http://www.projectedenhonduras.org/

Project Eden & Adelante, Durham, NH (2026)

02/07/2026

PROJECT EDEN/ADELANTE WINTER 2026 NEWSLETTER

The Project Eden staff had some vacation time around the Christmas holiday. It is good for them to have time to spend with family and to refresh themselves. The staff is back to work and projects are moving forward.

GARDENS
The project continues to support large community gardens in 2 villages, Santa Ana and Quiscamote, which produce crops to address local food insecurity. Recently one hundred pounds of beans were harvested in Santa Ana. Beans should be ready within a couple of weeks in Quiscamote. These are co-planted with corn. Once the beans have been harvested, the corn will then be harvested. Some areas in the region have not had sufficient rain to support crops this season so Mario is hoping to harvest enough to address the resulting need for corn to feed people and their animals. Plantains, yucca, bananas, green peppers and cucumbers are also growing in the community gardens. Fruit and vegetable crops
harvested from the community garden in El Hogar del Ninos will be shared with families in the Healthy Beginnings program. Coffee beans were recently harvested in El Hogar and more plantings are planned.

REFORESTATION
Projects and education regarding the need to protect forests and replace what has been lost will begin again with the re-opening of schools in February. Project Eden provides saplings to schools and works with the community to plant them. Some schools have tall flourishing trees on their grounds due to plantings done over the years.

HEALTHY BEGINNINGS
There is a new doctor and nurse at the clinic in El Hogar del Ninos. Mario has met with them to discuss continuing the Healthy Beginnings Program and they are very interested in continuing collaboration with this program to support improving maternal/child nutrition. The federal clinic in Quebrada del Danto conƟnues to work with Project Eden to implement this helpful program.

ADELANTE
Schools have been closed since November for the annual recess but will re-open in February. Mario attended some of the high school graduations in December. The first Adelante meeting of the year with students will take place in February. Padrinos have sent in enough sponsorships thus far to support 90 students. More support is expected and needed to sponsor all of the students interested in the program. The sponsorship cost has increased (to $300/year) for the first time since the program’s inception. Adelante students and their parents recently participated in some community service activities to clean up the environment.

WATER FILTRATION STATIONS
Project Eden is working with communities to re-open a few closed water filtration units. The system in San Benito was closed for a year after the delegate responsible for managing it passed away. With intervention from Project Eden, an alternative leader was identified and the system has resumed providing access to clean water. The system in La Soledad has closed but a local teacher stepped up to administer it so this should re-open soon. The pump in Jute, Guarizama failed so the community purchased a new one and Project Eden helped to install it to keep their water system functional. If a community does not use their water system and fails to identify a plan to resume use, Project Eden will move the system to a community in need of one. Thankfully, the vast majority of communities that have these systems work to keep them filtering water for the villagers. Access to clean water reduces the risk of parasitic infections, a common health problem in the region.

FATHER DAN’S JOURNEY (continued from the fall newsletter)
Father Dan moved from Nashua to Durham in 1997, to be pastor at St. Thomas More Parish. The next year, he assumed the ministry as Catholic Chaplain to the University of New Hampshire. In discussing possible spring break programs for students with the associate chaplain, the idea of an international experience was raised. Fr. Dan contacted a friend serving in a Honduran parish and, in 1999, he went to Guaimaca, FM, Honduras to work out details for a short-term immersion experience for students. While there, he experienced the day-to-day pastoral life in Honduras. A special moment was when he accompanied his pastor friend, Fr. Paul, to La Avispa, a small village, to celebrate Mass. The Mass was held on the patio of a home and the people gathered all around. There were great spirit and joy in this celebration of the Mass. Afterward, Fr. Dan remembers commenting to Fr. Paul, “That felt so right, so good.” (to be continued)

02/07/2026

PROJECT EDEN/ADELANTE FALL 2025 NEWSLETTER

Father Dan St. Laurent visited Honduras for a few weeks recently. He was able to review Project Eden/Adelante programs, talk with the team members and reconnect with the community he loves there.

GARDENS
The school and community gardens supported by Project Eden remain productive with harvests of corn, yuca, plantains, bananas, tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers to feed many. The new teacher replacing Professor Rolando in Coyolar is excited to conƟnue the garden there with the students. Recently, Mario Ramos, Project Eden Director, led a workshop about gardening for students and teachers.

REFORESTATION
The first reforestation effort by Project Eden in 2002 was done with the help of students from UNH. They planted avocado trees in Quiscamote and leucaena trees for firewood. Now the staff works diligently to nurture plants in El Hogar for distribution to individuals and groups for reforestation projects. Some of the seedlings that have been planted near schools and in the community have already grown into young forests.

HEALTHY BEGINNINGS (MATERNAL/CHILD HEALTH)
The Honduran government temporarily stopped paying their nurses, resulting in strikes. This impacted the Healthy Beginnings program for one to two months, as Project Eden collaborates with existing clinics to administer the program. It is now back on track with food and vitamin distributions to pregnant women and their families. During Father Dan’s trip to Honduras in September, he attended the meeting with the program participants at El Hogar del Nino and helped with the food distribution to those families.

ADELANTE (EDUCATION)
The Adelante program has 123 students enrolled. Classes will be ending soon for their winter break, similar to the summer recess in the U.S. The students will resume classes in February. The cost of sponsorship had been $250 since the inception of the program in 2005. The board of directors recently increased that to $300 for the coming school year. This support is very important to educating the children who are at risk of dropping out due to inability to pay for uniforms, books and supplies.

WATER FILTRATION SYSTEMS
The staff continues to inspect and help maintain 59 systems in the region, providing access to clean water for those communities. No new systems have been installed this fall though there is need and communities are interested. Funding remains a challenge for installation of new systems.

FATHER DAN’S JOURNEY (continued from the summer newsletter)
Fr. Dan’s trip to Cuernavaca, Mexico in 1979 impacted him tremendously. It caused some soul searching to discern God’s will regarding how he would spend his life. After a time of questions, doubts and confusion, he realized he wanted to do ministry amongst Latino communities. It took time to get permission but the bishop finally agreed. He went to a language program in NY then returned to NH to begin ministering to new Latino arrivals in August 1983. Communication was still a challenge but the work felt right. The following January, he went to a language immersion program in Santiago, Dominican Republic. He lived there with a wonderful family and learned to communicate more effectively in Spanish. Fr. Dan returned to NH to continue his ministry with the Latino communities in Manchester and Nashua. He continued the work in Nashua until 1997. He met many wonderful people along this journey and learned much from them, including four women religious in NH and the family in Santiago with whom he lived during his language immersion program.
(This story will be continued in upcoming newsletters.)

07/30/2025

PROJECT EDEN/ADELANTE NEWS SUMMER 2025

REFORESTATION
Project Eden helped the region celebrate Arbor Day by donating 300 plants that they had raised to schools and others to help with reforestation. Reforestation has been an ongoing goal since the devastation to the area by Hurricane Mitch in 1998.

GARDENS
A lot of food is being produced in various gardens. The school garden in Quiscamote is harvesting cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes and cabbages. Yuca and plantains are growing in El Hogar. Tomatoes and beans are to be planted there soon. The community garden in Santa Ana is growing corn and plantains.

EDUCATION
Project Eden has hired a new employee to help with Adelante and other work done by Project Eden. Jose Urbina was hired in June. He studied education, economics and engineering, graduating from the university in 2019. He is excited to expand the work of Adelante by starting to visit schools in order to better coordinate educational offerings. Consideration is being given to adding a community service component to the program.

WATER
There is ongoing maintenance to the 59 water systems that Project Eden is overseeing. Pipes of the older systems are showing their age and some need replacement. Filter changes are done regularly. This work is critical to access to clean water for the people living in those 59 villages.

HEALTHY BEGINNINGS
The participants in the program gathered recently and enjoyed a presentation by a nutritionist, helping the mothers to learn to provide more nutritious meals for their families. There is consideration being given to collaborating with the clinic in El Hogar to provide home visits for participants in order to offer more help to mothers learning to meet the nutritional needs of their young children. There seems to be strong local commitment to meeting the goals of the program.

IN THE BEGINNING…
Fr. Dan St. Laurent’s journey to found Project Eden/Adelante in Honduras began long before he arrived for his assignment in Honduras on September 16 ,2001. In 1979, he went to Mexico for an educational program that lasted three weeks. This experience planted the seed that grew into a desire to work with Latino communities. Over the next several newsletter issues, we will tell the story of this journey.

07/28/2025

El Indio Lempira
In Honduras, there is an annual celebration on July 20th of their national hero, indigenous culture and heritage. Their national hero, Lempira, was born in 1499. He became a warrior and ruler of the Lenca region in western Honduras during the 1530’s. When the Spanish invaded the region in the 1530’s, he organized a resistance against the conquistadors, commanding 30,000 soldiers from 200 towns. The effort ultimately failed when he was lured to peace talks with the Spanish, then was ambushed by the them and killed. His soldiers surrendered after his death. During the celebration of this hero, school children dress in indigenous costumes and do presentations to represent different ethnic groups. Honduras named its currency Lempira in 1931.

06/18/2025

ART IN THE COMMUNITY

A group of artists from New Hampshire journeyed to San Francisco de la Paz in February to collaborate with Honduran artists. Their goal was to produce murals to beautify the community. This work has been happening for several years and many wonderful murals grace the walls along parks, the stadium and other public areas. Project Eden provides organizational and ground support to these artists.

06/17/2025

HEALTHY BEGINNINGS

The maternal child nutrition program, started in March 2022, has been expanded to a second village. Project Eden collaborates with local health clinics to provide free prenatal vitamins for pregnant women and infant/toddler vitamins for the “ninos” during their first 2 years of life. Nutrition education and monthly distributions of fresh eggs and food staples for these families is helping to improve access to healthy food. All of this is to reduce stunting and other developmental problems that occur with poor nutrition in the critical first 1000 days, from conception to age 2. There are currently a total of 7 women and 60 children enrolled in the program in the village of Quebrada del Danto and at the Hogar in San Francisco de la Paz. Moms, with their babies and toddlers, meet to learn about good nutrition and receive a monthly distribution of eggs and other basic foods.

06/16/2025

WATER FILTRATION SYSTEMS

The staff are currently maintaining 59 water filtration systems, having added two systems in villages in 2024. These systems improve access to clean water, thus reducing exposure to parasites. These systems are available to the whole community. A water filtration unit installed in late 2024 for this community.

06/14/2025

EDUCATION

The Adelante program has sponsors for 125 students this year. This meets the need for assisting families in the region with keeping their students in school through high school graduation. Stipends are used to purchase required uniforms and school supplies. Adelante students gather to hear about the upcoming school term and receive their education stipend.

06/13/2025

GARDENS

Project Eden staff worked with community members in Quiscamote to harvest 3.5 tons of corn in March. There was plenty of corn to distribute to 30 families. This excellent work helps to address food insecurity for the very poor in the local communities. Recipients of a large bag of corn, a much needed food staple.

06/11/2025

Esperanza Para Honduras

A Parish Mission to Help the Poor in Honduras

In 2007, a small group from St. Rose of Lima Church in Littleton, NH, visited Honduras to provide medical care and to help with building a home for a family that had lost their husband/father. This trip began a journey for that parish to help the poor in Honduras to achieve improved health and nutrition that continues today. In 2009, this team partnered with Project Eden to provide medical care and help in the San Francisco de la Paz region of Honduras. The collaborative effort grew and flourished.

During the years that followed, this group, dubbed Esperanza Para Honduras but known informally as the Esperanza Team, raised funds locally to purchase medications and supplies for medical clinics and gardens. Groups of people from various backgrounds and abilities helped to staff mobile medical clinics, provide much needed medical care and to build gardens. Collaboration with Honduran nurses, doctors and medical students increased the amount of healthcare that could be offered. The trips lasted for one week but provided care for hundreds. The number treated grew from approximately one hundred in 2009 to 700 - 900 per trip in the years that followed. As the breadth of the health care offerings increased, volunteers from gardens were reassigned to support roles in the clinics. These clinics offered free medical consultations, medicines and vitamins, eyeglasses, sunglasses, dental supplies, blood pressure screenings, blood glucose screenings and basic lab testing. They provided health information on various topics pertinent to the region and culture. They distributed prenatal vitamins, insect repellent and mosquito nets to pregnant women to reduce the risk of Zika and other mosquito born infections that harm developing fetuses.

The Esperanza Team made their last medical trip to Honduras in 2023. Due to aging of volunteers, particularly those with medical training, the onsite work could no longer be sustained. However, the team continues to work on fundraising with the support of St. Rose of Lima Parish, in order to continue to help with improving health and nutrition in San Francisco de la Paz. The team holds Plant/Bake/Book/Puzzle Sales each spring and fall. In addition, they make and sell dozens of Christmas wreaths each holiday season. This fundraising permits them to support projects in Honduras to promote good health and nutrition.

In 2022, the Esperanza Team gave seed money to Project Eden to start the Healthy Beginnings Program. This program, conducted by Project Eden in collaboration with Honduran medical clinics, provides nutrition counseling and prenatal vitamins to pregnant women. Additionally, infant and toddler vitamins are provided for children enrolled in the program. Monthly distributions of eggs and other food staples helps these families to provide nutritious meals for their families. The purpose of this program is to reduce stunting, as well as neurological and cognitive deficits that result from poor nutrition during pregnancy, infancy and the early years of growth and development. The Esperanza Team donates funds each year to help this program continue.

The Esperanza team has also donated funds to Project Eden for installation of a water filtration unit in a community. Additionally, funds have been sent to address urgent medical needs for Honduran children, including a child with a fractured arm, one with acute appendicitis and a child in need of a urological procedure.

The Esperanza Para Honduras Team, working in collaboration with Project Eden, is an example of what one small parish can do to reach across the miles to help those who live in poverty.

https://youtu.be/3I0KTrI5yMg?feature=shared

04/20/2020

A message from Father Dan:
I took this photo a few years ago. The little girl was looking for water for her family. At the present moment in the area of San Francisco de La Paz, there are many people looking for water. Not only are the people living in fear of Covid-19, but they are in the middle of a drought. Many are like the little girl in the photo. We at Project Eden/Adelante are doing what we can in these days by sharing water from our well, food from our garden and making a monetary donation to purchase food and necessary household items for many families. If you would like to collaborate with us, visit www.ProjectEdenHonduras.org or send to Project Eden, PO Box 620, Durham, NH 03824-0620.
Thank you. Un mil gracias

04/04/2020

Gearing up for Holy week. Prayers and thoughts for everyone. May this time of prayer and reflection help us draw closer to our God, in our distance from each other.

Project Eden & Adelante

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