In the last newsletter we had completed our first house in Yarula. We have now completed seven houses, with eight and nine about to be started. The weather can influence the building programme as the rainy season can make the mud roads unable to allow deliveries and building has to stop during heavy rain.
At the time of writing it is April and Honduras should be dry with temperatures up to 40c. Lourdes wrote that it is raining. The rains do not usually start until about mid May. Climate change!

The families of the first ten houses have several things in common. They are too poor to make their homes better and safe and they all have children.
They are prone to respiratory illnesses as the cold and rain constantly batter them. The large gaps between the planks that make up the walls mean that the homes are perpetually damp in the rainy season. This will make them feel colder. Photos that I have seen show a bed covering sheet but no thick blanket. The mud floor will become increasingly muddy and will release more moisture into their living space. Their safety is at risk, as many of the houses are old, some over fifty years, with the wood starting to rot, the structure could collapse and cause a tragedy.

This Lenca family has five children. The first thing that I noticed in the photo is that all but one of the children are wearing no shoes. Shoes are expensive. I bet their feet are cold as they are all wearing a top layer of clothing.

When the house is complete the family is given the key to the door. This is something they have never had before. In house five they never even had a door. No privacy no security, a door to close must give them so much peace of mind. It is difficult to imagine what this is like.

The porch provides shelter for cooking and washing. I do like the pink blocks. The windows that they are using are slide opening. They have small panes which is good in case one gets broken
 

Building is continuing. Our contribution to the cost of the house is £2500. This does not cover the cost of all of the materials or any of the labour, some of which is skilled block laying. The council in the area is providing the rest of the money. They cannot afford to build without us and CH Trust is in a similar position. Together this partnership is giving new, long lasting homes to these poor families.