ACTS About Us

The mission of ACTS is to promote sustainable programs for health, education and development in collaboration with rural Honduran communities and to foster cross-cultural understanding between us.

We believe that a commitment to peace and justice requires active participation. In the process we learn much about ourselves and find that our lives are enriched by the challenging work that is required.
 
“ Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
                                           Margaret Meade

Grant for Regional Library received!

ACTS was awarded a $15,000 grant from The Children’s Initiative to rehabilitate the old 2-room school in El Rosario into a Regional Education Center and Library for post 6th grade residents who want to continue their educations. Jeremy Hubball and Charlie Miller (below), founders of TCI which has focused mainly in Ethiopia and Vietnam, agreed to become partners with ACTS after visiting El Rosario in November 2008.

History
In 1986, during a time of war and turmoil in much of Central America, a group of parishioners from the Franconia N.H. Congregational Church established Americans Caring Teaching Sharing (ACTS) and traveled to Honduras to promote peace and justice through community development.  They focused their energies and limited resources on El Rosario, a village of farmers in the highlands of northwestern Honduras.

In 2002 ACTS became a nonprofit tax-exempt 501c3, non-sectarian organization.    Hundreds of volunteers have contributed thousands of hours over the past decades to this undertaking. Although many of the active members now reside in the Upper Valley of Vermont and New Hampshire, other participants are scattered through New England and beyond. We are governed and sustained by volunteers.

Over a period of two decades the program in El Rosario has gradually expanded to a dozen communities. Teams travel to Honduras approximately five times a year, but never for more than two weeks, to help to move the projects along.  

Community development is a process, which encompasses health education and medical care, economic diversification, expanded opportunities in elementary and secondary education, water systems, latrines and stoves. It includes improving agricultural practices, introducing new crops and expanding markets. It is concerned with such diverse activities as reforestation, micro banking and improved nutrition In short; the imagination of the villagers for programs to promote a better life for themselves and future generations is limitless.

The villagers set the priorities and do much of the labor. ACTS provides a diversity of skills, guidance, and material resources and hands on help. The result has been a remarkably successful example of community development on a scale that is sustainable and is a testimony to the strength of our partnership.  ACTS has recruited and supported other organizations to help to achieve the goals of the communities including Sustainable Harvest International Inc. and Engineers Without Borders-U.S. As a consequence of this collaboration, the results reflect much more than any single group might have achieved alone.

Honduras
Roughly the size of the state of Tennessee, Honduras has a population of approximately 7.5 million. The city of San Pedro Sula, commercial center and departure point for the mountains in the northeast is approximately 200 miles from Miami. It is a multi ethnic country consisting of mestizos (Spanish and Indian) 90% Amerindian 7%, black 2% and white 1%.

It is the third poorest nation in the western hemisphere its poverty exceeded only by Haiti and Nicaragua. Endowed by natural resources, the vast majority of the land is owned by a minority of individuals and corporations. Its principal industries are sugar, coffee, textiles, clothing and wood products. The estimated per capita income (2005) was $2800 but for rural people it is substantially less. A free-trade agreement (CAFTA) was reached with the U.S. in 2006. The effects, particularly on rural farmers, remain to be seen but are cause for great concern.

The government is now a democratic constitutional republic, but historically for a period of over one hundred and twenty years it was racked by instability and intervention.  In the 1980’s the country faced severe tensions along its southern border as Contras waged a guerilla war in Nicaragua with the support of U.S. military based in Honduras.

More recently Hurricane Mitch created widespread devastation with the destruction of much of the country’s infrastructure and the loss of thirteen thousand lives.
 
El Rosario
El Rosario, a community of approximately nine hundred, is a three and one half hour drive from San Pedro Sula. The village can be reached via four-wheel drive from a paved highway thirty minutes to the south. The road is often in very poor condition and is made impassible on occasion by heavy rains and washouts. A small hospital is located in Yoro a little over one hour from El Rosario, weather permitting.
ACTS works with other villages in the region on a project-by-project basis. Some of these communities are remote and can be reached only by hiking or horseback.
The pictures below show early ACTS volunteers sleeping in tents and constructing a medical clinic.

Medical
Construction of a Clinic in El Rosario began in 1986 and was completed approximately two years later. A local Clinic Committee sets policy and maintains the facility. Medical, emergency and public health services are provided by a full time nurse (Rosa) whose clinical training is enhanced by each ACTS team. Five times a year ACTS health care professionals supplement the care she provides. An ACTS dental team visits annually. With the advent of electricity in El Rosario it is now possible to provide restorative care as well as basic dental services. ACTS mobile clinics provide services to more distant and often even more impoverished villages in the region.

An El Rosario Health and Development Committee works in concert with Rosa and has responsibility for projects that are related to community health such as latrines, stoves, and public health education.
Here is the clinic at its dedication (left) and today (right), interior hallway (bottom left) and pharmacy (bottom right).

Water
The availability of sufficient water for agriculture and consumption is central to all development. From a medical perspective without water nothing seems possible. With sufficient water everything seems possible. The ready availability of water makes it possible to maintain personal hygiene and to break the cycle that contributes to infestation with intestinal parasites and other water borne illnesses that are dangerous and debilitating.

The availability of sufficient water for consumption, hygiene and agriculture varies a great deal among the villages. Some like El Rosario are fortunate to have a clean source above the community that was dammed and protected.  Other villages are so situated that every cup must be laboriously hauled from a stream bed or sink hole. Improving the quantity and quality of water has been a priority for ACTS for twenty years.
As villages grow systems need to be expanded.  In some circumstances the engineering design and construction of an appropriate system requires a high degree of technical expertise.
Engineers Without Borders, an organization with chapters in many universities in the U.S.A. has partnered with ACTS to address these needs. EWB-Yale has improved and modified the system in El Rosario. EWB-Northeastern has extended and completely revamped the water system in the village of Tecuan. Currently Northeastern is in the final stage of construction of a system that carries water to the very poor indigenous village of Los Planos from a mountain source.

Adobe Stoves
Cooking over open fires created other health hazards. ACTS promoted the construction of stoves made of adobe brick with barrel top skillets which reduced the consumption of firewood and eliminated the occurrence of devastating burns to toddlers. Installation of stove pipes removed dangerous smoke relieving respiratory problems.

Education
One must be able to envision a better future in order to find it. Education is the path that leads to change and the people of El Rosario are anxious to pursue their dreams.
Government supported elementary school is offered through the sixth grade but resources are so limited that the quality of the educational experience is compromised.  It is very difficult for those who wish to complete secondary school to do so. Either they must live with family or friends in the small city of Yoro an hour and one half from home or attend “radio school” where lessons are broadcast on a daily basis and reviewed with a teacher approximately every two weeks. Adults have virtually no opportunity to learn new skills.

ACTS has provided support for the education of children in the region in a variety of ways including building repair, establishment of a snack program, creation of school gardens and the provision of books and materials, which are in short supply. ACTS “Teacher Teams” have worked intermittently with their teacher counterparts in sharing common concerns and different approaches to education.
In conjunction with the El Rosario Community Center Committee, ACTS has initiated an effort to raise $15,000 for the purpose of converting an abandoned school into a regional library and education center. This facility will provide opportunities for young adults to improve their literacy, learn new technical skills and train for leadership roles in their communities

Agriculture/Sustainable Harvest International
The rural mountain villages with which ACTS has been working for over twenty years depend heavily on subsistence farming. Crops traditionally include corn, beans and coffee. The sale of produce that exceeds their own needs provides modest cash income for some.
As the population grows the pressure increases on the limited amount of land that is available. Some own their land; some lease the property and others are tenant farmers. Those who do not have title to their land are in a precarious position.

The productivity is compromised by traditional slash and burn practices. Wood consumption for building and burning contributes to erosion and hilly terrain and private timber holdings severely limit the availability of arable land. Farmers must borrow money for seed at very high interest rates and should a harvest fail they may incur ruinous debts.