Montana de Luz

Montaa de Luz provided acute and ongoing medical support to 16 children affected by hiv/aids in honduras, including doctor visits, specialist visits, ongoing nutritional assistance, daily antiretroviral therapy (art), and daily medical attention from two nurses. Our expenses in payroll, food, and vehicles reflect our ongoing support for children affected by hiv/aids. These children need on site caregiving and nursing support, daily nutritious meals, and travel to nearby doctors to receive routine and specialized medical care. We can proudly say that 100% of individuals served at montaa de Luz are adherent to their life saving art medication and have a suppressed viral load, compared to the average of 54% of the general population in honduras living with hiv. Education- mdl also ensures that all eligible children receive high quality education or vocational training. Relevant mdl staff includes caregivers who did over 8,000 hours of basic tutoring (+ virtual education due to the pandemic), an on-site special education teacher who completed over 1,000 hours of teaching to five students with special needs. Service teams- mdl did not host any service teams in 2022 due to the pandemic. Community support- mdl began serving children and families affected by hiv/aids in nearby communities in 2017. We started with only three families but we have served over 44 families by the end of 2022. Our goal is to continue to increase the overall quality of life for individuals affected by hiv/aids in honduras. Mdl provides a monthly stipend, family counseling, transportation to medical appointments, and educational support. Through this program, we have prevented over 30 children from entering an orphanage. In 2022, mdl helped six families on our caseload who live in extreme poverty open a small business in their community. Of these six micro businesses, 4 were tortilla stands and 2 were used clothing sales. Our goal is to help these families earn enough income to attend their monthly doctor's appointments, create a sense of empowerment, and learn the skills needed to run a business. We monitor the program though monthly visits and they report their weekly sales to us via whatsapp.