To celebrate Earth Day, we wanted to share this report from
Ricardo Garcia, project coordinator in Santa Rosa, Honduras.
It’s about eco-stoves that help both the environment and the
health of our sponsored friends. In 2008, the Santa Rosa project
in Honduras initiated a medical campaign to benefit all the
sponsored members and their families. During the campaign, we
learned that many mothers suffered from pulmonary emphysema
caused by excessive smoke from cooking food. Later in 2009, we
initiated a reforestation effort because large swaths of trees
were being cut in the communities. But the problem wasn’t
getting better. One solution addressed both problems. We decided
to build eco-stoves because they use less firewood and they
don’t produce smoke in the home. Getting the program off the
ground was difficult because the families were accustomed to
seeing lots of smoke in their homes. But they see how much
better off they are financially because they don’t buy as much
firewood. Their homes are free from smoke,