Situated on the eastern side of Honduras is a department called Gracias A Dios. This department is largely forgotten. It is home to several indiginous indian groups. They are the Garifino, Mosquite, and Tawakan indians. This department is in great need because of the logistical difficulties in reaching it. For this reason, BMDMI and almost every other mission agency find themselves unable to work in this department .
There are only 2 means by which someone may reach La Mosquitia. The most common (and most expensive) is by small plane. This can cost anywhere from $500-$1000 per flight. The other option is to travel 4 hours in the back of a truck, riding through the surf and crossing rivers on rafts. This will bring you to the town of Palacios where you will then begin your travels by dugout canoe. Keep in mind that Palacios is located on the extreme western edge of Gracias A Dios and the canoe travel will last for days. It is this logistical nightmare that has keep the government of Honduras from reaching the area with medicine, electricity, phone service, and any other aspects of normal living. For example, the Rio Patuca has around 80,000 inhabitants in it's watershed and there is only one location for medical care. That is a Moravian Hospital located in Ahuas. It is staffed with 2 doctors, a husband and wife missionary couple. Travel on the Patuca to Ahuas can take anywhere from 10 hours to 3 days by boat depending on how big your boat is (most take 3 days). There isn't any dental care on the Patuca. They must travel to Ahuas and then pay around $70 to travel to Puerta Lempira. And that is just one of the 6 rivers.
God has presented me with 3 main areas to work. One such area is the hospital at Ahuas which has a decent dental clinic, just needs someone to use it. We plan to reach each of these areas with medical, dental, vet, optical and evangelistic teams. The areas are:
|
