May 2011

The school in St. Helene has been up and running for over 3 months now and though it lacks a final coat of paint, the 57 children in classes there couldn’t care less about that! This trip to St. Helen, however, showed us a different need in the community.

We had been approached by individuals from St. Helene asking if we could fund them for a job or help them start a small business. Times are definitely tough on the island and income is scarce. Men fish and dive for lobsters to make a living, but when the fish and lobsters go away (as they are experiencing now with the arrival of the lion fish), money is especially hard to come by. And for the women in particular, there are precious few ways to make a living. To make things worse, in the case of two people, they had not received pay for over 7 months for a job they've been doing faithfully. Simply crazy!

These people have become more than just faces in pictures to us. They are our friends. We’ve shared meals together, built a school together, our daughter plays with their children and has become good friends also. So it was especially heart-breaking to have to look our friends in the eye each time and tell them 'no' to their requests. Although an emotionally hard decision, we knew it was the 'right' decision, as we are here for the entire community and not one or two families in particular. In order for the community to embrace us and trust us in the future, we simply could not show favoritism to a select few. But on this last visit, the tears in their eyes when they heard the answer was overwhelming. Desperate to help them in some other way, I asked "Aside from a job, what is your biggest struggle, what is your biggest need?" Thinking they might say clothes, or an engine for their dory (boat), I was floored when each of them individually told me with great humility, "Honestly, what we need is food."


I was in tears as I realized how desperate the situation was for our friends in St. Helene. Sure, they appreciate the new school, but that’s long-term. What they need RIGHT NOW is FOOD! After talking with David, he immediately said we need to start a food bank. Four days later, the first shipment of rice and beans was transported to St. Helene for the 22 families of the north-side community. A huge thank you to Marcos Antonio Ramirez at Comercial Ramirez for getting us this food in bulk at cost, and so quickly. Thank you so very much!

Although we will help with food during difficult times, enabling them is not our purpose. Our long-term goal is to help them become self-sufficient by teaching them to raise crops and animals themselves. There are obstacles to overcome to be successful at this, and we know this will take YEARS to accomplish, but we believe it is achievable and necessary. Calls are already being made to an agricultural university on mainland Honduras with the hope of having interns come spend time on the island with rotating teams to oversee the development and on-going care. The success of this project is critical and will require the 22 families there to come together and function as a community, something that is sadly lacking. We have already been asked by more than one person on the islands to bring the Discovery program to Roatán to help in this matter, and in many other ways. (For details on the Discovery program, go to www.discovery-austin.org)



In the meantime, here are some pics of the rest of our visit in Helene. The first is of an older woman on the island who is diabetic. She had no way of monitoring her sugar levels and so a nurse friend of ours donated a glucometer. Here, we are teaching her how to use it while some of the children look on.

Back at the children's home, we checked in on the kids and the refurbishing of an 'apartment' (room) at the home for the new employee living there. Previously that particular room was a complete disaster and unfit for living, although the man was living there anyway! Now the mold has been cleared away, sheetrock redone, windows installed, and an A/C unit has been ordered. The remaining item is to repair the plumbing, and then the man's wife will also be able to move in with him. They are a welcome addition to the home and the children have come to love and respect them. We have been asked for the safety of the children not to post photos of them for their safety as, unfortunately, child trafficking and prostitution are very high on the island.

In a separate, upcoming entry, we look forward to introducing you to our newest project on the island of Roatán. Stay tuned for the big news!! And as always, thank you for your interest and support.

March 2011

On Saturday, February 26th, about 120 people – adults and children alike – gathered to dedicate the new school building on the north side of St. Helene. It was a beautiful day and a great occasion. As the M.C. of the event, Pastor Martel, announced “Today is a momentous day for St. Helene. Today, St. Helene is on the map!”



Many of the children were present in their school uniforms, with bright blue shirts the color of the Caribbean sea that is always visible in the background. They opened the ceremony by singing the national anthem, led by Darla Pandy, the school teacher we met in September 2009 who first told us of the need on the island, her home town.

At the end of the ceremony, ribbons were cut and the building was officially announced open for school!! As of today, the kids are finishing their 2nd week in the new classrooms and Lindon, the teacher we have been working with, has told us many times already how excited and proud the kids are about their new school! After 8 years of trying, the community’s dream has finally come true.

After the ribbon cutting came a fabulous feast! Our friends at Infinity Bay in West Bay, Roatán provided fried chicken, cornbread and home-made brownies for the entire crowd, and the community provided all the delicious sides. No one left hungry! David and I enjoyed greeting each adult and child as they entered the classroom where the food was being served.





Before leaving to come home, we made another trip to the island and got to see the beautiful kids in their classrooms learning. Here are some photos of each classroom. Kiera is working with the Kindergartners.
Lindon has 3 grades in his class.
Ollie has 2 grades in her class. Attendance is already up from last year and they expect it to continue to grow!








Although the school is up and running, our work is not yet finished. The school still needs to be painted, and the waste water system needs some tweaking. We also plan to have a walkway built around the back side of the building. But for all practical purposes, the school is complete, and we are so thankful for everyone who helped make this dream a reality. And we invite everyone to come make the long, but very worthwhile trip to the wonderful northside community of St. Helene to see the school that sits on a hill overlooking the pristine waters of the Caribbean, where the kids have learned to dare to dream, because dreams really do come true.














Lastly, an update on the children at the children's home. They are doing great! The 4 kids being sponsored to bilingual school through our foundation are being re-sponsored. Our mentorship program now has ALL the kids at the home paired up with a mentor, writing them letters and sending care packages. Also, a new man was recently hired by the home to be a live-in 'father figure' to the children. We got to meet him and have committed to remodeling the apartment at the home where he is living. The work has already begun and we hope to have it completed quickly so that his wife will join him. We will keep you posted!

February 2011

The school is coming along so quickly! Only 7 weeks of construction to date. Pretty amazing when you consider the logistics of getting all these supplies to the island! That speaks to the quality of work that our manager, Kevin Wesley, is doing along with the crew and people of St. Helene.

Floors were poured on this trip. Next is the roofing, doors and windows. The community is picking out the color paint they want and they will paint their own school. They decided on a location for the blocks with donor names. It will be on the front wall of the school - high enough that it has a clean look as you approach the building, but easily visible to anyone who wants to see. There are only a few blocks left to purchase, so if you want one, get your donation in quickly!!

For lunch we were treated to a home-cooked meal by Lindon’s wife, sister and mother. Such a treat! Fresh conk caught right off the island, fried chicken, all the trimmings, and a freshly baked cake. DEE-licious!!! Thank you, ladies!!

The first day of school will likely be around February 15, but the dedication ceremony is definitely set for Saturday, February 26th. There will be a small ceremony at the school followed by a pot-luck. Should be quite a shin-dig as most of the island is likely to show up for the celebration!

We look forward to reporting back with the update. In the meantime, look at some of the beautiful children who are excited about their new school!!

January 2011

Happy New Year!

We brought in the New Year in Roatán and have more updates for you on the school. This was the first time we got to see the construction in person. Prior to that, it was through photos being emailed to us by Kevin. What a thrill to see it and touch it! Here is a view of the school as you see it walking up the hill from the dock.


We visited St. Helene twice during our stay. The first time, everyone was still on holiday so no work was being done, but the second time, everything was in full swing. They are moving fast and we really do believe, barring any long-term bad weather, the school should be ready for the start date in Honduras of February 15th – VERY exciting!!

With us on this trip was Ian from Piranha Systems (the one in the goatee) who will be doing the waste water system for the toilets in the school. His system is a 'green' aerator system that purifies sewage so it doesn’t contaminate the environment which, being so close to the ocean, will protect the beautiful reefs that surround St. Helene. He was excited to see the school and we greatly appreciate his generosity in doing this project for the cost of materials only. The man to Ian's left is Luis, the construction manager overseeing the project. He is doing a fantastic job!

The materials continue to be delivered one dory full at a time. We knew it was a lot of work, but to see it first-hand was impressive. Once they get the dory loaded in Camp Bay in Roatan, they make the 40 minute trip to the north side of St. Helene where they off-load everything by hand from the boat into a wheelbarrow. At the end of the dock, they have to manually carry everything to the top of the beach head that's a good 15-20 foot rise, throw everything back into the wheelbarrow to haul it up the hill to the school, and then off-load it again… to be repeated hundreds and hundreds of times!! Talk about putting 'sweat equity' into a project!



















The old hut they used as a school last year has taken a beating, but thankfully it won't be needed much longer. It is only being used right now to store the school books and desks that will be moved to the new school once it is completed.

David will go back down in a few weeks to monitor progress, then we will all return together in early March for a grand opening celebration and dedication of the new school!






Things are definitely moving quickly. Here's a photo of the school that just came in as I was about to post this blog entry!

December 2010

It's been a while since our last post and MUCH has happened. After the barge got stuck off the coast of St. Helene, we were discouraged, but certainly not defeated. It was certain we would not be able to get all materials shipped over in one big shipment, so many smaller shipments would need to be made. Thanks to the help and team work of many people, the first shipment of 500 cinder blocks took place on November 11th!!



A boat was loaded with what it would carry, get as close as possible to St. Helene, then the materials were manually off-loaded from the boat to a small barge. The barge was towed in by a small dory, and then manually off-loaded onto the only truck on the island. That truck then went up over the only 'road' on the island from the north side (where the water is deeper and allowed the boat to get closer to shore) to the south side and was manually off-loaded to the site of the new school. Phew! Talk about hard labor and persistence! And this process was repeated over and over again.

Here's a dory pulling the barge in to shore.




Here's the boat heading back to Roatan as some kids from St. Helene watch while standing next to the first shipment of blocks.







But now, after countless mini-trips, enough material was delivered that construction of the school has actually begun! These first photos were sent to us on December 9th.







A gas-powered cement mixer is used to prepare mortar for the blocks. Can you see one of the kids watching from up in the tree?







As of the day before this posting, this is the latest picture we have of the progress on the school. Weather permitting, it should be ready for the kids to start their new school year on February 1st! Everyone is very excited!




As 2010 draws to a close, we are energized by this and other positive things happening at ALF. Particularly, we are excited as we notice that the 3 individual branches within our foundation have started to inter-connect. At the request of the good people in Woodville, Texas, the Discovery's teen training is starting there in January. Two people we know from Roatan have attended our adult Discovery program in Austin, and now a school in Woodville has committed to becoming "pen pals" with the kids at the school in St. Helene to share culture and ideas. As people become aware of and help each other...it quickly becomes a small world and we learn how inter-connected our lives are.

November – Roatán

Since getting stuck on the sand bar (see September 2010 entry), we have been hard at work exploring alternatives for getting supplies to St. Helene. A possible solution was considered in October, but rainy season was in full swing and we decided to postpone a delivery attempt. Although we came on home, Kevin remained hard at work and on November, 11th, despite being a rainy day, the seas were calm and the FIRST DELIVERY OF MATERIALS TO ST. HELENE was made!! It was just the first 500 cinder blocks, but it’s a start! Shipments have been scheduled out (weather permitting) for the next 7-10 days: rebar, gravel, sand and cement. By then we will have all the materials necessary to start construction and our crew can get back to work. Many thanks to Kevin Wesley for making things happen, Wally Bodden from St. Helene for the use of his barge, and Kelcy Warren for the use of his ship!

Here is a picture of the ship that took the materials from Camp Bay (Eastern Roatán) to as close to St. Helene as possible.













After the ship came in as close as possible, the materials were transferred to this barge and then escorted in to shore.













The blocks now sit just off the beach, within 100 yard of the new school site.



The people of St. Helene are very excited to see verifiable activity that the school really is going to happen! Their school year is just coming to a close and the new year starts in February. Now that we know we can get materials delivered, barring any unforeseen problems, the kids should start their next year of school in a new school building!

Roatan - September 2010

This is a good news/bad news update:
David just returned from an extra trip he made to Roatan specifically to get the materials to St. Helene for the school. The GOOD NEWS is that construction on the school officially began on Monday, August 30th!! Luis, our General Contractor, and his team started digging trenches and laying forms for the foundation. The kids were so excited they helped dig, too! Now they just needed those materials… That’s where the bad news comes in…



The BAD NEWS is that, although David and Kevin did a LOT of hard work getting all the materials ready, and though the barge DID get loaded with ALL of the supplies, and even-though it actually DID depart early Saturday morning to make the delivery to St. Helene… in the end, the seas were just too rough and, after getting stuck twice along the way, the captain decided to turn around and head back to Roatan. You can see in this picture how close they were to being successful. That is St. Helene in the background. The barge got to within a couple hundred yards before getting stuck on the sandbars twice. Such a true experience of "So close, and yet so far!"

Of course we won’t give up and the materials will eventually make it there, but it has been one incredible obstacle after another getting these materials delivered. A huge “thank you”, however, to Edward Ake of Island Concrete and his team for their patience, understanding and a stellar job loading all the supplies onto the barge until well after midnight. We appreciate you more than we can say!


This project would not be happening at all without the tremendous amount of donated time and services of Kevin Wesley. Thank you, Kevin, for making this all possible!


If you would like to contribute to the building of this school project, go to the Donation tab on our website: www.abundantlifefoundation.net , click on Roatan and the Top S.H.E.L.F. project. For each donation of $100, the children at the school in St. Helene will paint your name on a cinder block to be a permanent part of the building. Here are two blocks ready to have names painted on them. Will one of them be yours?!