Beyond The Plate – A Podcast by Food For The Poor
Food isn't just delicious... it can also change your life! Tune into Beyond the Plate, a new podcast presented by International Charity: Food For The Poor. Get inspired with conversations that nourish the soul. Hear amazing stories of transformation from faith influencers, leaders in the nonprofit sector, and the individuals receiving aid in the 15 countries of Latin America that Food For The Poor serves.
Beyond The Plate – A Podcast by Food For The Poor
Ep. 24 - Finding Hope in Honduras | Hispanic Heritage Month
Learn what happens when the people behind the camera recall their viewpoint of a life-changing journey. On this moving episode of Beyond the Plate, we turn the cameras around to meet Viviana Moreno and Jose Manuel, from the television program ‘Come Home with Jen Mallan’ (airing on Christian Television Network), whose mission was to document poverty in Honduras became a deeply personal journey of connection and personal transformation.
Honduras presents a stark reality—over two-thirds of the population lives in poverty, with millions surviving on less than $2 per day. For Jose, born in Colombia and raised in an orphanage before being adopted by an American family, the conditions triggered profound realizations: "That could have been me." His emotional journey culminates in gratitude to his adoptive mother for changing his life's trajectory.
Through their lenses, Viviana and Jose captured the full spectrum of human experience—from the heartbreak of the San Pedro Sula garbage dump where people spend decades foraging through trash, to the joy of children at FFTP’s Angels of Hope homes where sustainable initiatives like bakeries that double as vocational training centers.
This Hispanic Heritage Month, Food For The Poor celebrates the connections between cultures and how compassion transcends borders. You don't need a passport to make a difference—just a compassionate heart.
Visit www.foodforthepoor.org/together or www.foodforthepoor.org/juntos to help transform lives across Latin America as... WE HONOR AND INSPIRE EACH OTHER...TOGETHER
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Beyond The Plate is a podcast by international charity, Food For The Poor
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As soon as we got off the plane, my eyes had to be open to everything that we saw, Even with my camera in hand. The kids came running to me and I had all these kids hugging me while I'm recording.
Speaker 2:This is an Angels of Hope home and this is one of over 70 homes 8,000 kids across Latin America and the Caribbean that help thousands of children escape poverty, abuse and neglect.
Speaker 3:I know what it's like to live in poverty. I grew up in the mountains. I lived in an orphanage in the mountains of Colombia. Let me be very clear. That could have been me. All it was was a yes from a lady here in the States that said yeah, I want to adopt this. You know this kid. I just was like thank you, mom. Now I walked away from the trip having a better sense of you know, appreciation. Just for simple life, for clothes on my back, for a roof over my head. I cried for the next two days.
Speaker 4:This is Food for the Poor, but we're not just food, we go beyond the plate to discuss a full range of development programs, all designed to break the cycle of poverty us a full range of development programs, all designed to break the cycle of poverty by empowering people with the tools and training they need to transform their lives for generations to come.
Speaker 2:These stories will inspire you and, best of all, you can be part of the change that takes place.
Speaker 4:Join us as we go Beyond the Plate. Okay, so I have to tell you I'm so excited about this episode because it's probably one of the greatest things that we get to do here at Food for the Poor is we get to embark on mission trips, right, and these mission trips are not alone, where we just kind of like go down and we, you know, we see the needs and we see the families, but we get to share those experiences. And I recently embarked, this year, on a mission trip where you have to imagine, danny, listen to this, put me there, put me there Pastors, media and movie personalities, oh, yes, business investors, consultants, and like a host of food for the poor staff, converging on Honduras. Love it. Yes, for a life-changing mission.
Speaker 4:Now, quick fact for those of you that are not familiar with Honduras right, more than two thirds of the population living in abject poverty in Central America and the Central American country almost 4 million are struggling to survive on less than $2 per day, two US dollars per day. Imagine that. Almost 20% of the children under five these are small babies. I got a nephew under five. You've got a little girl under five Suffering the lasting effects of malnutrition as a result of this poverty that we're talking about. Children and families are struggling in unimaginable ways in Honduras and we'll talk about that. But this trip centered around the host of Come Home with Jen Mallon, pastor Jen Mallon, part of CTN Network, christian Television Network, and the program I love because it highlights families and pursues God's great commission to save lives, both emotionally and spiritually.
Speaker 2:And what makes this story powerful. In this episode as well, we're celebrating Hispanic heritage, right, so keep in mind nine out of the 15 countries that Food for the Poor serves se habla espanol. You also know that this trip, the people behind the camera is what I want to focus on. The people behind the camera are the ones who show us the story. Today, we're going to be turning those same cameras around and we want to meet two unsung heroes from this mission to Honduras Viviana Moreno and Jose Manuel. Welcome, jose and Vivi.
Speaker 1:Hello, thank you for having us.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's quite the honor and pleasure to be on the plate this wasn't tourism right?
Speaker 4:What was going on in your mind and your hearts as you were getting ready to embark on this major journey and this trip, to see what you were going to see?
Speaker 1:As soon as we got off the plane, just my eyes had to be open to everything that we saw. I was just record, record, record. That was all that was going through my head the whole time. Just catch everything and anything that we saw, just so we could tell the story later. Wow.
Speaker 3:We enjoy what we do, and it was one of the probably I mean I could speak for both of us. It's probably the highlight and honor of our lifetime to capture moments like what we did in.
Speaker 4:Honduras. What was the very first thing that, as you're filming, as you're capturing, as you're viewing and you're getting ready to do what you're doing behind the camera that it just literally arrested your heart, vivian.
Speaker 1:Yeah, the first thing that comes to my mind is at the Sparrow School. I had my camera ready to roll and Pastor Jen was so concerned that I wasn't going to get to like love on the kids or like give hugs because I was recording. But as soon as we stepped onto property, even with my camera in hand, the kids came running to me and I had all these kids hugging me while I'm recording and I'm just like, oh my gosh, you know, these kids are just so loving. They don't care what's in my hand or that I'm trying to film, they're just they're loving on me and I'm like, no, we're here to love on you and they're loving on us do you guys remember el hogar emmanuelmanuel?
Speaker 2:Does that still ring a bell? Does it still ring a bell in your heart? Okay, this is an Angels of Hope home and this is where children are raised with a better life than the one that they've had in abject poverty. And a quick fact I want to share with you guys the attendance rate there is at a 90%, and why? Because kids are safe, they're fed and loved, and this is one of over 70 homes, 8,000 kids across Latin America and the Caribbean that helped thousands of children escape poverty, abuse and neglect. And you saw these kids who have escaped life and poverty, uh proverse conditions, and now are thriving, they're smiling, enjoying their childhood. But one specific moment you guys mentioned to us before, which was the coffee shop in the bakery. So tell us about that coffee shop, Tell us about that bakery that doubled as a learning center. And I want to go to you, viviana, first.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I just I love to bake, so that was kind of cool going into that. Knowing that these kids have a place that they can learn how to bake and make a living for themselves is huge. That was one of the things I loved about Food for the Poor, the sustainability aspect. Like no matter where we went, there was something that the kids or the adults could tangibly learn and take with them as they grow up to make a living for themselves.
Speaker 4:Now, jose, you remember when we were there and we went into the community center in the back and there was that impromptu like when Danny said grateful.
Speaker 2:That fits a good hundred people in that thing.
Speaker 4:Exactly. And so, Danny, you used the word grateful. You remember when they put on this impromptu worship session just to praise and worship, just to welcome us. We walk into this concert for us if you will.
Speaker 3:Yeah, for me it was really, really special, because for me and Vivi we love worship, by the way, we bask in that worship so that would just brought a lot of joy to our heart, that worship, so that would just brought a lot of joy to our heart. And so, yeah, and I think what made it more special was that was their thank you, you know, and they didn't have anything that they could, you know, tangibly give, but they gave their worship and I think that that goes sometimes, you know, your worship goes underappreciated.
Speaker 4:Jose, I want to bring this back to you because this is where your story, kind of the rubber meets the road with your personal story. We talked about earlier in the episode that you're from Bogota, Colombia, but by way of a different way you got to Tampa, Florida, West Central Florida, right. So kind of talk about what was going through your heart and your mind as you're meeting these families and you have this kind of this epiphany moment based on your personal story. Why don't you tell us your personal story?
Speaker 3:My birth mom gave me up for adoption at just a year and a half old. My mom was hooked to drugs and so she had to make the heartbreaking decision that she that I later that I later appreciated that she knew she couldn't take care of me because she had her own personal issues. I grew up in an orphanage. Seeing what I saw in Honduras, that was really like flashbacks, because I know what it's like to live in poverty. I grew up in the mountains. I lived in an orphanage in the mountains of Colombia. So seeing all this in Honduras, I'm like wow, this was once me.
Speaker 4:As we went on on this trip and we saw what was effectively the hope that could be across Honduras, in these various communities, we saw the potential for every family, every child. Now we went into communities and we saw the needs. And then the San Pedro Sula garbage dump and the landfill and the garbage dump Um, you know, quick fact, the garbage dump has only recently began banning children from going there to work and picking and separating trash as a daily occurrence. And there was one man that was that was there that our team met. This man had been working at this garbage dump for 30 years, 30 years of his life, and I don't think he was much older than that. I mean 30 years of his life spent on the garbage dump, foraging through piles of trash what other people have thrown away so that he can then take to a recycler and provide for his family. Vivian Jose, what were your impressions, seeing this for the very first time in these communities?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean, for me, knowing that kids had worked there was huge, because I have, I think we both have a heart for children, but knowing that kids worked there was huge and that there's other dump sites that kids are still working at, I think this is the only one that we know that kids were banned from so and just seeing like they're just you know the people are there with sandals, walking in the trash, working in shorts, like this is their life. That was like that was really eye-opening and sad to see. Like you know, the whole thing is trying to bring dignity to them. While we're having to work in here for a living, you know they're eating the food that they're finding in the trash because they don't have food to bring for lunch or for dinner.
Speaker 4:However long they're going to be there, and knowing that they had nothing and they're just trying to work through this trash is like it was really rough I remember at the end, when we were leaving and some of us with that woman stood there and just wanted to give her a hug, just to embrace her, as a moment of connection for not just her but for us as well, to bring some dignity back to this woman's life, if, but for a moment, and she rebuffed us, I remember she just said no, no, because she was so worried of offending based on what Jose just talked about. That's right, and we hugged her.
Speaker 3:We're the hands and feet of Jesus. We got to go and help, we got to go and see, we got to go and hold. You know, give hugs and, just you know, be a comfort source for people that this is their everyday life 365 days of the year.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I hope this is okay. I wanted to share a scripture Matthew 25, 40. It says truly, I tell, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.
Speaker 4:You didn't pick that scripture just accidentally. By the way, it just happens to be the very foundation of which food for the poor was built Matthew, chapter 25, verse 40. So this is powerful.
Speaker 2:And if I got the feeling of this is what I can do for Honduras, and Jose put us there as well, vivi put us there and I imagine that night as well, everyone around that table was saying this is what I can do for Honduras, and if that is what you're asking yourself right now, we'll go to foodforthepoororg slash together. We're highlighting Hispanic Heritage Month here at Food for the Poor and on Beyond the Plate, and part of that Hispanic heritage is tying back to your roots, tying back to your culture, and how can you give and help sustain that culture for these folks that right now don't know where their next meal is coming from or are on their way or coming back from a garbage dump, because that's the only way to live? Well, you can change that outcome for them. Again, foodforthepoororg slash together. Or en español foodforthepoororg slash juntos slash together. Or en español foodfortheportorg slash juntos. Picture this You're crafting an amazing beer, but stepping into the non-alcoholic market feels impossible, too expensive, too risky, sound familiar. That's where Bear.
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Speaker 2:I know we can already tell this whole trip was emotional. That's an understatement, I know, but I heard that from you and it didn't really all hit until you were on the way home that you had a moment with your mom. Can you, can you take a stare?
Speaker 3:Honduras. Man, that week, those five days that I just was, I was like, wow, this could have been me. But no, it wasn't, you know, no, it isn't, and it's because of my. My mom adopted me. I remember looking at her and I said thank you. It was really, really emotional and I, I cried for the like the next two days and I have a better and a bigger appreciation for life itself.
Speaker 4:Viviana Moreno, Jose Manuel Hall, thank you for joining us on Beyond the Plate and for those of you that want to help, and help now, as Jose said, join us by going to foodforthepoororg slash together. That's foodforthepoororg slash together. And you can give. You can be a part of this life-changing journey and you can give. You can be a part of this life-changing journey Through Food for the Poor. This Hispanic Heritage Month is going to be truly transformative for a family when you make the difference and not just come and see, but come see and do something about it. And you don't need a passport, you just need a compassionate heart, like our guests today. Thanks for listening. We hope you felt the connection. One plate, one story, one act of love can change everything.
Speaker 2:Discover more stories and join our community at foodfortheportorg slash podcast and follow us at beyondtheplatepodcast. Together, we can make a difference. This is Beyond the Plate.
