May your holidays be merry!
                It is that time of year again!  As usual our projects in Honduras are in need of donations.   I have all but made Honduras my year round home.  But any donations will be deposited into our Honduran account in Texas.
 
                We have a lot going on especially in our efforts to provide clean water to villages around Trujillo….and we have been actively constructing schools.
 
                Due to Covid 19 a number of our projects were put on hold in March, 2020.  Our water project serving 1128 households in 8 rural villages near Trujillo will not restart until next year..  The community is providing the labor for this $135,900.00 project funded by the Rotary Foundation…made possible thanks to local matching funds from our donors.  Community residents have finished digging trenches and burying 10, 8, 6, and 4 inch pipeline down the mountain to a 90,000 gallon existing tank.  This was a long and tedious process but it has already dramatically improve water pressure allowing many more residents to have a reliable water supply.  They still need to connect the primary tank to the reserve tank…we have purchased the connections…see photo…and then the chlorination system will be installed.
 
Story and pictures submitted by Tom Plumb
 
Click the read More for Photos
December 21, 2020
 
We were also awarded another Global Grant from the Rotary Foundation to provide water to two rural communities (Las Uvas and Vida Nueva) and improve frequency of water in 3 other communities near Rigores (they receive water about every 4 days).  The Grant request provides $109,800.00.  The project will entail the construction of an 85,000 gallon tank, drilling six 120 foot wells with pumps, pipeline to the new tank and to the two communities without water, a water pump and pipeline to one of the schools, and a chlorination system.   This project will serve 5000 people.  We have done a hydro-geological survey and have adapted the project design to address the findings.  We will submit the new plans…described before…to the Rotary Foundation for approval.
 
;We are also serving as project overseer for an Engineers Without Border project in Guadalupe Carney which will improve water pressure for about 4000 residents.  The existing 7 kilometer pipeline route has water pressure issues due to the terrain coming down the mountain.  This project will reroute 2.6 kilometers of pipeline to improve the gravity fed system.  This project was also delayed due to Covid 19.
 
This year, we built a kindergarten in the remote community of Maranones in honor of 21 years of support from the Middlebury Rotary Club and are beginning construction of the 2nd classroom.  This kindergarten will be known as Kinder Maggie Quinn in honor of a long-time member of the Middlebury Rotary Club.  We completed  a 21x29 one room school in the even more remote community of Las Cabras where there is no school. It was named after its donor…Nianna Gustovich…a member of the McAllen, Texas Evening Rotary Club. We painted and rewired a kindergarten in Trinidad.  We also completed a kinder in Agua Amarilla that has been named Kinder Carson..a member of the Lloydminster Saskatchewan, Canada Rotary Club…who arranged for its funding.  And, we have started construction of a kinder in the community of April the 18th that will be named after a childhood classmate, Ken McCauley, from Palm Springs, California.
 
During the coming year, we have numerous requests for classrooms and will construct as many as possible…how much we can do depends on our donors.
 
One final note….our current plan is to have a 9 day work crew in March, 2021.   The exact dates have not been determined.   Please consider joining us.  No skill is necessary and volunteers pay their expenses.  You can find information on logistics at www.handstohonduras.com  If you are interested in joining us or donating, contact me at tomplumb315@yahoo.com.  Donations are tax deductible.26-2385107
 
Please help us during our 23rd  year of service in Honduras.  I have enclosed photos of our recent projects and ones that are just underway.  We are in the process of providing $2635.00 worth of food to hurricane victims, thanks to Rotary Club donations.from Port Isabel and Historic Brownsville Rotary Clubs and the Lloydminster Saskatchewan, Canada Rotary Club.
 
Thank you for your support.
Tom Plumb, Hands to Honduras, Inc Port Isabel, Texas Rotary Club, PO Box 1733, Port Isabel, Texas 78578