Travel with the Backpacks: A story in pictures

It's a simple story. You have children living in poverty in Honduras. Their families struggle to feed them, let alone purchase the supplies needed to send them to school.

In contrast, you have individuals in the United States and other countries, who would love to help, if they only knew how they might do so.

In between those two groups, you have missionaries who can facilitate the transfer of loving assistance, from one to the other.

Come along for the ride . . . 

Churches, schools, clubs, etc, agree to partner with us. We send them empty backpacks, and
they present, to their members, this opportunity to serve the children in Honduras.

Members of these organizations in the U.S. collect new school supplies,
toiletries, and other small items, to fill the backpacks

Gradually the backpacks are filled,
and then they are boxed up for transport.

Boxes full of loaded backpacks are collected from multiple different locations. Eventually they are packed into shipping containers in Florida and Maryland, for the trip to Honduras.

The containers full of backpacks and supplies travel by sea to a port in Honduras. Once they've passed through Customs, we receive the boxes of backpacks, and proceed to distribute them to the children participating in our sponsorship program. The school year begins in February, and we push hard to have the needed items delivered to the children in time for the start of school.

Our truck, loaded up with backpacks to distribute
to the children in the Betania Program

Some little boy is about to be very happy!

Backpacks with name tags, awaiting their new owners.

FINALLY - here's the part you've been waiting for! Pictures of the children with their backpacks full of school supplies. The happy faces you see are children who know that they WILL have the materials they need to go to school this year!

But wait . . . there's more. Here are some photos of the children opening their backpacks, and digging into the goodies inside . . . 

From each of our feeding centers, children walk as much as several miles to their homes in the mountain villages. The impact is broad!

While we will continue to distribute the backpacks (the ones from MD are on the ocean NOW), we are already starting to think ahead to next year.  If you, your church, club, school, co-op, or any other group would like to be a part of this project, the following two blog posts will explain how you can get involved (Link and Link)! We would LOVE to partner with you in helping the children of Western Honduras get the education they need and deserve!

 - posted by Trish