The next four blog posts will introduce you to the four Manna 4 Lempira Sponsorship Centers: Mercedes, Betania, Tablon, and Quelacasque (pronounced kay-la-KASS-kay). Here's a map, showing the locations of these four centers, and their relationship to the city of Gracias:
Because of the mountainous terrain in this area, flat maps don't always give an accurate portrayal of the travel times and distances between locations, so I've collected some numbers for you:
- Driving from Gracias to Mercedes takes 40 - 80 minutes (depending on road conditions of the dirt road, which vary greatly through the year). That's 10 miles on pavement, and then 10 miles of dirt roads.
- Driving from Gracias to Quelacasque takes 40 minutes; 1 mile of pavement, 6 miles of bad dirt roads.
- Driving from Gracias to Tablon takes 15 minutes; 7 miles all on paved roads.
- Driving from Gracias to Betania takes 35 minutes; 21 miles all on paved roads.
Are you ready for your tour of the Manna sponsorship centers? 'Cause, here we go . . . .
Mercedes: The Wild Child
Recently, there was a very official meeting (I believe it was at Allen and Trish’s kitchen table) to discuss upcoming blog topics. I haven’t asked to see the list of ideas for two reasons: 1) I like to be surprised each week, 2) The memory portion of my brain seems to be nearing capacity and I’m saving any remaining space for useless trivia. So, this morning, during a phone call with Kim Hall, I was excited to learn that the next few posts are going to be overviews of each Manna 4 Lempira sponsorship center.
In case you’re wondering why you might need an overview, it’s because each center has its own unique personality. Think of these posts as mission versions of Travelocity reviews. I’ve donned my funny little gnome hat because, today, we’re heading to the center at Mercedes.
If you happen to have a map handy, well… You still may not see the actual road to the Mercedes center. But we can get you to Las Flores, which is about a 20-minute paved drive north-west of Gracias. Once in Las Flores, you’re going to turn and cross a river and drive for another 25 minutes. What direction will you drive? Up. You’ll drive up. You’ll go over several creeks, which is a real adventure during the rainy season. Kim said the views are fabulous. She joked that the theme song for Mercedes is “Top of the World”. You’ve got to love any location that can have an old Carpenters' song as a theme song.
Mercedes was the first center Kim visited, and to be perfectly honest, she wasn’t thrilled about going. She had come to the Gracias area to visit a child she sponsored through another organization, at another location. Kim looked at her team and gave them a pep talk about how great Allen had been during their trip and how it was time to support him by seeing the work he does. She’s so glad she went - as that was the beginning of the whole Manna program!
Six churches feed into the Mercedes center. Some kids walk more than an hour to get to the church in the center. On Sundays, they go to their own churches. Kim used to call Mercedes the “wild child” because there are so many kids and they like to play. There is a wide range of family situations at this location. Some of the poorest kids live in that area. Many of the kids were malnourished before going to the center. Some of the families are doing a little better because there are a lot of coffee farms up there.
There is no high school in the community. Once students complete the 9th grade, they must leave the community if they are to attend high school. Some of the kids who go away to high school are able to visit home on weekends.
Mercedes was the original Manna sponsorship center and they are seeing great results. So far, one Manna sponsored child has graduated from high school. Several more will graduate this year. Last year, Kim visited a 9th-grade classroom. Of the fourteen students in the class, twelve of them were in the sponsorship program. As Kim said, “That is a good indicator that kids in our program are more likely to stay in school!"
The Mercedes program started with 150 kids. That number is now up to 384!
Stay tuned for the gnome's next visit - to Betania!
- posted by Christi (intro by Trish)
Mercedes: The Wild Child
Recently, there was a very official meeting (I believe it was at Allen and Trish’s kitchen table) to discuss upcoming blog topics. I haven’t asked to see the list of ideas for two reasons: 1) I like to be surprised each week, 2) The memory portion of my brain seems to be nearing capacity and I’m saving any remaining space for useless trivia. So, this morning, during a phone call with Kim Hall, I was excited to learn that the next few posts are going to be overviews of each Manna 4 Lempira sponsorship center.
If you happen to have a map handy, well… You still may not see the actual road to the Mercedes center. But we can get you to Las Flores, which is about a 20-minute paved drive north-west of Gracias. Once in Las Flores, you’re going to turn and cross a river and drive for another 25 minutes. What direction will you drive? Up. You’ll drive up. You’ll go over several creeks, which is a real adventure during the rainy season. Kim said the views are fabulous. She joked that the theme song for Mercedes is “Top of the World”. You’ve got to love any location that can have an old Carpenters' song as a theme song.
Mercedes was the first center Kim visited, and to be perfectly honest, she wasn’t thrilled about going. She had come to the Gracias area to visit a child she sponsored through another organization, at another location. Kim looked at her team and gave them a pep talk about how great Allen had been during their trip and how it was time to support him by seeing the work he does. She’s so glad she went - as that was the beginning of the whole Manna program!
 |
| Boys (including Kim's son, Benjamin) in front of the main Mercedes church |
Six churches feed into the Mercedes center. Some kids walk more than an hour to get to the church in the center. On Sundays, they go to their own churches. Kim used to call Mercedes the “wild child” because there are so many kids and they like to play. There is a wide range of family situations at this location. Some of the poorest kids live in that area. Many of the kids were malnourished before going to the center. Some of the families are doing a little better because there are a lot of coffee farms up there.
There is no high school in the community. Once students complete the 9th grade, they must leave the community if they are to attend high school. Some of the kids who go away to high school are able to visit home on weekends.
Mercedes was the original Manna sponsorship center and they are seeing great results. So far, one Manna sponsored child has graduated from high school. Several more will graduate this year. Last year, Kim visited a 9th-grade classroom. Of the fourteen students in the class, twelve of them were in the sponsorship program. As Kim said, “That is a good indicator that kids in our program are more likely to stay in school!"
The Mercedes program started with 150 kids. That number is now up to 384!
Stay tuned for the gnome's next visit - to Betania!
- posted by Christi (intro by Trish)
3 comments:
Fabulous!!! I’ve been asking for a map of the different centers!! And a more in-depth looks at the centers are the cherry 🍒 on top!!! Thank you! By the way, I laugh-snorted LOUDLY over your sentences about going up. 😂🤣😂
I’m looking forward to the rest of this series!
I'm glad you're enjoying this post, Marci! :)
Natalie - the post about Quelacasque (where your sponsor kids live) is my favorite of this series. You're going to love it. :)
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