3/01/11

Speakers: Emelisa Callejas, Consul General to the United States from Honduras  and Laurie Willing, Outreach Honduras International, Atlanta, US.

Emelisa Callejas began the session by speaking about what led her to become involved in the fight against hunger in Honduras. She explained that she has worked for over 30 years with women and children living on the streets of Honduras. It is because of these experiences that she became engaged in issues related to food security.

Ms. Callejas stated that she had the privilege of visiting a Food and Agriculure Orgnaization of the United Nations (FAO) project in Lempira (one of the Southern Departments in Honduras). She explained that in 1990 Lempira was a recipient of Food Aid, but as a result of FAO engagement it was able to provide surplus food (Corn/Beets) to feed Hondurans through out much of the country affected by Hurricane Mitch in 1998.

Ms. Callejas explained that each new government has 4 years to create projects, which are often promptly discarded by new governments at the beginning of each 4 year cycle. While meeting with the Costa Rican Minister of Health, Ms. Callejas remarked that she was so impressed by the improvements in Health in Costa Rica that she wanted to arrange a meeting between the Costa Rican Minister and the Honduran Minister of Health.

The Costa Rican Minister expressed his sadness because he informed her that many of the projects and ideas which had been implemented in his country had been originally started in Honduras. Ms. Callejas indicated that this was but one example of how the Government of Honduras often builds a step which the next government promptly destroys rather than building the next step upon the existing one. She explained that Costa Rica had come much further by ensuring that each government built upon the successes of preceding administrations, in much the same way one would ascend a ladder.

To ensure that Honduras is able to ensure progress in the fight against hunger and poverty Ms. Callejas explained that a “Vision for 2038” has become law. She argued that by enshrining these programs in law it will make it more difficult for future governments to destroy the progress that has been made. Ms.Callejas said Honduras is setting out with a proven method to eradicate hunger and poverty. She stated that “eradicating hunger in one generation is possible”. She went on to state that “hunger is one of the most cruel manifestations of poverty” and “violence when people are hungry”.

Ms. Callejas believes that the way to make change is “one person to another, individual to individual”. She went on to say that while helping lift people out of poverty it is important to ensure that partners “with dignity…hold the hand of the people”. Helping to ensure that people are on the same level, conveying the message “You are poor but you are important”.

Ms. Callejas said that Honduras is plagued by great inequality, with small numbers of citizens who are very wealthy, while at the same time 65 out of 100 Hondurans do not know where there next meal will come from. She said that the wealthy in Honduras are often not thinking about the plight of the poor and hungry and that more must be done to raise awareness about their plight. She said sadly this extreme inequality often has a political dimension, recognizing that “(the wealthy) can buy a lot of votes for a plate of food”. Ms. Callejas asserted that the major concern of the wealthy elites in Honduras is ensuring continued access to cheap labour. Ms. Callejas explained that hunger affects the rich and powerful, as “it is very expensive” with close to $20 million dollars lost per year due to hunger. She said that it is necessary to launch a National Crusade against hunger in Honduras.

Ms. Callejas gave reason for hope, citing the great example of a small community in Olancho which is in the midst of one of the poorest regions of Honduras and yet had some of the best WHO Health indicators (comparable to Roatan) thanks to the work of US NGO Honduras Outreach Inc (HOI). HOI has worked for 21 years in the Agalta Valley in a remote part of North Eastern Honduras to promote dignity, cooperation and self sufficiency.

HOI brings between 45-50 teams per year to Honduras and has worked with nearly 200 communities on various projects including, projects to stimulate the local economy through the creation of a Pottery co-op, Coffee co-op, Cattleman training co-op and Milking co-op. Recently HOI has partnered with the community of La Luguna to raise chickens, work a community garden and a Tilapia pond which was so successful community members doubled the size of the pond after the sale of their first crop of fish.

Ms. Callejas said that President Lobo has made a commitment to Food Security and made it a state policy. There is a strategic plan which has three main paths to end hunger, comprised of a Technical Unity, COTISAN (comprised of large NGOs and government donors) and UTSAN (comprised of universities and broader civil society).

2011 has been designated the “Year of Food Security” and work is underway to include a Food Security amendment to the Honduran constitution as a right. Ms. Callejas believes that these efforts by the Honduran Government strongly position Honduras to be a leader on issues of Food Security and Hunger in Honduras.

Ms. Callejas concluded by saying that currently in Honduras there are about 600,000 families living in extreme poverty. The Honduran Food Security Strategy divides the country into 16 key regions and envisions need along a continuum ranging from Catastrophe, Emergency, Crisis to Food Secure and Permanently Developed. She said those currently living in Catastrophe, Emergency and Crisis require Social Protection, while those with moderate/light require investment to ensure that these Hondurans are able to build upon their existing ability and capabilities working towards greater development.