Nearly half of the population of Honduras survives on less than US$2 a day.¹ Two dollars. Look in your wallet, look in your purse. Two dollars. Where did your last two dollars go? A small cappuccino? A large order of fries? A couple of scratch tickets? In Honduras, that $2 buys a half-gallon of milk, a pound of uncooked beans, and a pound of uncooked rice. Maybe tomorrow’s two dollars can buy charcoal for the kitchen stove. Maybe the next day’s two dollars can buy shoes.

These dilemmas are part of daily life in Honduras, one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere. While stretching those two dollars a day is challenge enough, many Hondurans also lack access to adequate health care and education, especially in rural areas. The country has less than ten doctors for every 10,000 people, and nearly half of its births take place unattended by trained medical staff.¹ Not every town in the campo has its own school, and those that do often lack books or desks. Forty-two percent of children entering school never make it to fifth grade; as a result, 25 percent of Hondurans cannot read or write, and many more have only the most basic literacy skills.²

In spite of such bitter poverty, Honduras is very much a part of the modern, developing world. Sure, there are fewer than ten telephones for every 100 Hondurans (whereas 100 Americans can call each other on 113 different lines.)³ But go check your underwear drawer, and read the tag on your T-shirt: Honduras is now the third largest textile exporter to the United States, behind only China and Mexico. Hondurans working in largely foreign-owned maquilas churn out 121.1 million garments for export every year — that’s over 330,000 T-shirts, sweatpants, and jockey shorts every day.⁴ For this hard work the foreign companies generally pay a starting wage of US$3.50 a day.⁵ Three and a half a dollars. Maybe tomorrow’s three and a half dollars can buy the shoes. It doesn't have to be like this.

Cangrejal River Valley — El Pital

Ken Hutz and Un Mundo have worked in the village of El Pital, Honduras, since 1991. The village lies in the heart of the Cangrejal River Valley (known by locals as the Cuenca) in northwestern Honduras, on the edge of Pico Bonito National Park. The closest city of any size is the steamy port city of La Ceiba, a former Standard Fruit town which is now a popular jumping off point for the Bay Islands in the Caribbean.

El Pital has approximately 900 inhabitants, most of whom live in mud and stick houses with palm roofs. The vast majority of the residents depend on subsistence agriculture of maize and beans, growing what they can to support their malnourished families. Prior to Un Mundo’s arrival, healthcare, education and opportunity were almost nonexistent.

Despite years of neglect and corruption by the government of Honduras, the families of El Pital have shown grit and dignity in their ongoing battle to simply survive. These qualities were tested in October 1998 when Hurricane Mitch ripped through the Cuenca destroying virtually everything in its path. The village of El Pital was devastated.

As international aid flooded into the area, the community of El Pital seized the opportunity to seek long-term solutions to problems such as a lack of health care, education and economic opportunity. With the help of Ken Hutz and the newly established Finca Association (later, Un Mundo), the community set about clearing the road, rebuilding houses and establishing a health center. A group of women, led by Rosario Lobo, applied for and received a micro-loan from a group financed by the United Nations. With support and encouragement from Un Mundo, the women founded the John Paul II Sewing Cooperative. Just a few years later, in 2001 and again with the support of Un Mundo, the community built a secondary school in El Pital, the first and only public secondary school in the Cuenca.

These projects have immeasurably improved the life and opportunities of the inhabitants of El Pital and the entire Cangrejal River Valley. With the success of these projects, Un Mundo volunteers have ventured out into the surrounding towns and communities of the Cuenca to speak to community leaders and expand the reach of Un Mundo’s programs. In recent years, Un Mundo has participated in community-led projects in the nearby towns of La Muralla, El Naranjo, Las Mangas and Urraco, among others.

We continue to work with the community of El Pital and the surrounding villages of the Cuenca seeking to further our mission of providing access to health care, education and a livable wage.

Pico Bonito National Park

El Pital is located on the western boundary of Pico Bonito National Park, the second largest national park in Honduras. Located on the north coast of the country, the park forms part of the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor. It contains the largest proportion of natural habitat and variety of flora and fauna in Honduras. Despite a growing trend in ecotourism and ecological awareness supported for the last 12 years by the Pico Bonito Foundation (FUPNAPIB), the park and the communities within it continue to suffer. The combination of illegal logging, slash-and-burn agriculture, pollution from garbage, chemicals and sewage, and erosion threaten the health and sustainability of the lush mountainous forest. Un Mundo is working to reverse these effects by incorporating environmental education into its programs and, when possible, partnering with FUPNAPIB to find collaborative solutions.