, have haircuts or cover themselves in tattoos - the children on the street may consume drugs but they don't deal them as a member of a gang might," she pointed out.

The children at the center are timid but friendly. One boy, Kevin, talked about how he liked to play football and take part in the theatre workshops. The large numbers of pregnant girls that attend the clinic are also extremely grateful for all the MSF does. The nursery helps the girls with their pregnancy as well as a lot of after-care including immunization.

The principle behind the MSF's treatment of the sometimes aggressive children is a simple one. "If you treat them with respect - you will get respect back. And always when you give a little you get a thousands times more back in return," Randazzo finalized.

Teaching the deaf to hear His voice

George Reynolds
Honduras This Week

Emma Barlow/Honduras This Week
Maureen Green, volunteer, offers a helping hand at the school.

Perhaps unsurprisingly for someone with such obvious, invigorating faith, Carmen Linder seems to have a very clear idea of what it is she is trying to achieve. Founder and President of the His Love in Action School for the Deaf in downtown Tegucigalpa, for 17 years she has been trying to impart a balanced, Christian education to the deaf children of the city. It is something she felt she was told to do in the wake of discovering her 18 months old daughter was deaf; she explains that "God spoke to my heart about starting a school for the deaf." His voice can only have got louder when she realised, whilst working as a volunteer in rural Honduras, that - certainly in comparison to the children of other countries - "deaf children in Honduras have nothing."

Thanks to Carmen, they no longer have nowhere to turn. When it was started, hers was the only Christian school for deaf children in the country, and although there is a government-run establishment in Tegucigalpa these days, the conditions cannot be compared. Whilst Carmen's school caters exclusively for the deaf, and provides an education to 62 children ("and they're still coming") ranging in age from five to twenty-five, the State school is limited to children aged six to eleven, and is open to all children with learning difficulties, be they autistic, blind, deaf, or physically handicapped.

The school relies almost entirely on donations made by churches, sponsors, and one-time givers. The government makes a small contribution, but it barely covers 25% of the school's annual expenses, and, owing to the unpredictable nature of the donations given, Carmen has no annual budget to count on.

With such shortages it is just as well that Carmen has her faith to fall back on. It is a quality with which she wants to imbue all her students ("We want to teach them to believe in God and trust God"), and not only because she believes "they need love". She blames much of Honduran society's current ills on a lack of conventional Christian morality, and this problem is exacerbated for the deaf: already alienated through their disability, they become easy prey for the maras, which offer them a sense of family and unconditional devotion they may not get at home.

Carmen is immediately enthused when the Church is mentioned: it offers her pupils "eternal life. We are made to have a relationship with God. There is void inside every human being - if we don't know God and know that he is there for us and responds to our prayers, then this void is filled with other things - drugs, crime."

As well as morning devotions, the school offers its older pupils a chance to take Vocational classes in a range of potential careers: they can train as carpenters seamstresses, tailors, upholsterers, and beauticians. Then, at the end of their course, they are given a month-long assessment at a local business, and are provided with the tools needed to start work on their own.

The school offers an amazing opportunity for those lucky enough to attend it. But in a country with many thousands of isolated and illiterate deaf people in rural surroundings, more can always be done. Carmen has big plans: already a piece of property has been donated (although she is trying to fight her way through the red tape to get a building permit), and she hopes to be able to build a mixed school for over 400 pupils, with dormitories to allow those from out of town to benefit. She also wants to expand her medical project: currently deaf children are being treated by two intern dentists from a local university, and in time she expects that she will be able to provide complete healthcare, too.

Emma Barlow/Honduras This Week
Carmen Linder outside her school in Comayaguela.

It will not come cheap - $600,000 US is a realistic figure for the construction of the new school - but Carmen is determined to offer more to children who have spent years with nothing. She wants to start up a program of weekend activities for the deaf, but most of all she wants to continue the work she began 17 years ago. When asked about the most important thing that her school offers the deaf, she cannot choose: "An education. Christian values. The best meal they will get all day. And of course we give them love…when they leave the school at four o clock, they don't want to go home."

Next hurricane season could match 2005

This year's hurricane season could match the record-breaking destruction caused by storms in 2005, the United Nations warned.

In 2005, an unprecedented 27 tropical storms, 15 of which became full-blown hurricanes, battered Central America and the U.S. Gulf coast, killing more than 3,000 people and causing tens of billions of dollars in damage.

"We have reason to fear that 2006 could be as bad as 2005," Jan Egeland, the undersecretary general for humanitarian affairs who coordinates U.N. emergency relief, told Reuters on Wednesday.

"We have had a dramatic increase in climate related natural disasters and at the same time we have more vulnerable people, so it's a double effect," he said in Guatemala, where he is meeting Central American leaders to plan for future disasters. "That's why we need to prepare in order to prevent the damage."

Hurricane Stan killed more than 2,000 people in Central America last October. Guatemala was hardest hit with mudslides burying villages and washing away roads.

Hurricane Katrina wrecked New Orleans and much of the U.S. Gulf coast in late August, killing about 1,300 people.

Guatemala's losses from Stan were nearly $1 billion, equivalent to more than 3 percent of the country's gross domestic product, according to a recent U.N. study.

Reuters

Almost 2,000 youths killed in 4 years

Almost 2,000 children and youths, many of them members of violent street gangs, were killed in Honduras in the last four years, a child advocacy group said on Thursday.

The number of youth slayings was almost double that recorded in the preceding four years in the poverty-stricken Central American nation, and many bodies showed signs of torture, Casa Alianza said in a report.

The group said the bodies of 1,976 youths under the age of 23 were found during the four-year presidency of Ricardo Maduro, who stepped down in January. Many were killings carried out by rival gangs, others by shadowy death squads.

Maduro had launched a clampdown on the street gangs, known as Maras, which grew out of Hispanic youth gangs in Los Angeles.

"Every day that goes by more and more children are losing their lives," Manuel Capellin, Casa Alianza's director in Honduras, said in the report. "It is a real tragedy that is getting worse."

Reuters