BY JULIE IRWIN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Now that Hurricane Mitch is past, the future of Honduras is what worries the Rev. Emil Cook.
Money and supplies from eight Tristate schools are on their way to Mission Honduras, the collection of orphanages and schools that Father Cook runs. The mission suffered power failures, contaminated water and road closures when Hurricane Mitch roared through late last month, and newly orphaned children are on the way.
No one died at the mission, and the main road to the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa opened again recently. But the crisis at the mission - and in the country - is far from over.
"For us, (the concern) is from now on for the next six months, because people here lost all their crops," said Father Cook, a Franciscan priest who has lived in Honduras since 1970. "We're going to see evidence of this hurricane for the next 10 years."
The mission, about an hour north of the capital in an area called Comayagua, includes orphanages, girls' schools and boys' schools. In a country where 90 percent of the population stops formal schooling by the sixth grade, the mission sends students to university. About 40 mission graduates are enrolled in universities now.
In addition to 50 or more new orphans, the mission expects six to 10 mothers with about four children each in the coming weeks.
The mission began a relationship with Moeller High School two years ago. Alumnus Bill Knight, now a University of Dayton senior, volunteered at the orphanage with other UD students. He returned last summer with nine Moeller students and three faculty members.
"It was a life-changing experience for all of us," said Brother Ron Luksic, the school's assistant principal. "The whole country is very poor and yet the people are tremendously friendly, but there was so much need. I think it affected our students tremendously as far as looking at life and what they need."
Moeller was in the midst of planning next summer's trip when Mitch hit. The school collected money and supplies, and soon seven other area schools - All Saints School, Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy, St. Michael School, St. Gertrude School, St. Ursula Academy, Ursuline Academy and Mount Notre Dame High School - joined the effort.
