Giovanni
is an entrepreneur from Nueva Suyapa. He started around a year ago with a food
business where he sells typical Honduran food such as fried chicken, plantain
chips, and other Honduran snacks. In addition to this, he has created unique
formulas of popsicles made of Honduran tropical fruits, cereal grains, and
others. These are sold daily in different schools and institutions in the
community as well as in his business. Giovanni also takes a cooler to the
famous Agafam soccer field and sells to the teams.
Children in the community
God
has given Giovanni a heart for young boys, especially those that do not have a
father figure to nurture them. In addition to his own 7 year old son that he dearly loves and
that he has been educating with Christian values, he also teaches Sunday school
to 6-8 year old boys..
Many
boys from the community have joined his Sunday school class and now receive the
love and education that many do not receive at home.
At
his son's request, Giovanni visited a high-end soccer academy, Futeca, close by
Nueva Suyapa. Although he didn't have the resources to pay for his child to
attend, through a friend, he was able to get his son a free-trial class. The
coach was impressed with his son's talent on the field and invited Giovanni to
bring more of the kids he supports at no charge to form a team to play against
the kids that are training in the academy.
Giovanni
now takes and trains around 25 kids to play soccer every Saturday morning. Some
of them have no access to transportation or can't even afford to buy a pair of
cleats. But Giovanni says, "Through my business I have been able to
support these teams. Many of these kids have no parents and they have found a
place where they feel part of a family. In addition, we are keeping them away
from being involved in gangs".
Giovanni
is an entrepreneur from the Stewardship Christian Ministries (SCM) network,
local affiliate of Partners Worldwide. SCM has worked close to nine years with
its partner the Honduras Pella Affiliate. The Pella team has made it possible
that entrepreneurs like Giovanni have access to capital to invest within their
businesses.
Giovanni's team (red) at the end of a friendly game. |
Team of children with some of the attending parents. |
Giovanni and his son holding the trophy of 2nd place in the Futeca tournament. |