a Church, a School, a Cancha

We've heard that as the Honduran government has developed communities here, they have ensured the presence of 3 key elements in each community: a church, a school, and a cancha. A cancha is a soccer field, and since playing soccer (or "fùtbol") comes almost as naturally as breathing air to Hondurans, the dozens of canchas around the city are nearly always occupied when locals get a bit of free time.


Last month, when Bart & I taught English in the city of Mateo, we gave our students two breaks during their 3-hour class. Each break--without exception--was spent on our church's cancha, with boys and girls joining in an impromptu game of fùtbol. But our church's "cancha" is little more than an uneven field of dirt & grass, with pieces of wood at each end to serve as the goals. So when the idea came about to build a legitimate cancha on the church's property, Bart & I said we'd support them in any way we could.


So far the work has included digging a trench around the perimeter of the field, which will be the foundation for the concrete-block wall. We have been seriously impressed with the hard work that the young people at church are willing to put into their future cancha. During their school break, several young men have spent hours each day in the scorching heat. But their attitudes remain positive, and we are certainly hopeful that - as our friends & family from the States come down ready to work - we can all chip in with some of our energy & resources to see this project completed!

md