Seth Berry is an award-winning photographer focused on documenting threats to the human condition in Central America and beyond. You can follow his work here.
Centroamérica / Inequality
In Times of Pandemic, Struggles Continue for Honduras’s Most Vulnerable
Friday, July 17, 2020
Seth Berry
Bellos Horizontes is a community where the country's poorest and most vulnerable live on municipally owned land on the outskirts of San Pedro Sula—seen in the distance, wedged against the valley’s ridge. If residents can prove permanent occupancy for a period of 10 years, the plot of land becomes theirs. This is usually ignored by local governments, especially if there is a private interest involved.
Hector’s mud home, the only mud house in the community. 'It was cheaper to build my house with the soil from the ground,' he said. A majority of homes are built with sheets of corrugated aluminum and tarpaulin, which is a fire hazard.
One of Hector's six children watching television inside the mud home. Hector is a single father, who works odd jobs in the community—gathering firewood, building homes, installing fences, etc.—to make money for his family.
From the hill adjacent to Bellos Horizontes, Hector heads back down the steep trail after collecting firewood for cooking. He will either sell this wood or use it himself. The men who live in the community act as stewards of the surrounding forest, ensuring people only cut dead, dry trees while letting the younger saplings grow. They have also been responsible for putting out natural brush fires.
The Viera family inside their home. Oscar Viera collects and sells scrap metal to support his family. The Vieras also have a homemade mud stove outside their home which they allow neighbors to use.
Jose Portillo builds the roof of his home. While constructing his house he had to sleep under sheets of aluminum in order to stay dry. It rained almost every night for a week before he finished his roof.
Clean water is not available in Bellos Horizontes. The water company recently cut the line which goes to the community, because it wasn't being paid. Rainwater is collected in used refrigerators or barrels. Every few weeks a fire truck arrives to deliver water to people in need. Lack of access to clean water causes serious sanitary issues—a nightmare during the Covid-19 crisis.
Children play on a tire swing tied to a ceiba tree overlooking the community.
A gas stove is a luxury item in Bellos Horizontes. Most people prefer fire stoves because gas costs too much.
A rusty 55-gallon drum being used to catch rainwater from the gutter. Recently the water company shut off all water to the community, forcing them to hope for rain.
A young boy stands outside of a bodega with gambling machines inside.
A man stands on his small plot of land after his wife hung the laundry.
Support Independent Journalism in Central America
For the price of a coffee per month, help fund independent Central American journalism that monitors the powerful, exposes wrongdoing, and explains the most complex social phenomena, with the goal of building a better-informed public square.
Support Central American journalism.Cancel anytime.
Advertisements
Newsroom
Edificio Centro Colón, 5to Piso, Oficina 5-7, San José, Costa Rica.
El Faro is supported by:
FUNDACIÓN PERIÓDICA (San José, Costa Rica). All rights reserved. Copyright © 1998 - 2023. Founded on April 25, 1998.