El Heraldo Article:  March 1, 2006

Page 1 Metro Section

"Trees for Classrooms:  This is the sad reality for Honduran children, particularly those that work at the city dump."

Tegucigalpa.  "If you really want to study, you can receive your classes even under a tree."  This phrase, made popular decades ago because of the deplorable economic conditions of the country, is truer than ever in some areas of our country.  There, in the shade, the small ones receive their classes, provided for them by the "Love and Faith" (AFE) project, which was created for those children that work in the city dump and have dropped out of school. 

Page 2.  Metro.  "Calamity:  The dump school operates underneath the trees."  

Tegucigalpa.  They left the trash dump to go to school.  Melvin did it, Edy did it, Bessy and and many other did it. 

       It wasn't easy to leave; in fact, the city dump continues to be these young ones' place of work, where, along with their families, they survive on the recyclable things they can scavenge from the mounds of trash.

       The history of these little ones, who now go to school, began with a miracle.  Four years ago, Johny Ordonez, a Christian, went to the dump with his five year old daughter Chris to drop off some trash that a medical brigade had left behind.

        Chris was so moved by the presence of so many children in that horrible place that she asked her father not only to pray for them, but also to work with them.  She also reminded her dad of this desire often!

          Through the programs of the Micah Project, Johny and his family began to contact the children and their families in the dump to begin the process of enrolling them in school.  Three years ago they began to offer a formal education, even though they didn't have a place in which to do it.  They named the project "Love and Faith."

          While they were able to enroll thirty children in the program their first year, there are now 70 children studying in AFE.  Even so, there are between 250 and 300 children who work in the dump to help provide for their families.  It is hard to convince many of them to enroll in the project's classes because they have to work and because there are a lot of drugs circulating in the area.

School Under the Trees.

This school doesn't have a building, furnishings, or materials, although the program is recognized by the Secretary of Education.  For a roof, the students have the branches of a few trees which keep them out of the sun.  "Here is the first grade, over there is second, and farther over is third, each one under their own tree," explains Jezebel, Jeony's wife and director of the school.  But even these generous trees don't always protect them from the rain which "sends them running", the dust which is always a factor, and of course, the sun, which gives many of the children headaches.

          The students do their work stretched out on the ground because their are no desks and the teachers bring with them small whiteboards each day which they use to teach their classes.  Some of the children even bring small cartons to sit on during class.

          Since the children cannot afford school supplies, the project provides them with notebooks, pencils and other materials that are needed for the classes.  The children aren't required to wear uniforms, either, since their parents couldn't afford to purchase them.

          Through all of this, the children are very grateful.  "I've learned how to read," stated Edy Samuel Fonseca, a ten year old, who then asked his teacher permission to go and play.  "Edy is so intelligent that they have considered promoting him directly to the third grade," explained Jezebel Ordonez, the director of the school.  "Altogether, his family has six children, four of whom are in AFE's program."

          Most of the children who work in the city dump do not go to school due to the extreme poverty of their families; this often causes discrimination.  Generally, they are timid and wary of attention, but the time they have spent in the project has helped them to overcome these qualities.

From Afar.

One of the families of these children travels from afar to go to work at the dump every day; they have to walk an hour from the point at which they get off the bus.  The family pays the bus fare every day so that four of their children can be involved in the educational program.  Bessy Rodriguez (11), Dilmer (13), Junior (8) and Waleska (4) have to get up before five in the morning every day to hit the road with their parents, who work in the dump while the children are in school. 

          There parents work in paper recycling, gathering paper that arrives at the dump and letter selling it for recycling.  Others work recycling other kinds of refuse such as plastics, cans and even food. 

           The dump is a sub-human world in which food is fought over between humans and the buzzards that abound in the area.  Many parents take their newborns and set them in cartons while they dig through the trash.  Because of that, AFE looks after over twenty-five toddlers under the age of two so that they don't have to spend their day among the mounds of trash.

Difficult Work.

"In the beginning, this was difficult, because the children didn't accept expressions of affection or physical contact; they were very timid and didn't want to talk with anyone," admits Jezebel.  With the older children, the work is even more difficult because they do not want to leave the work at the dump.  Because of this fact, the project works out a deal with them:  if they finish their work by mid-morning, they can go back to work. 

           The younger ones spend all morning in class, which are taught by five volunteers and/or employees.  After studying in the morning, then return to work with their parents in the afternoon.  Sometimes the learning is difficult, because the children suffer from poor nutrition and do not sleep well.  Some are now in their teens, but they are very small for their age, such as Melvin who, as a fifteen year old, looks more like twelve.  He is currently in the fourth grade--behind in his studies as are most of them.

          Project AFE also works with children in pre-school and kindergarten. Those grades meet in a rented house, since the project is afraid to have them cross the main highway.

Back to Articles                          HOME