Our Story
In West Central Honduras lies a colonial town called Santa Barbara. Santa Barbara does not differ much from most other pueblos of its size in Honduras, or in Latin America for that matter. The town is rich in history. Small shops and restaurants share space with outdoor fruit and vegetable markets along the downtown streets. Row-upon-row of vendors sell mangos, oranges, bananas, pineapple, avocados, papaya and other native, seasonal fruits and veggies. In spite of the town’s charm, most folk are poor, at least by our standards. They work hard and innovate just to get by.
Although Santa Barbara differs little from other towns in Latin America, it has become a place of great importance to a group of U.S. citizens. Missions of Hope, part of The Hope Chest for Women, a non-profit organization in Western North Carolina, has been actively involved in the lives of Santa Barbara’s populace for over twenty years. Our teams, led by Dr. Nathan Williams, meet medical needs-some of them dire, love on orphans at the Hogar de Niños orphanage, assist in the mission school, and help with construction projects, including a new imaging center for women.
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Our Mission
MISSIONS OF HOPE is an extension of The Hope Chest for Women, Inc. Several times a year, the Missions of Hope teams travel to Santa Barbara, Honduras. In that pueblo, God has opened several doors of ministry for us. We send surgical teams to work with the local hospital and family practice doctors to provide medical care in various area clinics, some in very remote villages. We assist the children and staff at the Hogar de Niños orphanage. We love on the children. We volunteer in the mission school. We make repairs to everything from buildings to bicycles. We are near completion of a Women’s Diagnostic Clinic called Clínica Esperanza. The donated diagnostic equipment used in our clinic will serve many thousands of women living in the mountains of Honduras.Like most mission ventures, the needs surpass our ability to meet them.
We are always looking for volunteers to join us. Urologists, dermatologists, dentists, ophthalmologists, other specialists as well as RNs and surgical techs are frequent additions to our teams. Spanish speaking translators also make life easier for everyone!.
Regardless of the time, money, and energy we invest in Honduras, we always come away feeling we have received the greater blessing. Hardly anything compares to seeing women’s tears of joy or relief either due to a favorable diagnosis, a successful surgery, or just because she knows someone cares. Our hearts overflow when a child hugs us as though they will never let go. Even in their poverty, the people of Honduras have made us rich.
The Hogar de Niños
We are drawn to Santa Barbara for reasons other than medical missions. At the Hogar de Niños (Home for Children), located on the outskirts of Santa Barbara, young children tend to steal your heart. Reach International is the sponsor agency for the Hogar de Niños. Both Honduran and U.S. volunteers live at the Hogar, helping care for the children.
The orphanage is home to nearly 60 children who have been orphaned, abused or abandoned by parents too poor to take care of them. The children attend a mission-sponsored elementary school. The school has built such an excellent reputation that over 200 children from surrounding area pay to attend. The Secondary School (Colegio) has around 300 students, many of them also from the local community.