January 2008 DRE MAMA Honduras Team ( January 20 - 28, 2008 )

Dear friends and family,

We arrived without problems on Sunday.

Monday we were in a small community about 20 minutes from the center - Los Hules. We saw 88 people in the clinic and the guys did 4 floors with a total of 20 bags of cement. They were exhausted though there was a light rain on and off.

Tuesday we traveled toward Lake Yojoa to a really poor community with no electric - Santa Cruz De Yojoa. We were high up a mountain and the view was beautiful. We saw 101 people. The first families had 8-10 children. In the afternoon several teens came through with 1-2 children already. In the morning, a woman asked Don Rice a question and in his only spanish replied "No hablo ingles" (I don't speak English). I asked a woman in the afternoon if she had a refrigerator to put medicine in, only to have her reply "we don't have electric." The guys did 4 houses and 23 bags of cement. They were exhausted.

Wednesday we went to Santa Rita Yoro. The community was a rural town in the farming district. The guys did 4 floors quickly as they were small. Don, Jake, Dave chose Tom to be their union negotiator as Joe wanted to do 2 more floors. Joe won, and they did 2 more floors and 20 bags for the day. In the clinic we saw 75 people.

Thursday we went to San Antonio Cortes, a village high up in the mountains. Mama had never been there before. We saw 101 people and the guys did 4 floors and 27 bags of cement. The community was extremely welcoming, helpful, and friendly. It was probably the most remote community I have been in during my 8 trips to Honduras.

Friday we went to Pata De Gallina, a small squatter community. We saw 93 patients, more than expected. The guys did 6 houses and 21 bags of cement. We ended the day with dinner with the Mama staff at the mission house.

We are in Copan now. See you all late Monday.

Tim for all.