A year ago our relief container was sitting, awaiting clearance at Puerto Castilla, because my stubborn self-righteous streak  overwhelmed good sense and I had refused to pay the mordida (bite) to get a container of wheelchairs, clothing, food and hospital supplies destined for areas affectd by Hurricane Gamma. Ironically enough the last tropical storm of 2005. Of course, we didn't hear much about it up here in the states because we were all blinded by Katrina to the ills affecting other parts of the world.

Even in January 2006 the container continued to sit there and it began to gather fees for container rental at the rate of $50 US per day. One month of stubborness resulted in charges at the rate of $1,500 a month. Stubbornly, and also because I simply did not have the money, the container sat, its relief supplies suspended while desperate, indigenous, poor peoples watied and prayed. During the interim, a pitifully poor amount of relief tricked into Batalla, but at Batalla Jose Antonio Rialto took office and he cared for the people affected in his municipality. the municipality of Juan Franciso Bulnes and changes began.

In Tegucigalpa the baton of power was passed to an entrepreneurial businessman with a heart, who not only wanted to get things done but actually knew how to accomplish his objectives. A man who lived up to his word, a man of honor and determination.

Whatever cards the future may deal Mel Zelaya, this last year he played his cards well and his promises were not empty. When the new Diputados assumed office (Carolina Echeveria Haylolck, and Martel Wood), they identified needs in their areas. They then began the difficult task of redirecting governmental resources from the over heated development zone of San Pedro Sula to Cortes and too, a trickle of that green life blood of commerce and carried it to the Moskito Coast.

First, they asked the President if