by Melanie McGill
In the spring of 2013, I was a newly widowed, burned out college professor looking for challenge, meaning, and purpose in my life. I had always wanted to go on a mission trip and there are many to choose from at Saint Michael’s. Still teaching at the University and longing for summer break, I read about a mission trip to Honduras coming up that summer. When I attended the first meeting for details, I met M’Lou and Bill Bancroft and was introduced to Honduras Threads, a group of women working in six embroidery co-ops in rural communities near the capital city of Tegucigalpa. I was amazed at the beauty of their brightly colored pillows and table runners, and soon my adventure began! Before I knew it, I was planning a curriculum to teach basic computer skills and cost accounting to the women in the sewing co-ops.
In preparation for the trip, I read three books: Enrique’s Journey (Sonia Nazario, 2006), Toxic Charity (Robert D. Lupton, 2011), and When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty without Hurting the Poor … and Yourself (Steve Corbett & Brian Fikkert, 2012). These books were instrumental in framing my perspective for the trip and enhanced my understanding of social, political, and economic conditions in Honduras. The amount I spent on the weeklong mission trip was more than most Hondurans earn in an entire year.
Needless to say, I fell in love with the women of Honduras Threads! Even though I didn’t speak Spanish and we communicated through translators, I was welcomed and greeted with bright eyes and warm smiles, and I soon felt at ease. The women of Honduras Threads display a quiet strength, pride and dignity. Above all, they love God and love their families. Honduras Threads has provided them with a means to earn money to buy school uniforms and books for their children, as well as contribute to daily needs of the family. The children now see their mothers as productive wage earners. One of the best things about our mission is that we are providing a “hand up” rather than a “hand out” to the women; by working and owning their own businesses, they are empowered.
I returned to Honduras in the summer of 2014, and taught two levels of computer skills to the women and their teenage children while others learned about sewing machine maintenance and sewing techniques. The women learned typing in MS Word, using Excel templates to keep records, and how to email documents to us. Now, some of the women are even posting on the Honduras Threads Facebook page. In this photo you can see the excitement and joy they felt after receiving certificates on “graduation” day.