The controversy over USAID (The United States Agency for International Development) has a direct connect to the Mountain of Light in Honduras. USAID, which was established in the 1960s, is one of the world’s largest aid agencies and is responsible for over half of all U.S. foreign assistance. It is currently through funding provided by USAID that Montaña de Luz is able to secure all our medication (anti-retrovirals) for our youth and families.
A cut, or pause, to this funding is life-threatening to the children who call MdL home, in addition to millions worldwide who depend on these medications.
The funding provided by USAID is currently in question because of potential plans by the new administration to eliminate USAID or merge it into the State Department.
The news about USAID comes during an immersion trip of 11 visitors from Ohio who are spending seven nights at the MdL children’s home in rural Honduras. “From where I sit, I can hear the youth here playing volleyball while their caretakers watch,” MdL Executive Director Anna Jackson said. “Earlier today, the team presented our Charla Luz HIV educational presentation to our visiting team from Worthington. In that demonstration, we learned that because of the effective medication, individuals living with HIV can live a long and normal life without the possibility of passing HIV to their partners or children.”
As an organization that began as a hospice before these medications were available, MdL is aware of what it’s like to live without anti-retrovirals. “We cannot go backwards,” Jackson said. “We are calling on our MdL community to help advocate on behalf of our youth and families. Please be a voice for the people of Montaña de Luz.”
Here’s how you can help:
- Call your members of Congress to share why MdL is important to you and how the funding provided through USAID is essential to the health of our children. We encourage you to personalize your messages to congressional offices to illustrate the significance of MdL to you. This could include stories of your interactions with the children on trips to Honduras or the impact MdL has had on your faith or church community. Click here to find your Congress members: https://www.congress.gov/members/find-your-member
- Share this information with family and friends.
- Pray for a resolution that puts the health and safety of our youth and families as a top priority.
- Please continue your financial support for our life-saving work for children in Honduras: http://www.montanadeluz.org/give
“In the faces of our children, I see what’s at stake,” Jackson said, “and our responsibility to fight for our youth’s future.”