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| Karen 1 |
A few days later Mr. Honzik logged on to the web site www.smaria.org for Father's Mike's Honduran mission and his life was changed forever. Through pictures and a narrative he was introduced to an 11 year old Lenca Indian girl, Karen Mendoza. Karen was born without a left leg below her knee and without an arm below her left elbow. Her parents, staunch Catholics, do the best they can for her, but the Lencas are referred to as `the forgotten people of Honduras". Their home is high in the mountains, where aldeyas (villages) of 15 to 18 families eke out an existence. There is no running water or electricity in the village. It is a two hour walk down the mountain from the village of San Bartolo to the parish church at Guaquiero. On the web site, Father Mike asks for help in acquiring prostheses for Karen. She has been educated in the village school, but to continue her education beyond the sixth grade level, she must be able to leave the village. Bob Honzik is drawn to the nobility and quiet dignity he sees in the face of the young girl and her family. He decides to do some internet research and find out what it would take to obtain the necessary help for Karen. After many hours on the internet and phone calls, Bob Honzik had enough information to realize that it would take $9,500 to $10,500 to bring Karen to the United States and get her the right kind of medical help. This amount seemed beyond the reach of his family.
At a dinner party one evening, he mentioned this young girl and her plight. Immediately one of the guests pledged $500.00 if a fund was formed. Bob and Bill Gerstner, members of the Daniel P. Sullivan Knights of Columbus Council 10208 at Sacred Heart of Jesus, Hot Springs Village, approached the council for help in administering the funds being raised. The officers agreed to help and the "Walking with Karen Fund" was opened with an initial K of C donation of $500.00. After some publicity in the Village Voice and the Hot Springs Sentinel Record, donations to "Walking with Karen" started to come in from the surrounding area. Grand Knight Emile Plaisance, a native of Louisiana, became interested in "Walking with Karen". The Honziks were directed to Karl Gann, local representative of the Shriners organization, who put them in touch with the Shreveport Shriners Children's Hospital. The Honziks, and several fellow Knights and their families were deeply involved with all aspects of the project. This included mountains of paperwork to qualify Karen for admittance to the Shriners Hoapital and to obtain traveling papers for Karen to leave her village, her family and her country to come to the U.S.
Within a year, in April of 2002, Karen was brought to Hot Springs Village by Father Mike. They traveled on tickets donated by retired airline pilots living in the Village. This young girl spoke no English and had never been beyond her mountain village, but she entered another world with bravery and fortitude, with faith in Father Mike and the goodness of the people who wanted to help her.
Bob and Mary Anne Honzik were also taking a leap of faith. Neither spoke Spanish and they were unsure how to introduce Karen to such things as indoor plumbing and sleeping in a bed. In Honduras, Karen and her family slept on blankets spread on the dirt floor of their one room house. Four members of Sacred Heart, including Tonie Garcia and Knight’s Lady Terri Gromley, acted as interpreters for the eight weeks that Karen was in the United States.
The first priority was a thorough physical exam and dental exam as required by the Shriners Hospital. Dr. Bill Lefler did a complete dental exam and Dr. Rita Albright did the complete physical exam, both of them donating their services. Dr. Albright found that Karen suffered from parasites, a common malady in under developed countries because of the uncertainty of the water source. Karen was treated and her supporters were made aware of a need that most people of the world have, a source of uncontaminated water for cooking and bathing. In Karen's village, water is hauled from a creek fed by a natural spring, a spring that is also the water source for animals. Bathing is done clothed because there is no privacy.
Karen and her American family found a true friend in Hilda R. Holder, director of family services at the Shreveport Shriners Children's Hospital. She helped with the paperwork and in explaining exactly what would happen at the hospital. The Shriners Hospital had no provisions for boarders, so Karen and her supporters traveled back and forth between Hot Springs Village and Shreveport. She lived with Bob and Mary Am Honzik for the eight weeks it took to fit her with prosthesis and then construct her custom made leg. From birth she had learned to crawl, using her good leg and her left knee. Now she had to learn to walk with both legs.
While waiting for her prosthesis, Karen met a family from Honduras that lived in Hot Springs Village. A grandmother and grandfather were raising three grandchildren. One of the girls had been badly burned by a kerosene cook stove while living in Honduras. Because of their involvement with Karen, the Honzik family was hopeful that the Shriners could help this child. With guidance from Karl Gann, the girl received help through the Shriners Bum Center in Galveston, TX.
While living with Bob and Mary Anne, Karen had many new experiences. She had never seen a phone before, but every Saturday, she talked on the telephone to her parents. They walked three hours from their home in the mountains to the nearest phone in Guaquiero. She visited the Little Rock Zoo, several local restaurants, the malls and learned to love Dr. Pepper, salsa and chips. She also underwent an emergency appendectomy at St. Joseph's hospital. If she had been at home in San Bartolo, she probably would have died, but because she was near modem medical facilities, she came through the ordeal without any problems.
When her prosthesis leg was ready, the Honziks, with Karen and her supporters, returned to Shreveport. Karen and Mary Anne Honzik stayed together at the hospital while she received her therapy for both prostheses. Her artificial leg matched her skin color exactly. When she saw that she could stand and walk instead of using the wheelchair (silla) that had been her method of transportation in public, she said “No more silla!"
Karen returned to Hot Springs Village in time to take part in the Shriner's Golf-A-Rama fund raiser and to show off her new ability to walk. Additional "Thank You’s" were extended during her farewell party at the home of her American family. She and the Honziks returned to Honduras at the end of May. The first time her parents saw her walking toward them, her mother shed tears of happiness.
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| Karen family |
The story does not end here. In getting to know Karen, many of the Knights became concerned for her life in the aldeya after her return. It was decided that there had to be a better way for the village to obtain water. Working with Honduran authorities, the villagers have drawn up a plan to cover the reservoir at the water source to protect the water storage from animal contamination. A buried pipeline running from the reservoir to the village will eliminate the difficult task of hauling water down the mountain. The men of San Bartolo are doing the back breaking work of hauling the PVC piping for the pipeline up the mountain. They are also digging the trench and laying the pipe. 90 lb. bags of concrete and sand must also be hauled from Gunquiero to San Bartolo where the village will make bricks and build a bath house which will give the people the privacy necessary for bathing. Laundry facilities will also be built so that the women will not have to wash clothes in the stream. $3,500 was raised specifically for this project.
The miracle is not finished. Father Mike hoped to start a cottage industry in the aldeyas, with the women making clothes and table liners that could be sold. Most of the people are involved in farming, trying to grow enough food to feed their families. There is very little monetary income for them. The beautifully decorated items sent to Sacred Heart sold within 15 minutes after Sunday Mass. In order to make more things that could be sold, more sewing machines and fabric were needed. Knight's Lady Terry Gromley made an appeal to the Ladies of Sacred Heart Church at their monthly meeting. She hoped to raise enough money to buy three treadle sewing machines at $90.00 each. Within a few minutes, $839.00 was raised. The women at Sacred Heart also decided to sponsor a Fair in November to provide a market for the products the women of the Honduran aldeyas produce.
At a Knights of Columbus meeting after Karen had retimed home, the men decided that this bright, intelligent child should continue her education. The "Walking with Karen Fund" is committed now to encourage Karen to go as far with her education as her spirit will take her. As a handicapped indigenous female, she has the potential to be a role model for so many of her people.
Karen is now attending school at the Institute of Santa Clara Catholic Prep School of 120 students (21 boarders) administrated by the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception. The `Walking with Karen Fund" continues to be the source for educational and travel expenses to allow Karen to return to the United States for medical treatment as she grows and develops until the age of 21.
When presented with a problem, most people say “I’m only one person, what can I do"? The Honzik family found out what one person can do when their heart is touched by the plight of another individual. Through their concern, Bob and Mary Anne Honzik made it possible for the Knights of Columbus, the Shiners, their families and the people of the larger community to pool their collective prayers, talents and money to accomplish modern miracles. As Mother Teresa said `to show great love for God and our neighbor we need not do great things. It is how much we put in the doing, that makes our offering something beautiful for God."
Because of the dedication of the Honzik family, the Knights, the Shriners, and their families, the lives of hundreds of people living thousands of miles away have been changed forever.
Postscript: The above information was written in 2003. Karen is now (2021) thirty years old. She lives in San Bartolo and Teaches the local school children.
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| Karen Honziks and Ganns |
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| Karen and Family in Nicaragua |
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| Karen family and house |