Break the Cycle of Poverty in Honduras
What are these ministries doing to help break the cycle of poverty and ignorance that hold the poorest of the poor in bondage in Honduras-- Especially Children and Women?
Jesus said, "let the children come to me: do not try to stop them for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Mark 10:14. And "I say to you whatever you did for one of these least of mine, you did for me."
Matthew 25:40
In Honduras where the plight of abused and abandoned girls was once ignored, the ministry of Our Little Roses home has become an oasis of hope and opportunity for the girl child at risk. God has truly blessed this ministry shown in the transformed lives of once destitute girls. It began with a vision given to Doctor Diana Frade of hope with life-changing dimensions for physically and emotionally abused girls as well as orphans.
History
The central ministry for homeless girls began in 1988 in a small rented house with 26 girls. In 1990 the new unique ministry caught the interest of government officials of the city of San Pedro Sula. They gave the land to Our Little Roses on which two buildings were built and where 76 girls now live and the OLRM offices are located. To this day there is no other institution in Honduras dedicated to building lives, preparing and equipping once homeless girls to enter and support them in the middle class society. This is important because uneducated girls with no skills have little to no opportunities to escape poverty level circumstances. Our girls graduating from high school who attend university also hold jobs. Other ministries housed within the walled campus include Holy Family Bilingual School, chapel and B & B hostel.
There are no governmental social services or funds for Honduran children who become victims of violence, poverty, disease and oppression. The need was desperate in 1988, and it is even more compelling today. Children are often forced onto the streets to fend for themselves when their families cannot or will not care for them. Poverty produces abusive situations for many pre- adolescent girls who are deprived of an education by being kept home to take care of younger siblings, with no adult supervision or oversight.
At Our Little Roses Homes, every girl is given not only shelter but education and love. Uniforms and school fees are provided, and a staff of teachers helps newly-arrived girls catch up with their peers. The sense of family at Our Little Roses sustains all the girls, who are active in church. Many are members of the choir, youth fellowship leaders and acolytes.
Future Goals
Our Little Roses Ministries, or Ministerios Nuestras Pequeñas Rosas as it is called in Spanish, maintains this central focus of working to rescue and transform the lives of homeless girls and has expanded to encompass several interrelated ministries within the larger community. These extended ministries include health and dental clinics, a housing project for poor single mothers with a literacy program, a community bilingual school, retreat center, Jubilee Center for justice issues, a bed & breakfast hostel and hospitality house.
Visitors from around the United States and Canada have visited Our Little Roses to participate in work projects and to help show God's love through acts of fellowship as simple as taking girls out to the many American style restaurants in the area, always a big treat.
For more information about Our Little Roses, please visit
http://www.ourlittleroses.org/about.htm