We awoke this morning to a slight earthquake in Xela (magnitude 6.7) and have arrived safely in the village of Loma Linda 3 hours southwest of Xela. It continues to rain but our SHGO team is undeterred to make the most of our time here. Loma Linda appears to have fallen on difficult times since my last trip to this rural community of 1200 people in 2015. The challenges faced in Loma Linda are similar to those in other poor communities; lack of jobs and economic development. However, through our local partner and hosts, Pascual and Rosa Rafael, they remain hopeful for their collective sustainability in this beautiful country. The photos accompanying are of our arrival in the community, the central church which serves ad the heart of this largely Catholic community, and some of the local surroundings. All is well and we look forward to our meetings with the community leaders later this evening and tomorrow. We will hopefully also be viewing the water sources for the community far up the mountain. Our team of Sue, Annalena, Keisha, Juan, Spencer, Kellee, and John are real troopers.
More tomorrow. Dr J -