Current News

In spite of the unusually early departure of the ship from England and the even earlier than expected arrival of our containers in Honduras, they were delivered to their final destination without any problems. Incredibly, the import dispensa was ready in time to permit their unloading and all was accomplished within the time allotted by the shipping company, thus incurring no demurrage charges. We stand amazed and thank the Lord for this unprecedented event. We cannot remember a previous shipment transported so quickly without any administrative hiccups and frustrations. The containers arrived at their two different unloading locations around the capital, Tegucigalpa, at about midnight on Monday evening 26 April. The Pastors and helpers arrived to help unload at about 7 am the following morning. By just after midday all four containers had been unloaded and their contents stacked in piles according to the labels we, in England, attached to each item. The unloading operation is now a well organised process, competing for honours with our own Loading Day event! By midnight Tuesday, the last items had been distributed to the various places which receive our donations. During that evening the exercise was hampered by heavy rain, as it is the start of the rainy season. But, thank you Lord, everything has been completed to a very high standard with little in the way of missing or incorrectly directed items. The folks in Honduras have been very quick to send us some pictures of the unloading, some on the same day. Four days later we received our first pictures of the contents of the containers being given out. One of them particularly touched me. It captures some little girls being given dolls, which had been washed and dressed for their new ‘Mums’ in Honduras. For some things the internet is wonderful. Thus our annual cycle is complete and we now start all over again!

We are looking for plastic sheeting or large plastic bags, the sort in which new mattresses or suites are wrapped. We need these in order to wrap around and protect the mattresses that we send out to Honduras. In Honduras, mattresses are an expensive item that will often only be acquired through inheritance. Many poor families sleep on cardboard or whatever else they can find to make a base. It is our desire that any mattresses we send arrive in the best condition possible. To achieve this we need to keep them dry and clean in transit. We have observed that the mattresses we have sent are often found, years later, in homes with the plastic covering still in place. This is because they are keen to keep their prized mattresses in good condition for as long as possible.

March 2010 produced another excellent loading day. The weather could have been better as we had a certain amount of rain during the day, which made loading more difficult and resulted in a damp cargo. It was however mild, which made it reasonably comfortable. We started setting up at seven thirty and most people arrived at eight o’clock. Soon the static container had been unloaded and activity in the warehouse was well underway. The containers already had some of their load on board, such as the heavy items and palletised food. These were fork lifted onto the containers during the previous afternoon. The forklift service to load the stoves, pallets of food, the IBC, dentist chair etc was provided by TDG, a service for which we are very grateful. By mid morning the yard was busy with 141 people helping to stack, load or prepare our mid morning bacon cobs. By lunchtime the containers were about half full. The excellent lunch provided by a large number of individuals was indeed a feast. Hot potatoes were collected from several homes during the morning. It was soon back to work. Although it seemed that the containers would be full in a very short time, loading the last third of the containers takes a long time. This is because they must contain all the items that we need to send, without an easy packing structure to follow. All four containers were eventually closed and sealed by about 6.00pm, ready for collection on Monday morning. The containers, between them, were loaded with 8,430 items. Each item was individually numbered and had to be recorded by the tally person assigned to each container. Well done to everyone who took part in making the day the success it was. Everyone worked hard and there was a great team spirit. We were again blessed with the help of many people in the twenty and thirty age groups who have an energy that many of us envy. They also make the day fun with their enthusiasm. The containers sailed from Tilbury on the Wednesday. The expected date of arrival is 23rd April. It usually takes about two weeks to clear customs, after which they are unloaded in two different locations in the capital, Tegucigalpa. They are then collected by the twenty six different ministries who receive and distribute the items we send. These stretch from the north to south coast of Honduras with the majority located in the area around the capital. Each year we reach more and more of the very poor people in Honduras, who most need our help. Together, we are making a difference to the lives of many people as well as the education of hundreds of children. A big thank you for your help, from CH Trust.

The schools and colleges that we assist have very little in the way of teaching resources. This makes subjects like science, craft, design and technology very difficult to bring to life. We have been able to provide some equipment such as laboratory items, equipment for electrical experiments and basic craft materials. These facilitate exciting lessons for children only used to chalk and talk.