CAFOD in Central America

By the time you read this, I will be in Honduras on the first part of an International Programme Visit which will also include visiting CAFOD’s Central America office and partners in Nicaragua. I feel very privileged that CAFOD has given me this opportunity to see for myself the impact of CAFOD’s work in this part of the world.

I will be travelling with other CAFOD colleagues, Joanne Taylor, Diocesan Officer from Leeds; Sue Bownas, Diocesan Manager from Shrewsbury; Sophie Stanes, Head of Community Fundraising and CAFOD’s Central American Communications Officer, Sarah Smith-Pearse, who promises to keep us all safe.

During our visit we will meet local communities whose homes and livelihoods have been destroyed to make way for the massive San Martin gold mine in Honduras’ Siria Valley, one of the focus countries of CAFOD’s Unearth Justice campaign, highlighting the plight of local people suffering from the disastrous effects of the pursuit of the very lucrative commodity – Gold. Never has the saying ‘all that glitters is not gold’ been more appropriate.

We will also be visiting fair trade producers and grass root co-operatives in Honduras, a country where the richest 20% of the population receive two thirds of the national income while the poorest 20% receive less than 3%. As in many other Central American countries, people rely on the money sent home by family members working abroad, Hondurans working in the US are now the country’s largest source of income which reached $863m in 2003.

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From there we travel to Nicaragua, one of the poorest countries in the western hemisphere, with an estimated 4.3 million people living in poverty. We will visit CAFOD’s Central America office in Managua to gain an understanding of the work they are doing and then visit projects run by CAFOD’s partner, the John XXIII Institute – a Jesuit organisation that is linked to the University of Central America. The Institute is highly respected for its expertise in responding to emergencies, which is often tested in this hurricane prone area. Both Honduras and Nicaragua have suffered terribly during the annual hurricane season which is from May to September. Hurricane Mitch devastated both countries in 1998, leaving 20% of the population homeless.

CAFOD has been working in Honduras and Nicaragua for around 30 years and has been at the forefront of activities in the immediate aftermath of emergencies to ensure vital supplies are rapidly distributed. Because of its long-standing relationship with partners, it is well placed to be able to mobilise people very quickly when emergency situations arise.

One of the projects we will visit in Nicaragua is on Disaster Preparedness Training. We hope for only blue skies and sunshine but it does focus your mind on the unpredictability and devastation nature is capable of. Those who are poorest are least able to recover from the impact such extreme events have on their lives. Nicaragua is the poorest of all the Central American countries.

Both Honduras and Nicaragua have had their share of internal conflict and are emerging from violent civil wars. While much in the garden is not yet rosy, a tentative peace is allowing some development and restructuring work to begin.
I’m sure I will have much to tell on my return. Wish me ‘Buena Suerte’! (Good Luck).

Carol Cross

Diocesan Officer, CAFOD Middlesbrough