| Tegucigalpa City Overview Photo Gallery Director Bio Journals: · Jun 23 2008 · Jun 28 2008 · Jul 01 2008 · Jul 04 2008 · Jul 13 2008 Trek 2008 Home |
Global Urban Trek 2008
Tegucigalpa - City Overview
Once part of Spain's vast empire in the New World, Honduras became an independent nation in 1821. Over two thousand years of history are richly displayed in Honduras' numerous Mayan archaeological sites and vestiges of early Spanish colonialism. As a result of this diverse history, the Honduran people are an ethnic mix of native Indian, Spanish, and other nationalities. After two and a half decades of mostly military rule, a freely elected civilian government came to power in 1982. The country was devastated by Hurricane Mitch in 1998, which killed about 5,600 people and caused approximately $2 billion in damage. The country has a diversified economy, based on international trading of agricultural commodities and manufactures, which makes it the most open economy in Central America.
Roughly the size of Tennessee the population of Honduras is about 7,500,000. Estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected.
Honduras has one of the highest incidences of poverty and inequality in the western hemisphere. The situation of the poor, who usually live off small-scale agriculture in rural areas, was aggravated by the disaster caused by Hurricane Mitch in 1998. After this massive loss of life and assets, Honduras embarked on a very ambitious Poverty Reduction Strategy in consultation with civil society and donors, agreeing to a set of actions aimed at reducing the incidence of extreme poverty by half by 2015. Still, incomes of 50 percent of Hondurans remain well below the poverty line.
Although historically dependent on exports of coffee and bananas, the economy has diversified over the past 20 years with the development of non-traditional exports, tourism, and the establishment of a growing maquila industry. A maquila is a factory that imports materials and equipment on a duty-free and tariff-free basis for assembly or manufacturing and then re-exports the assembled product, primarily apparel, usually back to the originating country. Families in Honduras are also greatly affected by the number of members living abroad to make better money. Family remittances from Hondurans living abroad (mostly in the United States) have risen significantly, to an estimated $2.3 billion in 2006, which represents 15% of the country's foreign exchange earnings and over 20% of its GDP (source: US State Department). This is a major factor in the breakdown of the family structure among the poor.
Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras, got its tongue twisting name from the ancient Nahuatl language, and translated means "silver mountain" In effect, Tegucigalpa came to being during colonial times as a mining center. "Tegus" as it is affectionately called by locals, is a mix of an old colonial city that has turned into the modern capital of Honduras. The urban population of Tegus is growing at an alarming rate. Currently there are over 700,000 people crowded into the city. (sources: World Fact Book, World Bank)
This year we are making a 3-week possibility available to students and recent grads who lack the ability to attend a 6-week program and are early in their journey of discerning their call to serve the poor as a vocation. The Tegus Trek Plunge will be an opportunity for participants to consider a commitment to serve the urban poor, grow in spiritual maturity and understand issues of social justice.
The Tegus Trek Plunge will have an emphasis on God’s Kingdom and his calling us to serve him. We will begin with a 4-day Orientation with all Latin American and African Trek teams in Miami. This orientation will offer a Kingdom perspective on poverty, its causes, and how we should respond. There will also be cross-cultural training and the opportunity to connect with others who are like-minded in their pursuit of God’s justice. In Tegucigalpa we will have a short time to get orientated. Then we will spend two weeks living with host families and serving our community by following the incarnational model set forth by Jesus, who lived among those he came to serve.
Our time in Tegus will be spent working with Servant Partners, an organization committed to holistic church planting among the urban poor. Participants should be "prepared to do anything" as they'll work with kids and youth. They may work with schools, programs with women of domestic violence, or business as mission. If Trekkers have bilingual skills, they may serve with the social workers in family centers. You can visit Big Bright Idea to learn more about our hosts and their program.
The Trek is about allowing God to call some to spend their lives among the poor as couriers of hope. This summer may simply be able to offer a cup of cold water to those in need. But most importantly, everyone can listen to Christ as he speaks to us about how he wants us to spend the remainder of our lives.
Print
Email
