Soccer is a very popular sport in Honduras and most communities have their own teams in addition to following the national team. While playing soccer is more common among boys, basketball, volleyball, and dancing are more common among girls. Western music and movies are also common forms of entertainment.
Plant life in Honduras varies with climate and elevation, ranging from mangroves to evergreen trees to Spanish cedar to oak. Honduras is home to many colorful insects, including butterflies, beetles, and spiders.
Reptiles, including snakes and crocodiles, are also plentiful in the country's tropical forests. Larger animals include deer, ocelots , and pumas. Birds are also common along the coast. Honduras has several national parks and other protected areas to preserve its native plants and animls. Citizens of Honduras vote for a president who serves a single four-year term. The president appoints 18 governors to run administrative departments.
The departments are further broken down with localities being the most local subdivision of government. People in each locality are able to elect a mayor.
A third of the economy in Honduras is derived from agriculture, with coffee being the biggest export. Bananas also contribute a significant percentage of the money brought into the country. Christopher Columbus discovered Honduras in the 16th century, then home to the Maya and other indigineous people, and his discovery was soon followed by a Spanish conquest of the country.
In the early 19th century, Honduras gained independence from Spain and briefly became part of Mexico before joining the newly-formed United Provinces of Central America. Following some political instability in the early 20th century, the United States took action to protect its investment of banana crops in the country. In , while Honduras was under military rule, a brief but serious war broke out with El Salvador as a result of a dispute over immigration and the lack of a clearly defined border between the two countries.
Two decades later, Honduras returned to civilian rule and an agreement was reached with El Salvador. In , Hurricane Mitch took the lives of more than 5, people in Honduras and caused billions of dollars in damage. Political instability continues to trouble the country, with another military coup taking place as recently as All rights reserved. Personality Quizzes. Funny Fill-In.
Amazing Animals. Weird But True! Most of them have gone to the United States where they re-unite with family members and friends. The money they send home, the so-called "remesa", now represents a significant source of income to many Honduran families.
Another major problem in Honduras is the phenomenon of gang violence. The "maras", violent streets gangs, often take over entire streets and barrios. They specifically attract minors, who are predominantly recruited in poor neighbourhoods where young adults have nothing to lose. The infamously vicious "Mara Salvatrucha" now has nearly , members, many of them young children. Nonetheless, many children in the country face great hardship: 1 out of 10 children aged is chronically undernourished and nearly a third of all Honduran children below the age of five suffer from stunting.
Social exclusion, poverty and a lack of family support often drive minors into criminal activities. Approximately , children in the country are orphans as a result of political and economic instability.
Maras gangs often serve as a substitute family to children whose families have either fallen apart or have failed to provide love, respect and positive adult role models. Child labour has also become a serious problem in this Central American country. According to the International Labour Organisation ILO , around 10 per cent of all children between the ages of 5 and 14 are involved in child labour activities.
Most of these children do not attend school and consequently do not receive basic education. An even bigger problem is the growing number of children who experience sexual exploitation. Although girls are especially at risk, the number of boys who experience sexual exploitation is on the rise. In , we started working in Tegucigalpa, the country's capital.
When Hurricane Mitch devastated vast parts of Honduras, SOS Children's Villages intensified its work in Honduras by starting a wide-reaching emergency relief programme in order to alleviate the people's suffering. We are providing them with day-care, education, medical services and vocational training.
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