Sweet Betania

As you hopefully recall, I’m donning my gnome hat as we’re taking a Travelocity style tour of each of the Manna 4 Lempira sponsorship centers. We’ve already visited Mercedes, so now we’re going to drive about 2 hours in the opposite direction to visit Betania.

Betania is the only Manna 4 Lempira center not located in the department of Lempira; it's actually just over the line into the department of Intibuca (pronounced een-tee-boo-KAH). It's also the only program that isn't named after its geographical location. There's no village of "Betania" - Betania is the name of the main church from which the program is run!

From Gracias, the drive to the Betania center is about 40 minutes on a paved road. Don’t let the luxury of pavement make you think this is an easy drive. It is filled with hairpin turns. You wind up, up, up, and then up some more. When you hear angels and harp music, you’re almost there. Oh, okay, I made up that part.

On the drive, you will pass a lot of fincas, which are big farms where people can work. Kim said the closest word in English would probably be “plantation”. Five communities merge into the Betania church. Some kids walk for more than an hour, to the sponsorship center. One of the little communities is Los Naranjos, which means “little oranges”. The center is about five minutes outside of San Juan, which is sort of like the U.S. equivalent of a county seat.

Backpack distribution day at Betania!

When the center at Betania started, there were 60 kids attending. It has more than tripled in size and has almost quadrupled: there are currently more than 220 kids attending the program! Kim describes Betania as “very organized”. They have highly trained teachers and do an excellent job of keeping track of attendance. When kids arrive, they are divided into separate Sunday school type classes with separate teachers for each level.

Originally, the kids at Betania were quite shy. They are now a lot more outgoing and playful. Kim laughed and said, “Our corrupting influence has rubbed off!” Whereas Mercedes is the “wild child,” Betania is “sweet”.

As at Mercedes, there is a wide range of family situations at Betania. Kim wants to remind people that not every child is the poorest of the poor. Manna 4 Lempira also serves people who are making sacrifices for their kids to attend school. Of course, they also serve the dirt poor families.

Some of the kids have such a treacherous walk to the center that visiting teams drive some children part of the way home, when they can. Children come from five different directions.

Kim said that visiting teams have been known to ask if it is possible to visit Betania and Mercedes on the same day. While it may be possible, it is not optimal due to the aforementioned two-hour drive between centers. Kim said she tells the people who ask that question, “Sure, but I’ll stay at the hotel!”

Stay tuned to see where the Manna 4 Lempira traveling gnome ends up next!

 - posted by Christi