“Stay at Home” has a much different meaning in Honduras

“Stay at Home”...These words have become a familiar and perhaps dreaded part of our daily life during the current COVID-19 situation. But for many of us, home confinement includes having our favorite meal delivered to our doorstep, Zoom video gatherings with loved-ones, and binge watching our favorite Netflix programs with a big bowl of popcorn….in the comfort of a home that would be considered an unimaginable luxury by Honduran standards. For those under lock-down in Honduras, however, “Stay at Home” is a severe and difficult hardship heaped-upon an already challenging existence. Police and military personnel patrol the streets, monitoring compliance with lock-down rules that permit leaving home only one day per week. Access to already diminished essential supplies is further inhibited, and meager incomes are interrupted. While we share amusing “toilet paper shortage” jokes on FaceBook, families in Honduras are making impossible decisions about whether to try to purchase food, medicine, or clean water. We know that things will improve in Honduras…because we know hope endures, but in the meantime, there is suffering.

Please remember our brothers and sisters in Honduras during these challenging times.