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Mission Honduras• Tierra Santa Home for Abandoned Children Tierra Santa Home for Abandoned Children The Origins of Tierra Santa The founder and present director, Sr. Santiago Martinez, officially opened Tierra Santa on July 4, 1986. It is situated near Comayagua, about 45 minutes from the capital city of Tegucigalpa. The Home was started in response to a need to care for children who have parents but have been abandoned by them for social, economic or personal reasons.Santiago is a Honduran who grew up on the coast in a poor family. His father died when he was seven, which meant he had to help his mother support the family of five at an early age. Between 1977 - 1986, Santiago Martinez worked at the Love and Hope Orphanage, a program funded by the Episcopal Church. He walked the streets of Tegucigalpa, San Pedro Sula, Tela, and La Ceiba and there he met many abandoned children. The city scenes horrified him: children begging; sniffing glue beneath bridges or in cars left in alleys or abandoned lots; sleeping on the sidewalks; and trafficking in drugs and stolen goods. Administration of Tierra Santa A board of directors, made up of professionals, business people and friends of the Home is legally responsible for Tierra Santa. All directors donate their time and talents. The Government recognized Boards, in Honduras and in the U.S. meet once a month to plan and monitor progress. Santiago and his administrative director manage the day to day operation of the Home. The financial needs of the Home are entirely funded by donations from churches, individuals and non-profit agencies. The total present annual income is $31,200 which averages out to about $20 per child per month. Tierra Santa Support, Inc. (TSSI) is a non profit group organized under the non-profit organization provisions of the laws of the State of Minnesota and recognized by the Internal Revenue Service under section 501(c)(3). TSSI is a nonprofit group providing various means of support to Hogar Tierra Santa para Ninos Abandonados. The orphanage is home to over 1000 children in rural Honduras. Mission: To provide the best possible Honduran home for the children, including the basic needs of food, water, shelter and safety while addressing the issues of health, education and the preparation of the children for adulthood by equipping them with the tools necessary to be self sufficient, productive Honduran citizens
Daily Life at Tierra Santa The Home has approximately 130 children ranging in age from infant to eighteen years. They find their way to the Home in different ways:
All children attend school. There is a pre-kindergarten and kindergarten taught at the Home. The children walk a short distance to a three room school for grades 1 – 6. The children receive secondary education (grades 7 – 9) at the government school in Villa de San Antonio. Facts About Honduras The Republic of Honduras gained its independence from Spain on September 15, 1821. It is the second largest country in Central America, with an area slightly larger than Tennessee. The interior is mostly mountainous while the Caribbean coastal area is subtropical. Countries bordering Honduras are: Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua. Tegucigalpa is the capital city with a population of over one million. Presently, Honduras has a freely elected civilian president and national congress. The national court judges are elected by the national congress. Honduras is one of the poorest countries in Central America and was hit hardest by Hurricane Mitch in the fall of 1998. Honduras sustained approximately $3 billion in damages and severe disruption to its economy. 1998 Comparative economic facts between the United States and Honduras:
Mission Honduras Update: As the young voices rang out loudly, “La B-I-B-L-I-A. Es el libro para mi…“ we (the women on the King of Kings January outreach) beamed with joy. God truly had blessed us. Our dream of doing a five-day Bible Club with the children of Tierra Santa was a reality. Not quite sure of the amount of time we would have with the children or the number of children who would attend, we prepared optimistically and relied on the Lord to do the rest. Each day, Monday through Friday, from 8:30 to 10:00 and then again from 10:00 to 11:30, we sang, presented the gospel through lessons and puppet shows, taught memory verses, created crafts, and prayed with 80 enthusiastic children from Tierra Santa. Ranging from ages 5 through 20+, the Bible Club students were attentive and were quick to learn. On Friday, most of the participants eagerly and with pride stood before the whole group and recited the memory verses. The prize…their very own Bible and a package of Chiclets! By the end of the week, each child had their own journal decorated in foam art, a beaded cross necklace, a decorated bookmark, a beaded bracelet asking, “¿Qué haría Jesús?” (What would Jesus Do), and their very own Bible. As the women’s team went about other projects in the afternoon and on the weekend, we would often hear the children reciting the memory verses, singing the songs or quietly sitting in a corner reading their Bible. What a sight to behold. Our nine days at the orphanage flew by. On a Sunday afternoon, the team invited all the children to a ‘Carnival’. Loaded down with prizes, we set up 4 different stations and handed out tickets to each child. It would be hard to guess which activity was the favorite, as the lines were continuous at the cake walk, futbol toss, face painting, and fish pond. Since our weekday mornings were packed full with the Bible Club, the team dispersed other projects throughout the afternoons. We shampooed each child and offered haircuts and manicures throughout the week. We painted the Cachorro’s (5-6 years olds) bedroom and the Tierno’s (nursery) hallway. Some of the girls were taught how to make knotted fleece blankets, others were taught x-stitching. Cake decorating was practiced and perfected. Beading classes produced beautiful bracelets. Aerobic exercise classes were held. Spanish BINGO and outdoor activities were played at the boys home. Each day, 2-3 team members would help serve lunch at the Comedor (the village soup kitchen), and lead activities for the 20-25 little ones. With donations given by friends, relatives, co-workers, and churches, the team was able to purchase a new refrigerator and a television for the boy’s home, a large jungle gym set, toys for the Comedor and ninety-five brand new back packs, along with school supplies for the upcoming school season. The days flew by way too fast and before we knew it, the team was boarding the plane to return home…nine of us back to the Minnesota, one to South Carolina, and another to South Dakota. As we departed from each other at the airport, ready to return to our individual lives and families, we knew we were different people from just ten days earlier. God had sent us on a mission. During that mission He molded us, protected us, and guided us. He gave us strengths and gifts we didn’t know we possessed. We went to give, but we received so much more than we gave. We went to serve others, but we were the ones served. The Hogar staff and children opened their home and their hearts to us. They touched our very souls…and we rejoice knowing that Jesus also touched theirs. |
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King of Kings Lutheran Church |
• The Origins of Tierra Santa
Girls faced two additional dangers on the streets: daily sexual abuse and/or forced prostitution. Yet local and national authorities were doing little to address the situation.Santiago hoped to offer children, girls in particular, a safe living environment. Impoverished families often view girls as a greater economic strain, and thus they are more susceptible to being abandoned. For this reason, he founded Tierra Santa, not just another orphanage, but a home. A home where children see each other as members of one family, each with responsibilities to themselves and others. A home where girls receive educational and vocational opportunities normally denied to girls from low-income families. Even though abandoned, each child becomes an important part of her new family - the Tierra Santa Family.
All children are involved in the care of the Home, from cooking and cleaning to general maintenance. This increases the Home’s self-sufficiency while developing the children’s domestic skills and sense of responsibility. In addition, a staff of eleven teachers gives classes and supervises the children throughout the day. There is also a driver, a cook and a caretaker.