Dear Friends, We are pleased to share our 2016 Annual Report detailing our clinic-based, outreach, and advocacy services for people living with HIV in Honduras. You’ll read about our fish farm and other activities to generate income and develop self-sustainability as well as the expansion of our community-based health fairs reaching people living in extremeRead more
Monthly Update
Last month we traveled to the capital, Tegucigalpa, to meet with representatives of the Honduras Secretary of Health, directors of the Health Surveillance and Medical Supply Chain units, and World Health Organization (“Organización Mundial de la Salud” in Spanish as seen in the photo). The goal of the meeting was to share information and meetRead more
Our Honduras Executive Director, the Rev. Pascual Torres, wrote the following email at the end of a recent workday: “There I am surrounded by some of our beneficiaries of many years. What a happy photo! …Our Cabro chili season has ended after almost a whole year of bountiful harvest. The most rare and difficult oneRead more
HIV works insidiously with other diseases. When a person has HIV their risk of developing other diseases rises dramatically. This is the case with hepatitis B. Approximately 10% of the HIV-infected population worldwide is infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV). HIV increases the risk of cirrhosis and end-stage liver disease in HBV co-infection. Given thisRead more
We pride ourselves on providing medical care with “calidad y calidez” (quality and warmth). Two months ago, we completed the renovation of our recovery rooms at our San Pedro Sula and Siguatepeque clinics by installing new beds, air conditioning, washbasins, medical equipment, electric wiring, floors, doors and ceilings. Your generous support made these upgrades possible.Read more
World AIDS Day: Progress and Setbacks in Honduras Nationally, Honduras’ HIV prevalence rate has fallen from one of the region’s highest to a new low of 0.4% of all adults. This figure hides high prevalence among certain groups as our Gilead-funded testing has revealed. We found HIV prevalence rates as high as 11% when testingRead more
Caring for her Community When we started our HIV and Hepatitis B education and testing in the “bordos” (slums) of San Pedro Sula, community members told us we had to meet Gina. We found her at a slum called Santa Marta. She had just changed out of her medical school uniform and was ready toRead more
“Tina” has a lot to do. A tailor, she sells clothing to customers in their homes and small businesses. The profits support her and the 16 year-old grandson she is raising. She has made enough money to buy her own home, which she plans to leave to the boy. Siempre Unidos is the beneficiary ofRead more
In two weeks, Siempre Unidos’ mental health therapist, Ilich (pictured at right), will attend the 2016 Gender-based Violence (GBV) Working Group Meeting in Cape Town, South Africa. He will represent one of 7 organizations in Africa and Latin America recognized as offering an innovative and culturally based intervention to combat violence. The event is sponsoredRead more
In mid-July, Amy traveled to San Pedro Sula, Honduras to strategize about programs with staff, enhance information sharing between the Honduras and US offices, and meet with patients and community members. Below are some highlights: Vanessa Luchadora When asked to name her profession, “Vanessa,”* a 60 year-old HIV+ woman said without pause “luchadora” meaning “fighter.”Read more
