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 one to grow is the black one, in our case our plants produced abundant fruits. I hope you will enjoy the photos.
Paz y Caridad,
Pascual”
In 2016, the Siempre Unidos staff planted 65 Cabro chili plants and harvested over 2,000 chili peppers. These became ingredients in rice and fish dishes served to patients for lunch. The staff sold the peppers to local residents, netting over $160 in profits.
Altogether, the Siempre Unidos staff raised $32,552 in 2016 through fundraising efforts such as the month-long “Gift me a Lempira” campaign (Honduran currency) and Bingo as well as through the sale of fruit, vegetables, chickens, eggs and fish raised on the clinic grounds and the sliding fee scale for patients.
The funds raised from these fundraising and agricultural activities were re-invested into clinic operations to purchase food for patient meals and pay for utility bills, building and vehicle maintenance and personnel costs.
