Jump to:
- The work we do in
country
- More about the
children's homes and work sites
- Excursions and other educational opportunities
- Photographs from May 2001
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The Work of the Project:
The trip is divided between Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras,
and San Pedro Sula, a major economic center. The trip begins
in San Pedro Sula where group members used to volunteer in
the home for girls (Nuestras Pequeñas Rosas), formerly
an Episcopal home for girls, now a privately run home for girls,
and the village known as Christo Rey after its church. Since
Hurricane Mitch, the group has worked in other sites close
by such as at Colonia Episcopal and Suyapa, both in Puerto
Cortés. Whilst in San Pedro Sula, the group stays at
a small local hotel (The Bolivar), and works during the day
on projects such as painting, mixing cement, or moving building
supplies to where they are needed at various different work
sites (supervised by Honduran builders and craftsmen). On some
trips, participants divide their time between the various locations
as needed, while on others they focus on one site for the duration
of this part of the trip.
In March 1998, the program volunteered at a government-run
day care center (El Guardelaria) in Puerto Cortés in addition
to painting and clearing land behind Las Rosas. In May 1999,
the group worked on painting the Ginger Buice Home for girls
who have graduated from Las Rosas and are attending college--the
girls pay a nominal rent and their share of the household bills.
(The group worked on construction of this home on its first trip
to Honduras.) In January 2000, we added Colonia Episcopal, also
in Puerto Cortés, where people displaced by Hurricane
Mitch are rebuilding their lives and building homes for themselves
with the help of the Episcopal Diocese of Honduras. In May 2002,
half of the group helped to build another house at La Colonia
Episcopal while the rest of the group worked on the foundations
for a school at Colonia Suyapa, also in Puerto Cortés.
Midway through the trip, the group travels south-east to Tegucigalpa,
where students stay at the home for boys (El Hogar de Amor y
Esperanza) interacting with the boys and working on improvement
projects under the supervision of Honduran employees of El Hogar.
The group is often divided, with some members staying at the
main home and others at The Episcopal Agricultural School and
Farm (La Finca) or Saint Mary's Technical Institute, where older
boys go once they graduate from El Hogar. (After graduating from
sixth grade, each child from El Hogar spends a year at the farm
receiving general education and training in agriculture and animal
husbandry. Then they can opt to spend another two years at the
farm or go to St. Mary's Technical Institute for three years
of further education and training to become carpenters, welders,
or electricians.)
In May 1999, half of the group helped students prepare for a
city-wide science fair (which the boys won) while the other half
worked at La Finca, where they helped construct pig houses to
replace those destroyed by Hurricane Mitch. In January and May
2000, the whole group worked on a new basketball and soccer field,
Cancha Peter Kyle (named in memory of a former director of El
Hogar). In May 2001, half of the group painted a dormitory (Casa
de Tigres) at El Hogar, while the other half painted inside and
outside the buildings at the Technical Institute. In May 2002,
the whole group worked to widen the front gate and fix the entrance,
driveway, and parking area. Students also helped to take care
of the children, prepare food, and sort laundry.
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The Children's Homes & Work Sites:
El Hogar de Amor y Esperanza--"The home of love & hope"
An home for boys, located in Tegucigalpa (the capital city
of Honduras), and run by the Episcopal church. There are about
eighty
boys at El Hogar, mostly between the ages of six and thirteen.
The Episcopal Agricultural School and Farm of El Hogar
After graduating from sixth grade, each child from El Hogar
spends a year at the farm about an hour's drive from Tegucigalpa,
receiving general education and training in agriculture and animal
husbandry. After that year the boys elect either to spend another
two years at the farm continuing their high school education
and agricultural training, or to move to St. Mary's Technical
Institute for three years of further education and training to
become carpenters, welders, or electricians. There are about
forty boys at the farm, ranging in age from 14 to 19.
See pictures
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Nuestras Pequeñas Rosas--"Our Little
Roses"
One of a only two or three homes for girls in Honduras, located
in San Pedro Sula, and formerly run by the Episcopal Church.
Las Rosas, provides a home for girls ranging in age from
infants to twenty-year-olds. (The home is now run by the
former director
as an independent home for infants, children, and young
women, and in addition provides 24 hour day care, medical
care,
and a bilingual nursery school for children in the surrounding
community.)
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El
Guardelaria at Puerto Cortez--"The Day Care Center"
A day care center set up by the government, located in
Puerto Cortés,
which serves many of the women employed in nearby Free Trade Zone factories
owned by foreign companies, particularly those making garments for export to
the United States. The Honduras Project first visited this center in March
1998. back to top
Colonia Episcopal
A community of 78 families (totaling over 500 people) located
about 15 miles south of Puerto Cortés. The families here
lost their homes, land, and all possessions in Hurricane Mitch,
which battered Honduras for six days in November 1998. Now they
are rebuilding homes and lives on nine acres of land purchased
by the Episcopal Diocese of Honduras. Families live in makeshift
shelters until their cinderblock houses are constructed. The
first buildings constructed at the site were the school, the
health clinic, and the church.
Read about some other groups who have worked here, and see
more pictures:
February 2000
February 2001
See pictures
back
to top Excursions
Copán
Before leaving the San Pedro
Sula region, the group sometimes visits Copán, the Mayan
ruins. The guided tour of Copán,
the tunnels, and the extensive museum allows students to
understand some of the long history of Honduras and the cultural
influences
on the people who live there. The bus ride to Copán
also provides a chance to see the different geography and
living conditions
in the west of Honduras.
The Beach and Puerto
Cortés
The group sometimes ventures out to a beach near Puerto
Cortés.
A tour of Puerto Cortés and the surrounding region
provides students with a graphic indication of the impact
of free trade
zones on the economy and the people of the area.
The University
In Tegucigalpa the group sometimes has the opportunity
to interact with students and teachers from the university
who
can answer
questions about the country and provide group members
with information that helps them understand what they
have seen
and experienced.
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