Biola University's 2011 Honduras Water Project

Tuesday and Wednesday we visited two communities, El Chapernal and La Avispa, with three students from Biola University in California.  For over twenty years Biola has sent a team to Honduras for a week over spring break.  They work hard during the day digging trenches for the local water project and in the evening they plan a variety of ministry activities especially for women, youth and children.  As part of the Biola leadership team Cindy, Eddie and Daniel were hese to gather information about the possible locations for their spring water project. 

El Chapernal and La Avispa are two very different communities and it will take a lot of prayer and thoughtful discussion before Diaconia Nacional and Biola make a commitment.  The people of El Chapernal struggle because their water quality is very poor and they have to walk a great distance to get it each day.  However, some members of this community feel very strongly against the water project and Diaconia needs a united community that is going to work hard and take ownership of their water system. 

La Avispa, on the other hand, is a very agreeable community that is wager to have a work team this spring.  This village was devastated by landslides and flooding in 2008 due to Hurricane Katrina.  Since then some houses have been rebuilt on higher ground and most are connected to the water system.  Yet, there is still a group of houses that aren't being used because they each need water, a pila, a roof and latrines nearby. A Catholic development organization began construction on these unit last year but ran out of money so they've been left idle.  

Basically, both communities have unique ministry and development opportunities for Biola and Diaconia Nacional but they also entail some interesting challenges.  It has been really interesting to see how much preparation and dialogue is required before a work team even sets foot in the community.