Located in the heart of Central America between
Guatemala and Nicaragua, Honduras is known for its
natural beauty, rich culture and warm people.
Unfortunately, it's also widely believed to be the
poorest country in Latin America.
The
combination of massive unemployment, a national
health crisis, little government support for
education, healthcare or social services, and
lingering devastation from Hurricane Mitch has
only worsened the situation. The result is a cycle
of poverty and crime that's almost impossible to
break without direct intervention. Thousands of
children are abandoned, impoverished or orphaned,
many living on the streets or in conditions most
Canadians would find unimaginable.
Crisis
at a Glance:
- 70%
of Honduras' 7 million inhabitants live in
terrible poverty
- 40%
of the population are children (in startling
comparison to 18% in Canada)
- 52%
of families in Honduras are single parent
families - most led by women struggling to
raise large families
- Crime
rates are high and where women are the
offenders, Honduran policy requires that
babies up to two years old be imprisoned with
their mothers. Often children are born there.
- The
devastating force of 1998's Hurricane Mitch
left over 1 million people homeless and living
in unsanitary, unsafe conditions. Many have
never recovered what they lost and remain
homeless to this day.
- Honduras
is home to 70% of AIDS cases in Central
America
|
