Dream Big Honduras is celebrating a major milestone that will help provide more opportunities to enhance education and the quality of life in the small town of Pinalejo.

After six years of successfully partnering with Bakerstown Alliance Chance in Gibsonia, they officially received their nonprofit 501c3 status, said Bethany Wentz, who founded the group in 2010 with her husband, Brad.

The group began when the couple, who were not yet married, visited the town of Pinelajo, Honduras, during a mission trip. There, they saw the people living without full meals, shoes, and other basic necessities, as well as a rundown school, she said.

And despite having so little everyday, material things, she said the students had such big aspirations of wanting to become a lawyer, architect and teacher.

“They had these really awesome big dreams. These kids had nothing,” Bethany said.

But as the program and needs for the mission grew, Bethany said they realized they needed their own nonprofit, which would give them more opportunities to receive donations and build.

The group fundraises mostly for the Three Presidents School in Pinalejo, where public education is free only until the sixth grade. That being said, many children do not attend beyond that.

Often times, the young residents only choice was to start working in the fields, even if they had other aspirations. Other times, some would join gangs or there were instances of pregnancies, sometimes as young as 14.

They were convinced giving the kids a chance to further their education may help, thus creating the DBH Tutorial Academy which serves as an “afterschool support and refuge” for students in seventh and eighth grade. There they can access “tutoring, computers, internet, nutrition, faith, and extra curricular activities,” according to the DBH website.

More than 30 children attend and two local residents from Honduras run the program. Ten of the students are there on mission scholarships, said Bethany, 35.

As they work on getting approval through the local government, they are hoping donations can help build a Christian bilingual middle and high school, with the latter focusing more on trade skills.

Donations are also strongly welcomed for their Patty's Purse Emergency Relief Fund, which provides funding for a food bank, basic needs, and medical needs for families of the school.

DBH Medical Missions is also a major success for the group. After merging with another local mission group last year, the organization is now able to have more than 100 doctors and dentists visit the area to provide medical needs several times a year in Honduras.

They are seeking volunteers, which includes medical and nonmedical professionals, to a medical mission trip, Aug. 31 to Sept. 8.

Bethany said they also created a network of local Honduran doctors who are compensated to provide medical needs as well when there are not mission trips.

One resident was sponsored to receive chemotherapy through the mission, she said.

Other major past and current projects have included home construction and repair, purchasing the land next to the school to create a play area, building a new classroom, and a school breakfast program.

In order to accomplish these important programs, they have several fundraising events throughout the year, including the Party with a Purpose on Aug. 18 to celebrate their nonprofit status and an annual fiesta Oct. 21.

Proceeds from an upcoming local “Dream Women's” retreat in October will also go toward the mission. People can also purchase Honduran coffee to support the academy's monthly expenses, which can be accessed off of their website, Bethany said.

The mission has other members and a four-member board. Brad and Bethany grew up in Gibsonia, and now live in Richland with their five children.

Bethany said their oldest son Levi, 16, “is totally passionate about our mission” and even created a GoFundMe page to help build a home for one of his Pinalejo friends. A junior at Pine-Richland School District, Levi has also collected more than 400 pairs of shoes to take down with the help of the basketball team.

“(The town's children) bring out the best in me. They teach me things such as how to appreciate the things I have,” said Levi, in his blog about a recent mission.

Brad said his faith plays a big part in making the mission successful.

“The school and kids we support, the homes we have built, the tutorial academy we recently started, the medical (and) dental trips we continue to lead, the new Christian bilingual school we are planning for 2020, all pale in comparison to the ‘Good News' we are honored and privileged to share,” said Brad.

“We are humbled to serve as a small part of God's plan through the work of Dream Big Honduras, and we look forward to continuing to spread that ‘Good News' one mission trip at a time,” he said.

Visit the Facebook page for more information on all of these upcoming events. To volunteer for any mission, visit www.dreambighonduras.com. The site provides information on sponsoring a student and donating monthly.

Natalie Beneviat is a Tribune-Review contributor.

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