Due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the 2 hurricanes that struck Honduras in early November 2020, our efforts have shifted slightly to live into the reality that Hondurans are currently facing. This began with some immediate Hurricane Relief in November and by December rolled into our Co-directors forming a Hurricane Rehabilitation Committee to write a strategic plan to address the current situation. Stacey and four Honduran coworkers composed this committee.
Hurricane Rehabilitation
This plan created four working groups for post-hurricane rehabilitation that maintained commitment to holistic, participatory and collaborative development. These four groups are focused on Restoration (spiritual, social/emotional due to trauma and change), Reconstruction (physical infrastructure and health), Family Economy (addressing food security and family income due to the loss of crops), and Mitigation and Planning (looking to the future). As a part of the strategic plan our entire international CPHTH staff as been divided into these groups, which have now visited communities, created their own focused plan, and are now actively involved in execution of rehabilitation efforts. Kaleb is a part of the Family Economy group and Stacey is in the Mitigation and Planning group.
Internal Transition Team Lead
In addition, Kaleb continues as Transition Team Lead through our Internal CPHTH restructure with our Co-directors Randy and Henry. This process has led to new levels of alignment and focus within the team - which is now being organized according to the new combined operational structure. One of the most important outcomes of this process has been the seven new CPHTH Impact Goals shared by the combined organization. The following goals will direct the focus of all current and future endeavors by CPHTH.
OSU and Zamorano
We are excited to share that two new partners have joined the Communities of Holistic Impact (CoHI) program for the first four months of this year. 35 students are joining this initiative from Universidad Zamorano, a highly-respected Honduran university that attracts students from all regions of Latin America. They are joined by seven students from The Ohio State University's College of Engineering "Sustainable Community Development" course. Together with our Community Development team, we are walking through a "Local Resource Case Study" (rain water in this instance) with our CoHI communities in order to further their ability to identify local resources and prioritize local projects in a just and efficient way.
As a part of this initiative, Stacey and Kaleb have been invited several times now to guest lecture in these online classes, at times joined by Fredy and Otto. It has been a great privilege to interact with these students. In these sessions, we have been able to unabashedly share our holistic approach to development work, including the necessity of addressing core spiritual issues that exist in community. We are grateful to God and these institutions for allowing us to speak into the lives of 40+ young people, many of which will form the next generation of development professionals in Latin America. We pray that our team's approach, faith, and philosophy might positively impact not only the lives of these students, but those that they will some day work alongside in developing countries.
Community Development and CoHI
In the midst of COVID restrictions, our department has continued to operate - especially in the realms of the above-listed rehabilitation efforts and the Communities of Holistic Impact program, leading workshops, facilitating community resource surveys, and going the extra mile with communities facing significant changes. A small anecdote may be in order here.
When the Community Development Commission of Caliche was discouraged this winter following the departure of Pastora Jesus and the death of community president Catalino, Fredy, Otto, and Marvin Sorto spent extra time in Caliche - even spending the night. That evening they met with the men of the community to strengthen their faith and challenge them to meet the moment. They then spent the following day visiting farmers affected by the storms, helping the commission re-conform and integrate new members, and getting everyone up to speed in the program. This love for people, and belief in the God-given capacity is what sets Heart to Honduras apart. Spending 48 hours, voluntarily outside of normal work requirements, working in the difficult climate of Caliche in the midst of COVID, hurricane fallout, and loss of local leadership is no small thing. The love and passion of our co-workers is what makes this organization tick, and what makes the difference in the lives of those that we work alongside.
In addition to what we have mentioned above, the heart of what we do is what we have always shared - holistic, sustainable Community Development. What does that mean?
Recently we put together a preliminary Pilot Phase Report of the initiative that launched in 2018, "Communities of Holistic Impact" (CoHi). The report (available at the following link) includes a fairly comprehensive summary of CoHI the past 3 years, including photos, written description, and numerous links to past reports.
If you are particularly interested in our spiritual or theological reasons for our way of life/work you can find that in "Appendix 2" the end of the report.
What do Kaleb and Stacey do?
In summary, we believe that the list of CoHi program goals is a great summary of what we do on a daily basis:
• remind marginalized communities’ members of their true identity in Christ and dignity as human beings created in God’s image
• empower community based organizations (CBOs) in rural communities (patronatos, juntas de agua, sociedades de padres de familia, and local churches) to be the effective protagonists in their community’s own development story
• foster unity and a spirit of collaboration amongst the primary CBOs and churches
• encourage communities to develop mutually-beneficial relationships with their government and other local power-holders
• mediate between conflicting parties within the community or between the community and other parties
• advocate for justice in policy and markets alongside local communities
• inspire communities to develop innovative and creative solutions to perceived issues
• develop a sense of local identity and belonging that motivates community members to stay and participate in their community instead of emigrating
• build the capacity of local leadership to plan, develop, and execute their own development priorities in a holistic, sustainable, inclusive, and just manner
• support local development efforts through the contribution of financial, human, logistical and other resources
• improve recognition and sustainable utilization of diverse local resources
• contribute to a culture of mutual respect, equality, and love of neighbor
• enhance the self-efficacy of community leaders and improve the relationship of marginalized rural communities with the local government and international partners
• connect communities to domestic and international experts and partners
• teach communities to recognize development as an ongoing holistic process at the individual and communal level, not simply an economic event that increases income
• create networks of like-minded communities that reinforce learning and encourage one another as they work through the program as a cohort.
CoHi is up and running this year in all 3 communities though we have had pauses at times for Covid-19 outbreaks and leadership restructures. We continue to be flexible and change to current contexts all the while finding creative ways for mission and vision to be reached.
Practically, our work looks like creation of holistic, culturally and context appropriate CoHi curriculum which includes workshops and community activities. It also looks like a lot of encouragement and empowerment of our Honduran staff, pastors and local leaders. We spend time individually, together as a couple and in team with our Honduran coworkers developing CoHi curriculum, best practices of implementation and evaluation. Because we are not there in person during this season, we encourage from a distance with phone calls of empowerment and encouragement through the implementation phases as well as simply provide a listening ear on their rough days. Development work is slow, messy and complicated. We know this and sympathize. We listen, pray with them and encourage them to keep going in this tedious work in the power of the Holy Spirit for the glory of God.
On the home front - in Pittsburgh for now: Our daily routine consists of Stacey teaching the girls home-school in the mornings while Kaleb works remotely for HTH and around 2/3pm we switch and Stacey works for HTH the rest of the day while Kaleb teaches the second half of the home-school day. This schedule constantly changes as work meetings and phone calls call for flexibility but having a general routine is wonderful for now. Eliana is now 4 enjoying her preschool activities and Alida is 6 and in the last legs of first grade.
Return to Honduras? As we shared in an email communication in January, we are still awaiting our return to Honduras for several reasons. Our HtH board, medical advisors and mentors have all agreed it would be best for us to have proof of Covid-19 antibodies or the vaccine before returning to Honduras. One of the main reasons is medical care as the healthcare system in Honduras has been "collapsed" due to the overload during the pandemic and hurricanes. We are constantly aware of the fact that we work with marginalized people groups, many of which have very limited access to medical care and resources, even during the best of times. Even if our concerns for our own health (in regards to COVID) is limited, we also feel that we have an obligation to minimize the risks for those that we work among in Honduran communities.
In short, the answer to the "When will you return to Honduras?" = when we have proof of Covid-19 antibodies or have received the Covid-19 vaccine AND the Honduran healthcare system is stable AND we comply with all exit/entry government requirements. We truly can't know when this will be.
How is remote working going?
Honestly, we can't complain and truly believe is going very well. Two of our greatest benefits have been our years of deep relationships(prior to our stateside stay) with our coworkers and community members and of course, technology. God has blessed us with amazing teamwork and we are able to work together virtually in preparation for community visits and then empower our Honduran coworkers to be the face to face facilitators for now. This is how we play our roles in each of the teams mentioned at the beginning.
Las Lomitas?
We truly do miss our Honduran home and neighbors in Las Lomitas. We are constantly in contact with our local pastor, neighbors and local leaders. We video call to celebrate birthdays together, send and receive video and voice greetings, and are available to call when the hard days come. For example, the pastor and his wife ask to call to share some difficulties and we have the privilege of listening to them, encouraging them, and praying over the phone with them.
Las Lomitas is advancing in multiple areas as they have become local protagonists for their holistic community development. The local church tore down the old 1 stall bathroom at the church and has built several new restrooms! Local leaders continue to press government for educational services in their community and legal rights to a new water source. Not to mention they are and have been actively involved in CoHi for three full years now!
We thank each of you that take the time to read, pray and support us both financially and/or in friendship. Your support of us makes the program goals listed above a reality on a daily basis both for the Honduran staff and community members.
Wishing you all grace and peace. With much gratitude,
The Eldridge Family
WHO WE ARE:
Kaleb and Stacey Eldridge - Our shared passion for the people around us and around the world and our common faith in Christ led us to marriage in June of 2009. In 2010, Heart to Honduras offered us the opportunity to step into a full-time International Community Development role. In 2011 we left our full-time teaching and tech-writing jobs in order to move to Honduras. Why? Our faith leads us to the understanding that we cannot just view people as only souls (to be saved) or only bodies (to be fixed or provided for), but as whole people.
We are all in poverty - mentally, physically, environmentally, emotionally, financially, spiritually – not one of us escapes the grasp of oppression and suffering. We believe that only through hope in Christ can we ever fully escape this vicious cycle. As holistic beings, our response to poverty must also be holistic. We can no longer just engage the world in only church, only poverty alleviation efforts, only counseling, only microbusiness, only education, only medical work, or only environmental advocacy, but work to bring all these elements into one holistic model that ministers to unique needs in each individual or community. This understanding leads us to live intentional lives that focus around relationship with God, ourselves, our environment, and others.
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