the community of
THE GOOD SHEPHERD

Honduras Project

Good Shepherd partners with the Diocese of Santa Rosa del Copan in Intibucá, Honduras.

There are two components to the Good Shepherd Honduras Project.

1. to partner with Shoulder to Shoulder to build a bilingual school, which community leaders have identified as an urgent need.
2. to help the Diocese of Santa Rosa del Copan foster the Catholic faith by assisting in the establishment of a rural parish, and providing materials and support for basic religious education and sacramental preparation in all three parishes of Southern Intibucá.

This project is about empowerment, both economic and spiritual.

The financial goal is to raise $450,000 over the three years. Our humanitarian goal is to assist the population out of extreme poverty and enrich their spiritual growth. In the process, we hope to grow in our spirituality, our understanding of how to improve the area through sustainable poverty interventions, and develop individually by becoming involved with another culture. We are not alone in our effort as we will leverage our contributions with other agencies as well.

NEW! View Honduras Project Video on YouTube », 01-Jul-2011

Honduras Project Update

(posted 5/20/2012

The roof of the Casa Parroquial (Parish House) is now being installed and the local Catholic Community from many towns and villages, have come together to raise $22,000 of the $25,000 needed for the land. Dr. Christy O’Dea recently returned from the area and reported that the Parish House will be used for a variety of faith formation opportunities and training. The new bishop of Santa Rosa del Copan is so pleased with the progress that he is attempting to come to Good Shepherd in October for “Mission Sunday.”

We are just past the halfway point of the three year project goal of $450,000. To date, $231,000 has been raised.

(posted 4/30/2012)

The progress on the Casa Parroquial (“Parish House”) is outstanding. This building includes a residence for the priest, a small chapel, offices for the parish, and space for faith formation trainings and activities for the surround areas. Due to long distances that people must travel to obtain trainings, sleeping quarters are also necessary and part of the construction. These quarters may also be utilized by visiting brigades from the US, and future Good Shepherd parish visits. The building is projected to be completed in July 2012. The construction has been supervised by the local committee of volunteers from the church who meet twice a week. They are immensely grateful to the Good Shepherd for our generosity. The Catholic Community of Santa Lucia and its surrounding villages continues to raise funds to purchase the land for the Casa Parroquial. The cost of the land was $25,000 and the local Catholic Community has raised $21,000 thus far through bake sales, activities and donations from the community.

Bilingual Education Update: The Honduras Project

(posted 5/20/2012)

The roof of the Casa Parroquial (Parish House) is now being installed and the local Catholic Community from many towns and villages, have come together to raise $22,000 of the $25,000 needed for the land. Dr. Christy O’Dea recently returned from the area and reported that the Parish House will be used for a variety of faith formation opportunities and training. The new bishop of Santa Rosa del Copan is so pleased with the progress that he is attempting to come to Good Shepherd in October for “Mission Sunday.”

We are just past the halfway point of the three year project goal of $450,000. To date, $231,000 has been raised.

(posted 4/23/2012)

Over 250 children are already receiving English instruction two to three times each week as the construction portion of our bilingual education project begins!

Through Good Shepherd’s partnership with Shoulder to Shoulder and the community of Camasca, the bilingual school’s programming and the planning and construction of its campus have taken great strides since the last update.

Recently, the committee selected the school’s first teacher: a Honduran kindergarten educator with seven years of experience teaching in a bilingual school in San Pedro Sula, the country’s second-largest city. They simultaneously proposed admitting a smaller class of students during the school’s first year. They believe this would allow further refinement of the school’s programming and curriculum in response to the needs these students demonstrate. They simultaneously launched bi-weekly and tri-weekly English classes for 250 children in two communities to ensure that a significant number of local students will still immediately benefit from the bilingual education project.

Planning and Construction of Campus: Alejandra Madrid, a Honduran architect with bilingual school experience, has completed all of the school’s plans, and they are in their final stages of revision. Unfortunately, the main road to the school’s plot of land has been unexpectedly closed, curtailing construction activities until July 1. The committee has planned accordingly, and this will not delay the school’s opening in August/September 2012. Alejandra’s plans also ensure that structures are built in the order of necessity. For instance, her two phases of construction place early education classrooms in the first phase, with the second phase including buildings such as a 200-student cafeteria and living space areas.

(posted 3/1/2012)

The construction of the faith formation training center/rectory is advancing in Santa Lucia, Honduras, as part of the Good Shepherd Honduras Project. Pictured to the left, one can see the start of construction of a small chapel, in the shape of an octagon. In addition, materials for the roof have been purchased.

There are two components to the Good Shepherd Honduras Project. The first component is to partner with Shoulder to Shoulder to build a bilingual school, construction set to begin in April, which community leaders have identified as an urgent need. The second is to help the Diocese of Santa Rosa del Copan foster the Catholic faith by assisting in the establishment of a rural parish, and providing materials and support for basic religious education and sacramental preparation. This project is about empowerment, both economic and spiritual. The three year goal is $450,000, and to date, $213,000 has been raised, including the $11,000 recently raised through the Tim Janis Honduras Project benefit concert

(posted 1/20/2012)

There has been great progress on the construction of the parish rectory/training center in Santa Lucia. The residents from many villages have come together to purchase the land through the sale of tamales, bread, etc. and have already paid $14,814 of the $21,163 cost of the land (purchased interest free). Good Shepherd is funding the construction costs. The pictures here are from December, 2011.

In addition, construction of the bilingual school in Camasca is set to begin in March with the school opening for 80 students in Pre-K and Kindergarten in September of this year. The plan is to add a grade of 40 students each year. Through creative planning, the number of students scheduled to attend has more than doubled. Scholarship funds will be available so no students will be turned away who lack the financial resources. Plans are to have another group from Good Shepherd travel to the area in the summer of 2013.

Honduras Mission Trip Photo Gallery

View August 2011 Mission Trip photo gallery

Outreach 2011 Report at Good Shepherd

(posted 3/1/2012)

Good Shepherd parishioners have been very generous in supporting local, national and global outreach efforts. View a 2011 update of all the outreach that took place in the year 2011 with volunteer work estimated to be about 24,000 hours!

October 2011 - Mission Sunday (talk about Padre's visit)

Listen to Padre Efrain's homily (Sunday, October 23, 2011)

View Mission Sunday AV Presentation

Padre Efrain’s English Homily Translation - Mission Sunday (47 KB), 23-Oct-2011

Padre Efrain's Spanish Homily Translation - Mission Sunday (62 KB), 27-Oct-2011

Solidarity

Your prayers and financial support are both appreciated and greatly needed. If you would like to donate, please make your check payable to Good Shepherd and write ‘Honduras Project’ on the memo line. Mail to:

The Community of the Good Shepherd
8815 E. Kemper Road
Cincinnati, OH 45249

or to make an Electronic Donation, please go to our Electronic Fund Transfer webpage to make a donation to the Honduras Project.

Prayer

Lord, you called your people to be one Church.
Guide us at Good Shepherd and our brothers and sisters in Intibucá, Honduras to live out your mission.
Make us one in faith, hope, and loving service.
Make us one in worship and daily living.
Open our hearts to the needy, the afflicted and the oppressed.
May we radiate the love of Christ in all we do.
Amen.

Resources

View Honduras Project Video on YouTube », 01-Jul-2011

Honduras Project Flyer (578 KB), 26-Oct-2011

Catholic Telegraph article regarding Cardinal Rodriguez’s visit to Good Shepherd on November 4, 2010 (6 KB), 29-Nov-2010

Oscar Andres Cardinal Rodriguez’s letter of March 2010 (60 KB), 02-Mar-2010

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