Waiting to Rebuild

On the night of May 21, 2008, a fire destroyed the Municipal Market of Catacamas. A short circuit that occurred around 9:45pm is believed to have produced sparks, starting a small fire near propane gas tanks. Once the fire reached the tanks used by restaurants in the market cafeteria, it was no long possible to controlled. The fire was finally put out at 5am the following morning with the help of firefighters from neighboring cities. One fire truck traveled four hours from the capital, Tegucigalpa, to help fight the blaze. Nobody died in the fire and the only reported injury was that of a night watchman hit by flying debris from the explosion of a propane tank.

The venders in the market that had stands where they sold meat, basic grains, vegetables and fruits have been forced to look for a way to financially survive this disaster. Many have set up temporary structures along the outer walls of the market. The national gove responded to the disaster with a pledge of 30,000 Lempiras ($1,500) to the owrnment hasners who lost everything and 13,000 ($650) to those who lost only part of their merchandise. Approximately ten loan recipients of Diaconia Nacional (DN), the In-Country Affiliate of Partners Worldwide, had businesses in the market. Serveral other loan recipients of DN were affected by the fire.

For Miriam Izabel Martinez Moradel, the fire left her without a business and thousands of dollars in losses. She was forced to build a wooden structure on the street. The aluminum roof keeps her dry from the daily rain, but she has been told that the city government is going to force the venders to move off the street. It would be another change with several negative consequences. The constant changes of location that Miriam has been forced to make has confused her regular customers. She is unable to offer the customers that do manage to find her the same selection of products as before the fire for lack of a freezer. Miriam stores meat in a freezer at her home and carries a small quanitiy to her temporary shop everyday. She cannot invest in an electric connection while she listens daily to rumors that the venders will be moved to another street or the county fairgrounds.

For now, all that remains of Miriam's business is the outer wall with the list of meats available for purchase. Miriam hopes to rebuild her business soon and move into a permanent location.