Keeping children off the street and healthy mentorship is the first step to a safe community
In most USA cities, children have the space and opportunity to be active outside of school hours. But in Western Honduras, even with a population of 1 million people, there was nowhere for children to play when it was raining. No churches, no schools, no gyms, no community centers, nothing. What do children do when there is nowhere to go and nothing to do? Without any available healthy environment, children are in danger of falling into violence and crime. The purpose of building the community gym was to help to keep children off the street.
CAMO has been the governing body over this gym and community center, bringing it up from an abandoned empty shell and transforming it into an active facility. Today, local Honduran schools, churches and government agencies utilize this community gym. Scheduled time slots organize the gym’s variety of daily activities, which include:
- Volleyball
- Soccer
- Table tennis
- Basketball
- Karate
- Aerobics
While wheelchair basketball gives people with disabilities a sense of pride and belonging, other activities including co-ed intramurals and women’s weightlifting aim to encourage and empower women in the midst of a machismo Honduran culture. Each day, at least 300 children participate in positive, character-building activities. In the evening, the facility comes alive as adults take advantage of a variety of offerings as well.
