This is Yaina. She is a sweet lady who lives in Travesia and has been a part of the academy since it’s beginning. Officially she cooks for the boys every day as part of our Training Table program. The goal of the training table is to provide a nutritious meal for the boys.
She is also more than just a cook. She is our friend. She has helped us navigate some of the new customs of living in a foreign country… countless times she helps us go to the market and makes sure that we get fair prices for things and shows us who to buy stuff from. She’s a voice for us in the community and has spoken up for us when others ask about what we are doing here or question our motives.
Yaina is someone that we can pour into and share the gospel with every day that she is here with us. We are praying for her and excited for the day when she sees that our faith and what we believe can be hers and that she can have a personal and saving relationship with Jesus too!
Right now, she and her family are in a bit of a bind. They have been renting a small piece of land for several years but their landlord has sold her land! We were fortunate enough to find out about another small piece of land near the academy. As we need to move forward quickly on this, we have helped her put down first half of her payment it thanks to some generous supporters. But we need to pay the second half for the land and then make it livable.
(PHOTO ABOVE: Before her land was cleared)
(PHOTO ABOVE: After the land was cleared we could see just how much standing water was there… a lot!)
What do I mean when I say ‘make it livable’? Well, right now, as you can see from the photo above, it’s completely underwater… literally. That is the case with many areas in Travesia. Even the land at the academy was under water when it was bought! Fun fact: during the construction phase in 2016/2017 for the academy over 160 dump truck loads of dirt were brought in to raise up the ground level!! Fortunately for Yaina and her family, they don’t need that many dump truck loads BUT they still need some! We are estimating right now that we’ll need around 10 dump truck loads of dirt to prepare her property. Here, a dump truck load of fill dirt is around $50. So, we are estimating $500 to prepare the land.
(PHOTO ABOVE: Yaina’s house on the current property. We hope to help her have a better home very soon with your help!)
So, here’s several ways that you can help us make a new, BETTER living situation a reality for Yaina and her family! Please prayerfully consider helping us:
-
Make the final payment of $750 towards her land. She has until April to make this payment.
-
Purchase 10 loads of dirt ($50 per load) to raise the ground level of the property so that it is livable.
If you are interested in helping us out, please click here to pay via PayPal or credit card. To pay with a check, please make it to: BVSA Honduras (memo: Yaina Ramos house fund), addressed to:
Buena Vista Sports Academy for Boys
2220 County Road 210 West
Suite 108, Box 303
Saint Johns, FL 32259
(All donations are tax deductible.)
Our temporary plan to help her once the land is ready is to move her current house to the new location so the family has a place to live. Then, as time, opportunity and funds are available in the future, we want to assist her if we can to build a new house that will be more sustainable and provide better protection for weather and the elements than her current house.
She is someone who works at the Academy but she is also family. Thank you for praying for Yaina and for helping our Honduras family!! We are excited to provide new opportunities not only for the boys in our academy but our staff and their families!
Jason in Honduras 