| July 13, 2009.- During a recent four-day mission to poor rural and urban areas of Honduras, the new World Bank Resident Representative for Honduras, Geoffrey Bergen, was able to get a first hand grasp of all the activities and work being carried out by two projects implemented by the Honduran Social Investment Fund (FHIS): the Barrio Ciudad Project and the Rural Infrastructure Project (PIR). In San Pedro Sula, Mr. Bergen met with a World Bank Mission conformed by the Urban Development Specialist, Ellen Hamilton, the Social Development Specialist, Bernice Van Bronkhorst and the Barrio Ciudad Project Coordinator, Leslie Gamero. Together they participated in the laying of the first brick for the construction of infrastructure in the Colonia Miguel Yañez in Villanueva, Cortés. The inhabitants of this community live on the steep slope of the mountains that surround Villanueva. To reach the top of the community, neighbors and visitors must climb more than a hundred improvised steps, sometimes in the dark as there are no street lights. Therefore, the neighbors of Colonia Miguel Yañez are now pleased because they will have access to basic services; street lights, sanitation systems and adequate steps to access their homes. Additionally, personnel hired by the Project have been hard at work involving the neighbors in crime and violence prevention. Neighbors believe the laying of the first brick of all the works that will be carried out for 21 million lempiras will change their lives for the better. Their joy is insurmountable when they learn that the Mayor of the Municipality of Villanueva, María Antonieta Botto, offered to pay the community’s counterpart funds which amounted to approximately three million lempiras (15 percent of the total). On the next day, back in Tegucigalpa, Mr. Bergen joined other World Bank officials of the Rural Infrastructure (PIR) Project, composed by the Manager of the Project, Stephen Brushett, Xiaoping Wang, Ana Silvia Aguilera, Beate Mueller, and Ernie Terrado in visiting several municipalities that are already enjoying solar energy projects, new roads, paved streets and electricity under the PIR Project. The mission was accompanied by the PIR’s coordinators, Eduardo Sánchez, Diana Solís, and other members of the PIRs’ team.  |  |
The first stop was in the community of La Concepción del Norte, a municipality in the department of Santa Barbara, whose inhabitants celebrated with parades and dances the pavement of their main streets. All the community joined in and participated in the celebration, which drew smiles and applause from all those present especially the World Bank officials for whom the presentations and all the celebrations were a complete surprise.
At the Escuela Misael Arnaldo Bueso, a dynamic teacher, Lidia Enélida Ríos Paredes, declared that the recently installed electricity in the school is a great opportunity for her students. “Now”, she said, “the blindfolds that don’t let them see will drop off and they will be able to learn about computers and know what the children all over the world are learning.” Later that evening, the entourage arrived at Los Pozos in the municipality of Nueva Arcadia in the Department of Copan. The timing couldn’t have been better to enjoy the solar energy that illuminated the small two-room school “Sagrado Corazón de Jesús”. The one single lighted building in the middle of the darkness engulfed everything. Smiles quickly lit the faces of everyone inside the school. Children and adults enjoyed the dances and short skits prepared by the students under the guidance of the single teacher, Nelly Elizabeth Rodriguez, who has 24 students under her guidance.
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Along with the electricity, Los Pozos inhabitants have received a donation of a TV, a DVD player and educational DVDs provided by the Ministry of Education. The committee charged with the maintenance of the solar panels and the electricity for the school has the great responsibility of ensuring that the lighting is kept up. Therefore, they have decided to charge three lempiras per person when movies are shown in the evenings after the school closes to its normal activities. With the funds being charged, adequate maintenance is ensured. Even though late at night, the group departed for Santa Rosa de Copan with the satisfaction of one more achievement in favor of the poor. All were expectant of next day’s activity which consisted of a trip to the mountains of Ocotepeque, where families at the Aldea El Higon, in the municipality of Lucerna, now have solar energy to light up their homes. But missions sometimes face unexpected situations. The next morning a truck stuck in the muddy road prevented the passage of vehicles up the mountains. Who would be the brave souls to reach the summit on foot? The majority took on the challenge but not all reached their destination. Some got lost along the way. However, those that made it to El Higón were able to observe first-hand the impact electricity generated from solar panels is having in the lives of families who are now living in the light while surrounded by darkness. ........................ The Barrio Ciudad Project has the objective of improving the quality of life of the poor in selected urban areas. This includes potable water, drainages, sewer systems, risk mitigation (i.e., slope stabilization), street lighting and pavement of streets. The Rural Infrastructure Project has the purpose of improving quality, accessibility and sustainability of infrastructure services (roads, water and sanitation, electricity – including solar energy and other Systems for generation of renewable energy); and develop the local capacity for planning and prevention in conjunction with local direction.
For more information on both projects, please visit our web page:
www.worldbank.org/hn/Projects Prepared by María Amalia San Martín |
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