Background of Tierra Santa Home
Since 1992, St. Andrew has worked with several Honduran organizations such as Hogar de
Ninos de Tierra Santa, Tierra Santa Support, Inc., International Health Services, and Casa
De Cultura. The majority of St. Andrew's efforts have centered around Hogar de Ninos de
Tierra Santa, a home for abandoned and orphaned children in Villa de San Antonio, Honduras,
affectionately referred to as Tierra Santa. Currently there are over 130 children living at
the home, 10% of which are boys.
St. Andrew sponsors several trips to Tierra Santa each year, a tradition which began
with a Thanksgiving Mission in 1993. The purpose of the trips is to minister to the needs of
God's children at Tierra Santa. With 130 children and only three directors and 11 teachers,
the children at Tierra Santa do not have enough mentoring or one-on-one time with adults or
mature teens. Our main goal is to spend time with the children, witnessing to them through
example. In addition, we always have one or more work projects, designed so that the children
can participate. These work projects may be as simple as painting, or as tough as building a
2500 gallon cistern above the bathrooms, or building a 200 foot brick fence. The trips are
generally one week long and we incorporate a day in Honduran culture and a day for reflection,
rest and relaxation at the end of the trip.
Hogar de Ninos Tierra Santa is located in the small village of Villa de San Antonio
about 20 kilometers from Comayagua in central Honduras. Villa de San Antonio is a town of about
2,000 nestled into the foothills surrounding Comayagua with its population of almost 45,000
people. Honduras with its 5 million population and an average annual wage of $750 is the
poorest country in Central America.
There are 49 orphanages in Honduras. Tierra Santa is one of four in the immediate
vicinity of Comayagua. It is neither the largest nor the smallest in the area but it is the
poorest. There are approximately 130 children crowded into a complex on under an acre of land
at the home. Like most of the orphanages in Honduras, Tierra Santa does not receive any
government assistance. They depend on the generosity of others for their survival.
Further information is available by contacting Project Manager
Bob Seitz at Bob.Seitz@tierrasantasupport.org or (952) 975-3682.
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