Holistically supporting Apacilagua to reach their full potential - Would you join us?

Apacilagua whose name means "Still Waters" with a population of 9,700 inhabitants is one of the nine municipalities of the department of Choluteca located 36 km to the Northeastern part of the departmental city of Choluteca. Apacilagua was founded in 1831; according to the categorization made in 2016 by the Secretary of the Interior and Justice, it is in the category "D" where all the municipalities declared "Without Progress" are categorized.

The high school agriculture talking about
the vision for the future. 

The main economic activity of the municipality is based on agriculture and livestock. The crops of greater production are the melon and basic grains as maize, sorghum, and beans. Because it is an area with little rainfall during a long season of the year and technology level of the small producers is low, the yield of basic grain areas is much lower than the national average which is already low. This scenario makes it a subsistence economy that in many cases is not even enough to nourish the nuclear family.

The inhabitants make much use of natural medicines due mainly to the economic situation prevailing in the municipality and the limited existence of professional health services. Some of the most widely used treatments include Chamomile tea and eucalyptus leaves to control coughs and colds, garlic as a dewormer, basil tea for a toothache, among others.

Apacilagua is a town where the religious beliefs still remain influenced by the Spaniards Conquerors with very ingrained traditions. It is estimated that 93% of the population professes their Catholic faith and only 7% claim to be newborn evangelicals. There are many traditions and customs that are practiced such as not eating red meats during Easter Week, visiting the cemetery every November 2nd to put crowns and flowers on the graves of their relatives who are dead, prayers or novenas at nine days, six months and at the end of  the first year after a relative or friend has passed away.

World Gospel Mission through its ministries in southern Honduras has been working to encourage positive changes in the population of Apacilagua. Through the health promotion program, we have been working with children and young people from schools and training to create a culture of healthy and nutritious food. With support from missionary groups, students and professors from Ohio State University, water projects have been set up for the population's consumption and for the development of agricultural education programs. Also, through the vocational education center (CEVTI) we have been training in areas such as sewing.

What is the approach for the next two or three years?

The plan is to provide holistic support to the community of Apacilagua by placing at their disposal resources that God has provided and will provide to WGM -Choluteca. Also, based on felt needs, we will develop various workshops through the Vocational Education Center and plant a church with the support of the Shalom Church. We will continue the health promotion program for a period of 2 or 3 consecutive years. We are also considering the possibility of starting pilot programs like 4-H with children and FFA with young people attending school in order to encourage and develop leadership, citizenship, cooperation,  patriotism and other skills. We consider that the settlers and leaders of Apacilagua have all the potential and desire to transform their community. Our goal is to accompany them in the process by providing them with tools that will stimulate the integral growth of the individual lives, their families, and their community.

We are aware that to develop this plan will require a lot of effort and human resources, time and financial resources, but we are relying on the provision of God. We invite you to join this dream through your prayers, contribution of knowledge or financial support; we cannot do it on our own!