b'Through Heifer Honduras, Rosa Elvira Castroprovides animal health care services for local livestock rearers and supports beekeepers to build sustainable livelihoods, lead dignified lives and pursue their dreams.Where dreaming is difficult, agriculture inspires new opportunities.ByGAURISHA MALHOTRA, World Ark writerReportage by KATYA CENGELPhotographs by PHILLIP DAVISTHE COMMUNITY OF CARRICILLOS ARRIBA LIES AMID THE SERENE HIGHLANDS OF OLANCHO, HONDURAS. Here, lush green foliage is sprinkled with banana and palm groves laden with fresh harvest, and mountain trails veiled with the canopies of towering oaks and pastures echo the sound of the birds and bees. This is the rainforest.Rosa Elvira Castro, 63, has spent most of her life in these highlands, milking cows, feeding pigs and cultivating corn, beans and coffee. As much as she enjoys taking care of her pastures and its inhabitants now, this wasnt her childhood dream.Until the age of 27, Rosa struggled with epileptic seizures. As a young girl, lack of health facilities in her vicinity and the ordeal of traveling several days each month to procure medicine from Juticalpa, the capital city, encouraged her to pursue a career in nursing. However, when the time came, she couldnt afford to leave home for the six-month resident training in the south of the country and couldnt complete her nursing course. It was difficult, she said, referring to her decision to give up. It was my dream. HEIFER.ORG |11'