ER INTERNATIONAL

Prince of Peace Children's home milk donation

2015-08-24T12:44:00.000-05:00

We are ready for more milk for our kiddos at POPCH, in Zambrano. We have seen some positive and good things come from these kids drinking good, healthy, whole milk every day, and because of your donations its possible for them to have it.

The cost of the milk is about $2000.00, for a 6 month supply.

I know some of you have donated in the past for this cause, and its greatly appreciated!

If anyone would like to give for this purchase, to make a tax-deductible donation, you can send the money to:

ER International

2273 SW 15^th Street #153

Deerfield Beach, FL 33442

Att: Milk for POPCH

Or you can send via pay pal, by clicking on the donate button on this blog page, or on the ER International Face Book page.

James 1:27

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Thank you, and God bless you all,

Robyn and Ernie Breaux

New Back pack program at Casa De Luz, Care 4 Communities

2015-06-30T09:35:00.002-05:00

We have started a new back pack program, located in La Colonia, at Casa De Luz, with Care 4 Comminities. Casa De Luz is a school that teaches English to Spanish speaking children that live in La Colonia, Sandy Bay. La Colonia is a community moslty made up of Honduran families that have come from the mainland, to get away from the crime and the dangers of the mainland, and to raise their families in a better environment. Their are 40 children in the school, and we are excited and looking forward to this opportunity to provide these children and their families with food to fill their back packs, every week, and no telling what else God may provide for them!

The cost is $260.00 a child, per year, which is $5.00, per back pack, per child, each week, for 52 weeks. That consists of non perishable food items such as, rice, beans, flour, cornmeal, cooking oil, and other things, sometimes, pasta, with tomato sauce, boxes of mac n cheese, oatmeal, among other things. We also try to add items such at tooth paste, deodorant, and soap as well.

We try to mix it up every week.

If you would like to help with this program, please let us know, you can email me at robyn@erinternational.org or you can just simply send a tax deductible donation to:

ER International

2273 SW 15th Street #153 Deerfield Beach, FL 33442

Attn: Back Pack program/Casa De Luz

You can also send money via pay pal. You can just click on the pay pal donations button.

Thank you for your support on this project, it is greatly appreciated!

In His Grip,

Ernie and Robyn Breaux

Outreach in Tierra Bomba Island, Cartagena, Colombia

2015-06-08T23:02:00.001-05:00

Sunday May 31, 2015, Ernie and a group of about 12 teenagers, along with a clown, from a local church in Cartagena, Colombia, went to Tierra Bomba Island, in Cartagena, to do an outreach at a local church, in a very poor community. They brought food items, and back packs filled with school supplies to give away to about 50 children. The clown shared a message with all the children, and the adults that were there. The children were very happy and grateful for the items they received that day. We love having the opportunity to do this in other parts of the world, and to be a blessing to children.

Milk for POP Children's home in Zambrano

2015-01-13T11:16:00.001-06:00

Hi everyone, it's that time again, we are in need of milk for our kids at Prince of Peace Children's home, in Zambrano. We need about $2,000.00 to get a 6 month supply of milk.

I know some of you have donated toward this cause in the past, and it's greatly appreciated!

If anyone would like to give for this purchase, to make a tax-deductible donation, you can send the money to:

ER International

2273 SW 15^th Street #153

Deerfield Beach, FL 33442

Att: Milk for POPCH

Or you can send via pay pal, by clicking on the donate button on this blog page.

James 1:27

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Thank you, and God bless you all,

Robyn and Ernie Breaux

Kyna's visit August 2014

2014-09-06T13:41:00.000-05:00

Once again, Kyna, Joey's therapist, was here for one week last month, doing assessment's, training old and new teachers that will be working not only with Joey, but also other students at NUNA Academy with some learning disabilities, and or behavioral issues, and some basic training for the new teachers that have never received training from Kyna before.

Kyna also had a private meeting with a concerned mom, and grandmother about their 2 year old baby boy, but thankfully they left feeling happy because he's perfectly fine, and progressing just as he should be. :)

Probably the most fun, and exciting time Kyna had was going to Cattleya Roatan, a therapy center here on the Island for children with special needs, and learning disabilities. I say this was her best time because she loves challenges, and working with pretty difficult kids, and she had a particular student that likes to bite, and guess what Kyna got bit, but was so happy to come home and share the story of how it happened. That's a good day for her, LOL! Ouch. She knew she made progress that day, and although the staff there was not super happy about what happened, and felt bad for that Kyna was bitten, Kyna explained that she is very used to that happening, and was totally ok with it, and that it's a successful day when that happens. Lets just say she LOVES her job!! :) God bless you Kyna for doing what you do, your amazing!

We are already looking forward to Kyna's next visit. There's always a need here for special training and help that Kyna provides. We are very appreciative and grateful for the help that we receive when she is here.

Thank you, and blessings to all!

In His Grip,

Ernie and Robyn Breaux

Milk for POPCH

2014-08-24T13:38:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone, it's that time again, we are in need of milk for our kids at Prince of Peace Children's home, in Zambrano. We need about $2,000.00 to get a 6 month supply of milk.

I know some of you have donated toward this cause in the past, and it's greatly appreciated!

If anyone would like to give for this purchase, to make a tax-deductible donation, you can send the money to:

ER International

2273 SW 15^th Street #153

Deerfield Beach, FL 33442

Att: Milk for POPCH

Or you can send via pay pal, by clicking on the donate button on this blog page.

James 1:27

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Thank you, and God bless you all,

Robyn and Ernie Breaux

Angelina

2014-05-19T11:57:00.002-05:00

Angelina is new to SRCS this year. She comes from a loving home and her parents run a small business here on the island. Angelina's aunt plays an important role in her life and also serves on our Parent Teacher Association as our secretary. Angelina is just learning English, but is doing a great job. She's a very bright and artistic young lady.

If anyone would like to sponsor Angelina with the back pack program, please let us know, you can email me at robyn@erinternational.org, or you can just simply send a tax deductible donation to:

ER International

2273 SW 15th Street #153, Deerfield Beach, FL 33442

Attn: Back Pack feeding program/Angelina

The cost weekly is approximately $5.00, which is $260.00 per year. The items that go into the backpack consist of non perishable food items such as, rice, beans, flour, cornmeal, cooking oil, and other things, sometimes, pasta, with tomato sauce, boxes of mac n cheese, oatmeal, among other things. We also try to add items such at tooth paste, deodorant, and soap as well. We try to mix it up every week.

Please pray and consider being a sponsor for Angelina, or any of the other students that we have posted about. We plan on posting with a new student each week.

Thank you, and God bless!

In His Grip

Ernie and Robyn Breaux

Milk for Prince Of Peace Childrens Home, In Zambrano

2014-05-15T12:42:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone, it's that time again, we are in need of milk for our kids at Prince of Peace Children's home, in Zambrano. We need about $1,000.00 to get a 3 month supply of milk, or $2,000.00 for a 6 month supply.

I know some of you have donated toward this cause in the past, and it's greatly appreciated!

If anyone would like to give and help for this purchase, to make a tax-deductible donation, you can send the money to:

ER International

2273 SW 15^th Street #153

Deerfield Beach, FL 33442

Att: Milk for POPCH

Or you can send via pay pal, by clicking on the donate button on this blog page.

James 1:27

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Thank you, and God bless you all,

Robyn and Ernie Breaux

Back Pack Program

2014-05-08T11:39:00.001-05:00

Children at SRCS

ER International 2014 Backpack Feeding Program, Island of Roatan, Honduras

Pleasantly surprised and a believer…

School is starting at SRCS and ER International will be providing 34 students a backpack that they will fill weekly with food. I thought the Backpack Feeding Program was a positive gesture toward improving children’s nutrition and learning, but had no idea of the real impact the program was having on “teaching a child to fish”. What I learned during a conversation with ER International surprised and converted me into a believer of the true gift Ernie and Robyn were delivering to this Honduras island community.

Q: Why not just feed the children at school?

ERI: We do feed children one hot school lunch a week, more when we have the resources. But the reality is the backpacks keep children in school.

Q: What do you mean the backpacks keep children in school?

ERI: What you need to understand is, once a child learns basic reading and writing, parents usually take their child out of school to pedal trinkets to tourists on the beach. The money a child earns is often needed to keep enough food on the table. Parents of a child provided an ER International backpack knows it will be filled ever Monday with enough food to feed their family for the week, if their child stays in school.

The light went on. The ER International Backpack Feeding Program is not only improving childrens nutrition and keeping their families fed but keeping children in school. It looks like the SRCS students accompanied by their ER International backpacks will be learning fishing skills far into the future.

To support this program you can send a tax deductible donation to:

ER International
2273 SW 15th Street #153
Deerfield Beach, Florida 33442
Attn: Back Pack Feeding Program

Or contact Robyn at:

robyn@erinternational.org
+504-9922-4760
832-426-2114

The cost weekly for the items that go in the back pack is approximately $5.00, monthly $20.00, or yearly, $240.00.

You can also send your donation via pay pal. You can just click on the pay pal donations button.

Thank you, and God bless you all!

Guest Blogger,

Dawn Beyer

Glenda

2014-05-05T13:56:00.001-05:00

This is Glenda. She lives with her aunt and uncle because her mother is unable to care for her at this time. Glenda is really blossoming in her new family. Glenda is in kindergarten and loves school. Her older sister, Brenda, lives with their grandmother and is also a SRCS student.

If anyone would like to sponsor Glenda with the back pack program, please let us know, you can email me at robyn@erinternational.org, or you can just simply send a tax deductible donation to:

ER International

2273 SW 15th Street #153, Deerfield Beach, FL 33442

Attn: Back Pack feeding program/Glenda

The cost weekly is approximately $5.00, monthly $20.00, or yearly, $240.00. The items that go into the backpack consist of non perishable food items such as, rice, beans, flour, cornmeal, cooking oil, and other things, sometimes, pasta, with tomato sauce, boxes of mac n cheese, oatmeal, among other things. We also try to add items such at tooth paste, deodorant, and soap as well. We try to mix it up every week.

Please pray and consider being a sponsor for Glenda, or any of the other students that i have posted about. I plan on posting each week with a new student.

Thank you, and God bless!

In His Grip

Ernie and Robyn Breaux

Kyna's trip to Roatan March/April 2014

2014-04-26T23:42:00.002-05:00

Kyna, Joey's therapist, from Houston, Texas, came to Roatan, last week of March first week in April, to do follow up, and evaluations on Joey, and a few other kids at NUNA, Academy, and also she did a half day training seminar with the teachers there.

It was a busy week for Kyna, she spent several days at NUNA, and then she spent a few hours with Ms Deborah Hunnicutt, at SRCS, which is the ACE/PACE school where we do the back pack program, just giving Deborah some help with some of the students there. She also spent some time at Cattleya Learning Center, which is a center for children with intellectual challenges, helping some of the parents and teachers just by giving some basic training to help with some of the students there. And it just so happened to be Autism Awareness Month, which i thought that was pretty cool that she was here during that time, since she works with children with Autism, and other special needs and behavioral issues!

As always we love having Kyna come to help us, she is amazing at what she does, and i can first hand say that her hard work and dedication to her work, pays off. I know my son has improved so much since she started working with him, almost 4 years now, and we are truly grateful to her, and her heart and passion for working with and helping these children!

Tairicha

2014-03-26T11:33:00.001-05:00

Tairicha, the oldest of three children, loves SRCS. In fact, she's wanted to come to SRCS since our first year and just wasn't ready for our heavily academic program. This year at Christmas, her teacher left several worksheets with Sayda (Tairicha's mom) to work on. They worked very hard and when Tairicha passed her entrance test it was difficult to tell who was more excited -- Tairicha or her mom. She is almost always the first student at school. Even before she came to school, she would sit outside the door and listen to what was going on. Tairicha's dad works driving the glass-bottom boat here on the island and works part of the year for an American man. Tyrone is a hard-working father who loves his family.

If anyone would like to sponsor Tairicha with the back pack program, please let us know, you can email me at robyn@erinternational.org, or you can just simply send a tax deductible donation to:
ER International
2273 SW 15th Street #153, Deerfield Beach, FL 33442
Attn: Back Pack feeding program/Tairicha

The cost weekly is approximately $5.00, monthly $20.00, or yearly, $240.00.

The items that go into the backback consist of non perishable food items such as, rice, beans, flour, cornmeal, cooking oil, and other things, sometimes, pasta, with tomato sauce, boxes of mac n cheese, oatmeal, among other things. We also try to add items such at tooth paste, deodorant, and soap as well.

We try to mix it up every week.

Also if you would like to sponsor any of the 3 kids that i posted about on March 4th, please let me know or send the donation the same way as above but put Attn: Back Pack feeding program/Jemisha, Joshua, or Kadyann

Thank you, and God bless!

In His Grip,

Robyn and Ernie Breaux

Jemisha, Joshua, and Kadyann

2014-03-04T18:39:00.000-06:00

I decided to share with you all pictures and personal testimonies of the children that attend SRCS. Here is a testimony on three of the them. My hope and prayer is that this will help you all get to know them a little better, like i have. Their are 34 students, and these are just 3 of them.

Jemisha, Joshua, and Kadyann come from a very special family. Jemisha and Joshua are the youngest of 9 children and both have special learning needs. Jemisha is epileptic and has several learning delays. She loves to read her Science and loves English. Jemisha's parents decided to give her one last chance at learning and she's been with SRCS since the beginning. They are thrilled with the progress she has made. Joshua was born with hydrocephalus and had a shunt put in when he was a baby. Unfortunately, the shunt wasn't draining correctly and it was clipped. Joshua, too, has learning delays as a result of his special challenges. However, he is proving to the world that he can learn and he too, loves Science and English.

Eunice, their mother, is part of our sewing project and helps support the family by sewing items at home to be sold to tourists. She is an excellent seamstress. Their father, Steve, is a painter and he volunteered his expertise to paint our new school building. Marcy, one of the older siblings volunteers at SRCS and is a natural teacher (even though she's planning on going to nursing school next year).

Kadyann and her two siblings are living with the family (her grandparents) as their mom is currently working in the Cayman Islands. It's a struggle to be so far away from the family, but Kadyann's mom knows that Kadyann is in a great environment. Kadyann is thriving at SRCS and loves Math, Science, and English.

The food staples that ER International provide are a great blessing to this hard-working family.

2014-02-11T10:11:00.000-06:00

Hi everyone, it's that time again, we are in need of milk for our kids at Prince of Peace Children's home, in Zambrano. We need about $2,000.00 to get a 6 month supply of milk.

I know some of you have donated toward this cause in the past, and it's greatly appreciated!

If anyone would like to give for this purchase, to make a tax-deductible donation, you can send the money to:

ER International

2273 SW 15^th Street #153

Deerfield Beach, FL 33442

Att: Milk for POPCH

Or you can send via pay pal, by clicking on the donate button on this blog page.

James 1:27

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Thank you, and God bless you all,

Robyn and Ernie Breaux

New school year, 2014, back pack feeding program at Samuel Raymond Christian School

2014-01-25T12:22:00.001-06:00

Its almost time for the 2014 school year to begin at SRCS, and we are getting ready. We have ordered the new back packs, and are getting excited about this new school year. Their are 33 children enrolled, and we are looking forward to this opportunity to provide these children and their families with food to fill their back packs, and no telling what else God may provide for them! We also will be providing a warm meal for them once a week.

If anyone would like to help with this program, please let us know, you can email me at robyn@erinternational.org. The cost is approximately $5.00, per back pack, each week. That consists of non perishable food items such as, rice, beans, flour, cornmeal, cooking oil, and other things, sometimes, pasta, with tomato sauce, boxes of mac n cheese, oatmeal, among other things. We also try to add items such at tooth paste, deodorant, and soap as well.

We try to mix it up every week.

Or you can just simply send a tax deductible donation to:

ER International

2273 SW 15th Street #153 Deerfield Beach, FL 33442

Attn: Back Pack feeding program

You can also send money via pay pal. You can just click on the pay pal donations button.

Thank you for your support on this project, it is greatly appreciated!

God bless you all!

In His Grip,

Ernie and Robyn Breaux

Carly

2014-01-18T12:25:00.002-06:00

As you all probably know by now, we have taken in a baby girl, her name is Carly. She came to live with us when she was 8 months, and is now 12 months old. She is from Tegucigalpa. Her mom is Cindy, and she is 18 yrs old. Cindy has spent most of her life in and out of childrens homes, and bouncung around from one place to the other, sometimes living on the street, not having a stable home life. Cindy's mom was a prostitute, and so Cindy didn't grow up in the home with her. After having Carly, Cindy did what she knew, going from one place to the other, sometimes living on the street, staying wherever she could. Cindy has been on drugs, and no telling what else. She did decide though, that she wanted to give her baby a better chance at having a good life, then she had growing up.

Ernie and I, since we have been living in Honduras, have opened up our home to be a place for babies in need of rescuing, and that need to be in a safe place, and also for us to be a transition home for babies that are in the adoption process. So when we got the call to take Carly, of course we said yes! So we instantly became Carly's foster family. It's one of those things where you have no idea how long the child will be with you, could be 2 days, 2 months, 2 years, or forever, we just want to be open to whatever God has for us!

Carly has now been with us for about 4 months, and she has adapted quite well to our family. Originally the talk was that Cindy wanted her baby to be adopted by a good, Christian family, and so we said we would keep Carly during the adoption process. Well, Cindy has decided that she does love her baby, and she doesn't want to give her up, so she is now in re hab, and getting her life together. She is finished with her program in June, but asking for us to keep Carly until October. We are all about God's restoration, and reunification of the family, so our prayer is that this family can be restored, and that Cindy can get her life in order so she and her baby daughter can be a family. We know God is in control of this situation, and we pray that His will is done!

Back Pack Program at Samuel Raymond Christian School

2014-01-01T19:45:00.001-06:00

It’s Tuesday afternoon and after working hard for half the day, it’s time for the students of Samuel Raymond Christian School to take a break – to burn off some energy playing “Red Light, Green Light” and to see what lunch or snack their moms have sent them that day. Each child pulls out something specially made for him – rice and beans; juice; raisins; fresh bread.

It wasn’t so long ago that many of the SRCA children didn’t have a surprise to pull out of their lunch sacks. Low season on the island means money is tight and there often isn’t enough food for three meals a day. Lunch is usually skipped. And multiplication or reading on an empty stomach isn’t the easiest thing to do.

When Ernie and Robyn Breaux, of ER International, saw this need, they eagerly stepped in, “We can help!” Every Monday, the Breaux’s load down their car with staples and non-perishable items and fill the children’s special backpacks. The boys and girls leave knowing they don’t have to go hungry that week. Their parents are grateful for the extra help and for the burden the weekly food distribution takes off their shoulders.

We feel incredibly blessed that ER International has chosen to be involved with SRCS in this way. Thank you, for seeing the very practical needs of kids like Joshua and Kadyann. Thank you for excitedly doing something about them! We are grateful for you!

Child Protection

2013-08-23T15:23:00.000-05:00

“Child Protection”

refers a collection of government-supervised programs created to protect young people and encourage stability for at-risk families. The idea of “child protection” is concerned first with the vulnerability of children and the need to protect them from harmful influences; second, it attempts to offer opportunities that allow children to mature as economically-secure and productive adults. The services associated with child protection range from food assistance, home visits, counseling, special education or child-care services, and vocational rehabilitation for care-givers, to foster care for children, adoption, and incarceration of an abusive parent or care-giver. The primary concern is for the welfare of the child, ensuring he or she has access to the care and nurturing necessary to be prepared for a stable and healthy future.

Awareness of the vulnerability of children and the hazards that face them in many parts of the world has concerned global philanthropy since the early 20^th century. As a product of the “International Save the Children” convention in Geneva, Switzerland in 1923, a series of human rights declarations—referred to collectively as “The Rights of a Child”—were made public in the hopes of inspiring greater protection for children. These rights focus on offering children access to sources of physical, spiritual, and intellectual growth, while preventing forces that could cripple these areas of development.

According to the UN, the greatest concern facing child protection is poverty. While situations like child poverty are difficult to prevent in many parts of the world, child protection attempts to mediate the negative influences of location, background, and economics as well as address concerns such as: neglect, psychological abuse, physical abuse, and sexual abuse. Problems like child labor in Bangladesh, child incarceration in China and Iran, child soldiers in the Congo, child prostitutes in Thailand and Afghanistan are extreme examples of what child protection services seek to prevent. Even in the inner-city areas of the first world, children are faced with gang violence, lack of parental support, exposure to drugs, reduced access to educational opportunities, and protection from exploitation. In order to be effective, child protection has to be responsible to the local conditions in which it is implemented and cultural sensitive to the needs of a wide variety of communities.

Stolen Innocence

2013-07-27T17:55:00.001-05:00

There are certain things that cause irreparable damage in children, which keep them from the getting the starts in life they need to become healthy, productive citizens and to enjoy all the fruits life has to offer. These are the things that steal the joy and pleasure of youth which spur the learning of too much, too fast… that take the beauty of innocence away never to be returned.

Poverty is overwhelmingly common our world. Children can’t think or play or learn when they are hungry. When they have to focus on survival, the world becomes a hard, cold place where just living through the day is an accomplishment, and it is one that is too often only rewarded by another day of hunger. Poverty induces crime; young people will steal, mug, and harm others to get what they need to survive… taking actions that might never otherwise take, just in order to get by.

Poverty often seems to partner with two other striking evils: abuse and neglect. Adults who are stressed because of impoverishment abuse children and one another; often they have grown up in an environment of abuse and the cycle seems never ending.

Neglect likely comes from as a result of self-preservation. However hard and unkind it seems to us from other vantage points, many neglect those who need them in order to provide for themselves. Again, the cycle is vicious with neglected children growing up only to neglect their own offspring in a similar fashion. The hard truth is many have never known any better and few possess the tools – emotionally and intellectually – to remove themselves from the situation or to better it.

Yes, poverty, abuse, and neglect steal innocence away far too soon. Yes, it’s a dire situation, and yes, it will never completely end.

It is our duty as blessed outsiders looking in to lend a hand whenever someone will take it, to teach whenever one will allow himself to learn, and make a difference when we can, even if it is one life at a time. Ignoring doesn’t make the problem go away. It multiplies it.

The fatherless epidemic

2013-06-16T10:39:00.004-05:00

When most people think of the word epidemic they think of diseases like cancer and AIDS. These are incredibly damaging diseases, to be sure, but there’s one epidemic that has been increasing rapidly over the last few decades, and that is the epidemic of fatherless children.

The fact is that in poor, developing countries like Honduras but also in first world countries like the United States and France, there is an ever growing population of children that are growing up in homes without fathers. One problem that is compounding the epidemic is that, in many circles, it can be politically incorrect to talk about fatherlessness as, for some people, it’s akin to saying that a one parent home is inferior to a two-parent home. (In many cases it simply is.)

No matter what your opinion, the simple truth is that nearly every social problem in every culture around the world, from poverty to violent crime, suicides to school shootings, fatherlessness is either a contributing factor or the root cause. Not only that but fatherlessness is now growing completely out of control, literally destroying our society and causing huge social problems across the globe.

The reason is simple; more than just a ‘second adult’, an involved, caring and nurturing father brings many other important benefits to a child that no other adult can replace. A father’s influence can and will have a direct and lasting impact on the life of a child and, without that influence, the results can be severe and quite shocking.

Fatherlessness is a problem for both male and female children, of course, but in fact many of the biggest problems in the United States, as well as other countries, are caused by boys growing up without fathers. Take a look at the statistics below if you don’t believe that statement.

In the United States today, boys who grew up without their fathers are responsible for;

· Over 60% of all rapes.

· 63% of suicides.

· Over 70% of long-term prison inmates.

· 70% of high school dropouts.

· Over 85% of juvenile detainees

In Honduras these statistics are even higher, unfortunately. The vast majority of Honduras’ homeless children get the food that they eat out of rotten, nasty dumpsters, oftentimes staying there all day long and scavenging for food, clothing and other items as it gets thrown away. Since they don’t go to school and have practically nothing else to keep them busy during the long, hot days, many spend most of their time smoking cigarettes, huffing paint thinner and getting high on whatever drugs are available.

Even when there are schools available, many of them are located in areas that are so dangerous that the police don’t even go in on patrol. In these areas the children are left to fend for themselves and many turn to theft and prostitution to survive. By the time the majority of these children turn 18 years of age they have absolutely no social tools or physical skills that they can use to better themselves, a fact that simply increases the amount of criminality and prostitution that they become involved in down the road.

It’s certainly not a problem in Honduras alone. In developing countries around the world approximately 130,000,000 children under 17 years of age have lost their father and, in many cases, their mother as well. Nearly 20% of these children are forced to work in child labor situations, where they are exposed to multiple dangers.

Upon hearing all of this information, the first thing that most people asking is simply this; why? Why is it that a father’s influence is so important on a child, especially a boy child? It’s an excellent question, to be sure, and it’s possible that some of the answers may startle you.

First, it has been noted that one of the most important types of influence a father will have under child is actually indirect. The reason why is that much of the influence the father has over child is due to the relationship that the father has with the child’s mother. When a child is in a home where a father has an excellent and respectful relationship with the mother, that father is much more likely to be involved with their children, spend plenty of time with them and show them that he cares. This of course will positively affect the child both emotionally and psychologically.

Of similar importance of course is the affirmation that her mother feels when her husband is happy in their relationship and happy with his children. In this situation both parents will be more affectionate, responsive to their children and more confident, factors that have positive long-term effects on any child.

When it comes to education and achieving success, it has been shown time and time again that children who have involved, caring fathers do much better in school and in life. There have even been studies that have shown that children who have been involved with a nurturing and caring father actually end up having higher IQs, better linguistic skills and stronger cognitive capabilities. It is also been shown that these children are more patient, handle stress better and achieve faster than children who are fatherless.

It is also been shown that children who grow up in a household where there is an involved father will be more emotionally secure, more confident in who they are and will have much better communication skills with their parents, teachers and their peers. Statistically speaking, a child who grows up in a family with a caring father is much less likely to get in trouble at home or at school.

This positive influence extends well beyond adolescence and into adulthood. There have been numerous studies that have found that children who grow up with an active, nurturing father go on to become adults with superior verbal skills, above-average intellect and also above average academic achievement. It is also been shown that a child is 43% more likely to get mostly A’s in school if the father is present and attentive while they are growing up.

As far as boys are concerned, the fact is that in order to truly become a man a boy must have a man’s influence in their life and, in most cases, that man will be their not only their father but several men. Studies have shown that, ideally, it should be a community of men who, with their combined skills life experiences, will provide a boy with a variety of male role models on which to base his choices and decisions.

Today nearly 25 million boys in the United States are growing up without a father in their household. Among minorities the problem is even worse, with nearly 40% of all Hispanics and a whopping 70% of African-American boys growing up in a home where there is no father figure available.

In many countries like Honduras, Bolivia, Haiti, India and others fathers are truly becoming an endangered species. In many of these countries when you talk to children you will hear the same sense statement; “ our father abandoned us and left us to fend for ourselves”.

In the animal kingdom there are very few species where the father takes an active role in raising their children. This just isn’t so with humans however, and the statistics support this fact. While it is well-known that a mother’s nurturing and caring can and does have a lifelong impact on a child, a father’s influence is just as important and, for young boys, possibly even more so.

Study after study has shown that, a father spends much more of their time interacting with their infants, their preschoolers and their teenagers in a stimulating, physical and playful way. These interactions, especially for young boys, help them to learn how to regulate their feelings, their emotions and their behavior. A boy who ‘rough houses’ with his father will better learn how to deal with their aggression and their emotions so that, in the future, they can better control themselves physically when those same emotions are put to the test.

Fathers also have a great influence on the child’s feeling of independence and the way they orient themselves with the outside world. While mothers stress nurturing and caring, fathers stress achieving and winning, both of which are vitally important to a child’s mental and physical development.

At the end of the day the seriousness of this problem can’t and should not be overlooked. No matter what country a child is from or where a young boy grows up, the influence that their father can have and should have in their life cannot be taken for granted. A father, as much as a child’s mother, will have a powerful impact on their child’s development and their future life. Many countries are finally beginning to see the importance that fathers have but the fact is that it’s going to take a lot of work, a lot of time and a lot more understanding to defeat this epidemic.

Child poverty and what is its effect on child education?

2013-06-14T18:03:00.000-05:00

Child poverty is the situation where a child lives in conditions of debilitating poverty, with insufficient food, poor shelter and no healthcare. Child poverty is found either where children are living in poor families, or in cases where children are based at orphanages with poor economic situations and a lack of basic needs. Although child poverty is found in both developed and developing countries, it is the children in the latter that are by far worse off. Poverty in developing countries is widespread and severe; one out of every four people lives on less than $1.25 per day.

Children make up a significant portion of poor people in the world. In 1997, it was recorded that 40% of the world’s poor people were children. Approximately 2.2 billion of the world population is children. Out of these 2.2 billion children in the world, one billion lives in poverty. This means that child poverty affects one out of every two children. Child poverty is a leading cause of the high child mortality rates current in the world – something that can be avoided if financial support for shelter, food and healthcare are available. According to UNICEF, the number of children dying due to child poverty is a staggering 30,000 per day.

Child poverty also severely affects the child’s education, as well as his or her development and ability to learn. Research has shown that children living in persistent poverty conditions find it increasingly difficult to perform in vocabulary, reading and other cognitive skills and tasks. Due to the lack of support for children in the average poor household where parents are predominantly concerned with finding some income and food for the table, the child is often left abandoned without support for education and learning. When it comes to education, child poverty therefore affects the child in two ways: directly through the reduced ability to develop cognitive skills and indirectly through the lack of parental support and resources. A UK study reported that children suffering from child poverty will lag behind in all phases of his or her education. Throughout a child’s school years, his or her performance will be consistently lower that his or her peers that do not suffer from poverty. And this also does not predict success for the child’s prospects as an adult.

Early childhood development years are of utmost important for all children. It is during these years that the child develops important skills that will assist him or her during the remainder of their lives. Quality education is a guaranteed solution to end the poverty cycle – but with child poverty causing children to continuously lag behind and perform poorly at education tasks, the one key solution to ending poverty is in fact weakened.

The Relationship between Poverty and Exploitation

2013-06-13T12:55:00.000-05:00

According to the UN, poverty is the severe and intense deprivation of “basic human needs,” including (but not limited to) sanitation, safe water, food, general health, access to information, and educational opportunities. For this reason, poverty, while income-related, has just as much to do with a lack of access to necessary services like schools and medical care. Based on this definition, the connection between poverty and exploitation is not a difficult one to trace.

Developing or third-world nations are frequently at the center of debates regarding poverty-based exploitation, debates that usually focus on the role these countries play in the global economy. Economically depressed countries frequently become the site of manufacturing facilities, built by Western-based multinational corporations, seeking to lower costs. These operations are referred to as “sweat shops” because of the harmful working conditions and excessively long-hours workers face. In addition, these companies frequently commit human rights violations, exploiting workers with unsafe and potentially fatal working conditions.

Another exploitive industry born out of poverty is human trafficking. Human trafficking recruits, transports, transfers, harbors, or receives persons by means of threat, force, coercion, deception, abduction, and/or fraud. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), some 2.5 million people are victimized by human trafficking each year. Sexual exploitation is the most common form of human trafficking (79%) followed by forced labour (18%). The rise in human trafficking has been sourced to poverty in three ways. First, the past 30 years have seen a rapid, unchecked population increase without corresponding economic opportunities. This has created a global labor market flooded with desperate and impoverished people. Second, is modern agriculture. Factory farms dispossess traditional farmers; this forces already poor farmers into debt. Because rural communities are already known for poverty based upon lack of educational opportunities and information, this makes dispossessed agricultural families targets for trafficking. Last, changes in the global economy have given rise to the development of organized crime. Organized crime is the primary perpetrator of human trafficking, and its strength and development result from (as well as create) the weakening of social values that once acted to protect even the most vulnerable members of at-risk communities.

FOOD SECURITY

2013-06-07T09:31:00.000-05:00

Food security means that everyone at all times enjoys the adequate nutrition necessary to sustain life.Hunger in the world is very important. Nearly 1 in 7 people will go to bed hungry tonight. That’s 1 billion people. We know that food is essential, but research confirms the importance of nutrition during the first thousand days of life (beginning with conception). This is the critical window for ensuring that every child is adequately nourished for good development. Missing that window means a child is deprived of good nutrition, and malnourishment can have a negative impact for life.
Those first thousand days even determine future economic earning and academic potential. That’s why food security is so important. Mothers and babies are the future; if they’re undernourished now, it will have a huge impact, preventing life in all its fullness.

Feeding Punta Gorda Honduras

2013-06-02T09:02:00.000-05:00

Food distribution in Punta Gorda on the island of Roatan. We gave out over 300 bags of food that contained lard, beans, rice, corn meal, and matches the bag cost 4.00. To over 60% of the people in this nation and especially this community that represent over 5 days of wages. We are grateful to be able to be a part of what God is doing. And we are grateful to all those that give to make this a possibility.

2013-05-23T18:34:00.002-05:00

Baseball with the boys from the boys home on the Roatan anyone wanting to contribute to the baseball equipment and funds for a backstop? #roatan #erinternational #childinthemidst