The first five years of the work of Norma Love was dedicated to bringing school supplies to 5,000 children in the Mosquitia twice a year. She also brought clothes.

Miskito girls line up to receive clothes, notebooks, pencils and toothbrushes from the Norma I. Love Association. The U.S.-based organization has been helping the forgotten inhabitants of the Mosquitia for five years. (Photo courtesy of Honduran Air Force.)

Each year thousands of people visit Honduras, the second poorest country in Latin America. Everywhere tourists see the signs of poverty, such as poor housing with no latrines and children in the streets begging or working at a very young age.

Most visitors go home to complain of crowded buses and boats and other signs of poverty. When Norma I. Love went to the Mosquitia in 1988 to do a linguistic study of the Miskito language for the University of Texas at Arlington, she went back to the States with a plan to do something for the Miskitos. This was at the time of the Contra's armed struggle against the Sandinista regime in Nicaragua, when a great deal of aid was made available to refugee Miskitos and almost none to the local Miskitos.

One of the more controversial projects in the Mosquitia today is that of "Bolsones Escolares" (School Book-bags), by the Programa de Asignacion Familiar (PRAF), a Honduran government agency that helps the poor. There is controversy because people wonder what is the point of giving book-bags to children whose families are thrown into economic crisis when their pencils break or the pens run out of ink. There are no regular jobs in which to earn money in much of this area. Without cash, how do parents get notebooks?

The first five years of the work of Norma Love was dedicated to bringing school supplies to 5,000 children in the Mosquitia twice a year. She also brought clothes.

In 1993, the Norma I. Love Association was founded formally in Arlington, Texas as a non-profit organization under U.S. law. Most of their work is humanitarian assistance, such as helping to bring medical and dental teams into the country. Besides these teams, there are no permanent dentists in the Mosquitia, nor in the two municipalities close to the Mosquitia. These dentists work under difficult condition without permanent electricity.

After the Association received "Personaria Juridica" or legal recognition in Honduras in 1995, they were able to try to formulate proposals for more long-term development. The most important project they are working toward is founding a vocational training center where young people can learn carpentry, furniture making, mechanics and agriculture.

Every company in Honduras that has more than five employees is required to pay 1 percent of their total salary as support to the National Professional Training Institute (INFOP), which builds these kinds of schools. But there are no INFOP technical schools, nor technical high schools anywhere nearby.

The Norma I. Love Association is based in the community of Mocoron partly because the Honduran air force has a base here and it has helped them with transportation.

Donations from the association come from Kiwanis Clubs, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, the Rotary Club of Arlington, different churches and philanthropic individuals.

One of the problems the Miskito Indians face is that most Hondurans know nothing about them. Prior to making trips to the Mosquitia, people will say "take the light of Christ to the Miskitos", even though most Miskitos are active, church going members of Moravian or Catholic churches. People claim the Miskitos wear breech cloths, even though blue jeans and running shorts seem to be the main styles.

To help facilitate understanding and to sell tunu (bark cloth) items made in the Mocoron region, the association helped to organize an exposition and talk about Miskito culture in the San Pedro Sula Museum of Archeology and History. This was well attended by the San Pedro press and television stations, giving many Hondurans their first closeup look at Miskitos.

A hospedaje or small hotel is ready for visitors to Mocoron. (Photo courtesy of Honduran Air Force.)

People are also welcome to visit the Association in Mocoron. A hospedaje (inn) and restaurants are available there. Mocoron, located in the prime savannah region, is reached by flying into Puerto Lempira from La Ceiba, and then travelling by road to Mocoron. Because this is the headquarters of the 5th Infantry Battalion, the level of Spanish is good in Mocoron, although poor in neighboring areas.

In some ways, this area represents Honduras at its worst. Cholera exists because there are few latrines. Malaria has been bad this year, with most people demonstrating symptoms not even bothering to get tested. There are forest fires, deforestation, and migratory agriculture. Green parrots and green iguanas are sold to get cash.

It is also Honduras at its best. To help solve environmental problems, the Association holds joint seminars with the Honduran Forestry Development Corporation (COHDEFOR) and helps to sponsor an environmental song festival. This is Honduras at its most natural. It is about people helping people.

To find out how to get involved, contact in Honduras Norma I. Love Association, fax 998-0014 or 553-0262. By mail, A.P. 1018 San Pedro Sula, Cortes or in the USA, 5107 Atlantis Terrace, Arlington, TX 76016; Tel. (USA) 817-457-6650.

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