This month, while in Honduras, I visited the main public hospital that serves Honduras’ poor. Honestly, I am not a fan of hospitals in the best of times, but this one is especially hard to visit. The many suffering people lining the hallways are vivid reminders that corruption isn’t an abstract concept—it literally destroys lives.

During my visit, I entered a medicine storage room and heard from doctors that they often lacked the basic medicines that their patients need most. I thought about the 80% of Hondurans who depend on the government for medicines, and about the $94 million dollars of medication that were stolen.

I met two surgeons who told me they have trouble operating because their equipment is often outdated, broken, or stolen. I thought of the 10,000 patients currently on waiting lists for surgeries because of a shortage of available doctors in the operating room.

Working for justice exposes you to the raw wounds of our world. It is easy to become overwhelmed with the magnitude of the problems and to fall into the trap of thinking that corruption has no cure. But, as I walked through those hospital halls, I saw many things that have improved, and I was struck by the fact that slowly but surely justice is becoming a reality.

In this season of hope, will you give a gift to contribute to our healing justice work in Honduras? With your support, we will continue to advocate for healing within Honduran systems in defense of the most vulnerable.

Thank you,

Jill (VanBeek) Stoltzfus