SUMMARY OF FRIEND SHIPS ACTIVITIES IN HONDURAS

Friend Ships has a base in Roatán, Honduras and since 1997, has been providing goods and services to help people in need as follows:

Medical Aid

Through shipments with our vessels Spirit, Spirit of Grace and Hope, Friend Ships donated and delivered medical equipment and supplies to hospitals and clinics throughout Honduras.
We have provided medical supplies and equipment for the Coxen Hole Hospital and for medical facilities in other Roatán communities, including Oakridge, Santa Elena, French Harbor, Punta Gorda, the Roatán Red Cross and medical facilities on the islands of Guanaja and Utila.

Friend Ships has delivered hundreds of tons of medical equipment and supplies to the Honduran mainland which were distributed to hospitals in Olanchito, Progreso, Yoro, Santa Barbara, Tocoa, Trujillo, Santa Rosa and to the Honduran Social Security Hospital in Tegucigalpa.

Medical Services

On Roatán and on the mainland, Friend Ships has provided dental and eye clinics where services were provided and glasses distributed free of charge. We’ve hosted several medical clinics where patients were diagnosed, treated and given medication, all without charge. We presented a first responder emergency medical course for Red Cross volunteers. In 2004 we brought in a team of medical providers and worked in coordination with the Honduran Department of the Interior and National Fire Department, serving 12,000 patients in Roatán, Tegucigalpa, Tela and Choloma, providing free of charge medical services and medicine, dental and eye services.

In November of 2007, we are bringing a medical team to Roatán and will work out of French Harbor.

Emergency Humanitarian Aid and Training

Friend Ships delivered hundreds of rolls of top quality vinyl coated fabric for shelter assistance to COPECO which was flown by U.S. military helicopters to La Mosquitia, when there was massive flooding and thousands were homeless.

We delivered fire fighting equipment, bunk beds, sinks and supplies to the volunteer fire department of Roatán, the emergency firefighters of Honduras, and the fire departments in Utila and Gunaja.

We donated and delivered thousands of pounds of food to COPECO for people in the north of the mainland when severely affected by famine.

In 2004, the Friend Ships team hosted a four month course for volunteer fire-fighting students from the community conducted by the Honduran government. Instructors taught the basics of fire fighting, rescue and first aid, AIDS awareness and handling hazardous material.

Friend Ships made several humanitarian aid deliveries to Roatán, donating many tons of food, building supplies, furniture and literature to several local churches for use in their facilities and for their distribution to the poor. We donated and placed dozens of computers to schools, churches, medical facilities and other key institutions.

Hurricane Relief

Following the devastation of Hurricane Mitch, Friend Ships delivered $12 million worth of food, emergency materials, medical supplies and clothing to Honduras. With our ships and landing craft, we were able to make deliveries to critical areas not being reached such as La Mosquitia and the communities of Savannah Bight and Mangrove Bight on island of Guanaja. We also picked up supplies in Puerto Cortes and made deliveries to Guanaja and La Mosquitia on behalf of the First Lady of Honduras.

We donated tarp and installed roofs for more than fifty homes in preparation for Hurricane Wilma and distributed tarp for hundreds and hundreds of homes following this hurricane.

Humanitarian Services

The Friend Ships teams have constructed room additions, repaired roofs and performed home improvements for widows, single parent families and churches; set power poles and assisted the local power company with critical repairs and maintenance for the benefit of the community; distributed clothes, furniture, toys, eye glasses, and Bible school materials; taught two-eight week sessions of computer training on each end of the island; graded numerous roads throughout the island.

We offered several sessions of Arts and Crafts, teaching single mothers to create souvenirs to market to the island’s tourists; taught dance classes for youth, distributed toys and food; participated in fighting community fires and regularly host church seminars and events.

If you would like to be involved with “The Village” at Roatán  as volunteer member or student, or visit as part of a work team, contact Friend Ships in the U.S. at (337) 433-5022 or email info@friendships.org.