Elon’s Periclean Scholars Class of 2007 is raising awareness about malnutrition in Honduras, and has raised more than $6,500 to help build a dining facility for children at one of the country’s hospitals. Details…
Hunger and malnutrition are serious problems in Honduras. More than 1.6 million Hondurans suffered from malnutrition in 2004, and more than 70 percent of the country lives below the poverty line. The Honduran Office of Health and Nutrition estimates that 75 percent of children under age 5 are malnourished.
Periclean Scholars in the class of 2007 are working on campus and in the broader community to raise awareness about the issue. The class has held several fundraisers to help build a dining facility in the pediatric ward of the Mario Catarino Rivas Hospital in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. Funds for the project have been transferred to a foundation overseeing the construction, which will begin in June and should be finished in August.
Currently, the pediatric ward has 85 beds but no dedicated dining facility. The new facility will allow the hospital to provide several additional meals each day, reducing the long periods between meals the children currently face. The Periclean Scholars continue to raise funds for an endowment, which will cover supplies and upkeep for the dining facility.
The Periclean Scholars’ efforts have been covered in Diario La Prensa, the main national newspaper in Honduras. Periclean Scholar Maria Interiano has produced a 5-minute video on hunger, featuring the pediatric unit, and a 30-second public service announcement. Interiano also did research on the malnutrition problem during Winter Term 2006 and interviewed the Minister of Health and the First Lady.
The class has also received a grant from the Park Foundation to film a documentary on hunger and malnutrition in Honduras this summer. The class will travel to Honduras in Winter Term 2007 to learn more about the issues related to hunger and participate in a service project.
In October, Karen Godt of Help for Honduran Children will visit Elon for a public session and to visit with students in Global Studies courses. The Periclean Scholars have also partnered with the Kernodle Center for Service Learning to sponsor Hunger Awareness Week November 12-18.