I chose the right profession.

Day 4. The day has arrived. We are about to start the activities that we came here to do. Teach and build a house. For this we had to split into two groups. Group 1 started in the construction and Group 2 started in the schools. Group 1 consisted of myself (Andrea), Chris, Ashley and Sammie. Group two will write about their day, I will continue with ours as they were similar but different.

So... after filling our bellies we met with Lyz to begin our construction adventure. We headed over to the construction site where they put us right to work! Our plan was to bring part of the supplies with us to a home where they had already started laying the floor. This was an "affiliated" familiy who has been working with Common Hope for some time as they had already done the sweat equity hours for their first one bedroom home that was up and running and had now finished "paying" off their second. This family does not own their land so the homes they have are constructed of portable (although super heavy) cement blocks and portable walls so that if/when the times comes that they need to move they will be able to take their home with them.


We were immediately given the job of filling a few bags with sand and a few bags with rock for mixing some cement on site. Pretty simple task right?? We sunscreened up, drank some water and got our working gloves on. Ashley jumped right into the rocks and started shoveling rocks into the bag I was holding. We were told to fill the bags a little over half full. Good idea since they were quite large bags. So we did just that, soon realizing that the fuller they got, the heavier they got and the more impossible to lift. We were able to find a wheelbarrow to help carry the load only to struggle immensely and eventually needing help from the men giggling at us from the side in lifting the bags. How these men do this everyday, I do not know. We did make it through the all of this with minor scrapes and bruises. Needless to say, I chose the right profession and am not cut out for daily construction. (My large muscles may make you think otherwise ;-)



Once loaded up we headed to the home where the floor was just about set. We pounded a few metal rods, dug some trenches, made cement, and poured and leveled the cement around the flooring. Tomorrow and Thursday we will work on getting walls up and hopefully see a finished project.

Dirty, hot, sweaty and tired we made it up the stairs to shower before lunch where we were able to meet up with the rest of the group and hear how successful their time at the school was, making us feel all the more excited to jump into our own classroom of students to do a similar lesson.

We packed our backpacks and were off to school. Renato, Common Hope's educational coordinator, drove us the 5 or so minutes to a nearby school in San Miguel Escobar where we worked with two 4th grade classrooms for about an hour a piece. The students were amazing and the entire experience went beyond my expectations of a Guatemalan school. Renato explained that they have around a 10 year program with the schools, working towards the schools feeling independenct and with all the tools that they need to run a successful building. They were in about year 2 with this particular school and the effects of their integration and training were immediately obvious particularily in the area of classroom management. From classroom rules to a daily agenda, there were some good things happening at these schools so that students could be getting the most out of their day.

At each school that Common Hope works with they place a graduated teacher to help with planning and ideas and just all around support for the teachers already in place. Our Common Hope teacher was not more than 18 years old and someone who very obviously loved his job and had some good training in classroom management. He started each classroom with a review of the schools 5 rules for being respectful and how to support everyone in their learning. He had them tell him what the rules were, reviewed quickly how they look, sound and feel and then praised them appropriately for what he was seeing right away. It was quite impressive and unexpected. Then it was our turn. I led our team and students in a morning meeting similar to what we do back in Eden Prairie. The kids seemed to enjoy sharing their favorite food by smiling and laughing at others comments. Ashley led us all in an amazing rendition of "La familia sapo" which is a fun dancing/singing type chant. She had another activity planned but due to some technical difficulties she had to switch to the chant, which was super fun and the kids really got into it. Chris finished it off with reading our message to the students about what we would be doing over the next two days.

We continued with a reading of a book about a market teaching the students the strategy of Taxonomy which is used to organize ideas and vocabulary in alphabetical order which led into our creating a class book about the Guatemalan market. The students did an excellent job thinking about foods found in the market and an even more amazing job making their individual page. They were so creative, and really impressed me with their neat writing and wonderful sentences. In many ways they were showing work equivelent if not more impressive then my own 4th graders last year, which really is quite amazing considering they do not have a library, textbooks, college educated teachers, etc... It was so wonderful to see such good work being done with so little.

I could go one, but to sum it up, today was just another day that helped me remember why I went into teaching. Smiling eager faces just ready and yearning to learn something new. These children are the future of Guatemala and they are off to a great start.

In short, I chose the right profession.

Pictures!

Video from Nueva Esperanza

Wow, what a full day! We just arrived back at Common Hope after spending the entire day on the go. Our group split into two smaller groups for the majority of the day, Sammie and I going to “New Hope” and the rest of the gang going to the weaving cooperative.

Sammie and I started our day at 7:00 as Lys and her driver, Julio, picked us up in their van and got us going on our journey to New Hope. New Hope, or Nueva Esperanza, is a school/clinic/library and more all wrapped into one. It’s north of Guatemala City and it is Common Hope’s second largest site (next to their main site in Antigua). They started this site after Hurricane Mitch in 1998(?) when many people near Guatemala City lost their homes due to mudslides. Since then Common Hope has developed this awesome site including a school that could rival those in many parts of the states.

Our trip to New Hope involved very heavy traffic through Guatemala City, a stop at the Auto Mac (McDonald’s drive thru for those of you who have never been to Central America), and a very precarious mountain road – no pavement, lots of twists and turns, honks around corners to make sure the other drivers knew you were coming, and more. It was great fun and all part of the adventure!

After arriving at New Hope Lys gave us a general tour of the New Hope facilities and introduced us to many of her friends. We got lots of welcomes and hugs from both the children and the staff. Right away we could tell that this was a very special place. The crown jewel of the day was the project we did with the 2nd grade class. It was a simple arts and crafts project involving paper plates and foam sheets, but the kids loved it. Sammie and I dug right in doing our own fish and helping the kids. The children were great. It was obvious that they are smart and well cared for. All of them wanted to know how to say their name in English. It was cute. I wish we could’ve stayed longer or come back multiple days.

Unfortunately our time at New Hope ended too quickly and we were back on our way to Common Hope. Sammie and I both got a little shut eye before meeting the rest of the gang of a super lunch in the back garden of this nice little restaurant. Sammie ordered a mixed meat, cheese and veggie tray while I ordered some typical kind of chicken in a cheesy, creamy sauce. It rocked. For dessert Sammie and I shared a piece of chocolate cake, plum ice cream and a café con leche. As the Wiggles say, Yummy Yummy!

To wrap up a super fun day, we enjoyed a tour back at Common Hope, did some planning for our educational experiences, and chilled out. Sammie and I played some soccer – of course she beat me. The night ended with another terrific meal in Antigua followed by some strolling in the plaza. There was a salsa band playing and many people milling slowly around the plaza. Sammie and I both agree that we could spend a part of each day just sitting in the plaza and watching the city of Antigua pass in front of our eyes.

Weaver at the Loom

Hello there! This is Betsy writing on my first full day and everyone else's second day in Antigua. We had a wonderful day off due to a holiday celebrated here in town. Throughout the whole day fireworks could be heard all through town and in the main plaza there was plenty of activities to partake in like a book fair and music.

We split into two groups today. Chris and Sammie left early and drove out the Nueva Esperanza, one of Common Hope's other schools. You will be hearing about their experience a little later.

Ashley, Andrea, Stephanie, Mitch, and I went to the weaving cooperative in Santiago Zamora, a small pueblo about 30 minutes from Antigua. A Common Hope volunteer, Shelly, who happens to be a Minnesota native, picked us up at around 9am to bring us out there. Our driver, Jose, dropped us off at an unmarked door on a small street at the top of a hill and Shelley knocked on the door. We had no idea we were about the enter an incredible place with incredible women inside.

We entered a home made of stone and covered with an aluminum roof. Throughout the whole living area there were tapestries and woven materials scattered and hanging all around. All the women in the room were dressed in traditional clothing like los cortes and los guipiles. The first woman scattered flower petals and lit candles on the floor while she told us an interesting legend/story about the town and the Mayan people.

She told us that a long time ago on today's date, the men in town made alcohol to celebrate the patron saint's day that is celebrated today. Everyone was very happy and fell asleep at the end of the day. In the middle of the night a home caught fire and since their homes were made of corn stalk the whole town burnt down. The people were so sad their homes were destroyed they started to get headaches and nose bleeds. In order to cure the sickness, the people had to give over the deed to their land to the rich man in town to pay for medicine to cure the sickness. The people were cured but since he had the deed to their land he wouldn't let them plant their harvest there anymore. Eventually he allowed them to plant but the people were indebted to work for him for the rest of their lives. Still today the people of Santiago Zamora help the man with his coffee harvest every year.

The coop was started by 35 women 17 years ago in order to send their children to school. The women faught against their disapproving husbands by weaving products to sell in the market. Now the women keep part of the funds for their materials and give part to the community to keep their children in school.

We had such a great time! It felt like we were really getting to know the culture of this people. They showed us all four steps of weaving by hand the traditional shirts, skirts, purses, tablecloths, etc that they sell. Everything was incredibly intricate. We also saw a traditional dance done today on the last day of the festival complete with music and incense. We also all had the chance to try grinding coffee beans by hand grown from the mountain outside. They are ground with a large stone plate and a stone "rolling pin." The stone is from the mountain and was bought by her grandmother a long time ago. Each woman has four different stones. One for grinding coffee beans, black beans, corn for tortillas, and herbal plants.

They made us a delicious meal called pepian which consists of rice with vegetables, a special sauce, and chicken raised right in their home instead of bought at the market. Accompaning the pepian was a juice made of pineapple, canteloupe, honey, and water. Que rico! Another very interesting part was watching the women made tortillas. They had a wood burning stove with a flat top. An older woman, who only spoke Maya, was sitting next to the stove and made perfect torillas. Receiving the ball of dough in her hand, flattening it by throwing it between her hands, and stopping at the perfect consistency, size, and smoothness. Later on we found out this woman was blind and making tortillas by memory and experience! We definitely struggled making them ourselves. We ended up making volcanos, maps, and Mitch was even told that he wasn't allowed to leave until he learned how to make a proper tortilla.

It was an incredible visit where we learned so much about the people, the detailed process of weaving, and the food. Finally we ended our visit by purchasing their beautiful woven goods of so many colors. Ashley and I definitely had a hard time controlling our pocketbooks and bought all our gifts for family and friends in one visit! Totally worth it.

We ate lunch at a beautiful restaurant named Saberico that is made of complete open air gardens. We walked through an incredibly old building with 2 foot thick stone walls into the beautiful garden. On the patio there were pomegranite trees, lime trees, guanava trees, and love birds in cages. We had our own secluded space surrounded by flowers and had incredible food. One part of the garden we discovered had a hammock you could rest in after a large lunch. We ordered a range of food from Guatemalan enchiladas (with cabbage, beets, and chicken), to tacos and bruschetta. For drinks we ordered various mango, strawberry, and wheat grass smoothies. It was great!

After lunch we began planning for our first day of work tomorrow at the schools, got a tour of the Common Hope compound from our guide Lys, and got picked up by our favorite driver, Cheeky, to go to dinner. Dinner was at a great place named La Peña de Sol Latino where we ate incredible food and listened to live music being played in front of us. It is agreed that every place we have eaten at has been very romantic, small, and with great food.

We ended the evening by listening to a full piece band in the main plaza (dressed in white tuxedos) play music and watched a couple dance salsa infront of a large croud. It was a great way to end a full day celebrating the patron saint holiday with the people.

Thank you for reading this whole post to the end! Tomorrow we officially begin our work with contruction and teaching at the two schools, Santa Catarina and San Miguel Escobar.

Gracias!

"I"ve never actually seen a sacrifice"

Said our guide Marian as we traveled through the country side of Guatemala on our way to Iximche, but I'll get back to that later...

Our second day in Guatemala began cool and peaceful with much anticipation of touring some Mayan ruins. We met up with our Common Hope host Lys and learned more history from Marian on the drive. We asked about politics, education, and religion and enjoyed hearing one native Guatemalan's opinion.

The drive to Iximche was eye-opening for me. Seeing more of the rural areas and observing the harsh living conditions made it hard not to think of all I have at home in Minnesota. The beautiful country side and volcanic mountains were somewhat shrouded in sadness for me, as I could not imagine living as many Guatemalans do.

Arriving at the ruins brought me to another place of wonder about what this amazing culture must have been like more than a thousand years ago. Marian was so knowledgable and shared information on the Mayan number system and some of the symbolism found on the Guatemalan currency, "Quetzales". We wandered through the plaza's and imagined what a market day might look like, a "ball game", and just what day to day life must have been like in a "city" such as this.

So about that sacrifice...
Marian shared with us that because it was Sunday we may see a Mayan ceremony going on at the ruins. We walked a short trail and started to smell smoke and saw some fires on the ground. Sure enough there were about 3 families conducting rituals which we could sit and observe. It was intriguing to watch them place an egg in the fire, pour sand, sugar and then...
pull a chicken out of a bag. We looked at one another and I think all had similar thoughts...we are going to see a sacrifice today. It's hard to put into words what watching someone else's spiritual practice is like, especially when it's so different from your own. I"ll just say it was fascinating.

We left the ruins and had an amazing lunch at a popular roadside restaraunt. The ride home to Antigua was quiet and sleepy. We picked up our last team member, Betsy in Antigua and ventured out on our own to do some people watching and shopping before dinner back at Common Hope. Looking forward to another memorable day tomorrow!

Quick first day recap from Chris

Well, we made it to Antigua (Common Hope) alive and well. It was a very easy travel day, if I can speak for the group. Yes, it was a long day, but everything went off without a hitch. Two flights, a short layover, and a 1-hour shuttle ride and we arrived in Antigua. Lys, our guide from Common Hope, met us at the airport then treated us to a nice, refreshing lunch in Antigua. Most enjoyed the smoothies and guacamole. I, myself, went with the cappuccino instead of a smoothie and was not disappointed.

As I'm writing, Mitch, Andrea and I are sitting in the open air common area adjacent to our dorm rooms. The facility is amazing Ð very relaxing and comfortable. WeÕre just chillin' out tonight getting ourselves rested and ready for what should be a busy day tomorrow.

I've totally enjoyed seeing how my daughter Sammie is reacting to everything. She has had a smile plastered to her face most of the day. I can tell that she is feeling this experience in a deep way. And it's only day one! It was funny to see her point out things she's never seen before Ð a banana tree, an avocado tree, a gecko on the side of our building. She loves the mountains, too and the volcanoes nearby. It's been a little cloudy since we arrived so we haven't yet had a chance to see the very tops of the volcanoes.

Well, tomorrow should be a great day. We're visiting a Mayan ruins site, I think we'll be taking in a Sunday market in a small village, then we'll be exploring the city of Antigua in the afternoon. We'll put on our walking shoes and experience it all!

And, we are here! Great day of travel today. We arrived at the MSP airport at about 5:00am for a 6:45 flight. Travel was smooth and we were wisked through Guatemalan customs unscathed. Our guide, leader, mentor and friend, Lys, from Common Hope met us at the airport and we were off to Antigua. There we were dropped in town for a delicious and relaxing lunch including beautiful fruit smoothies, fresh guacamole, and sandwiches.

We arrived here at the Common Hope complex around 5:00 where we have settled into our space. The accomodations here are wonderful and we have a whole area to ourselves including a common room, bathrooms, and kitchen and laundry facilities. We have all that we need. We spent some time organizing our donations and just hanging out talking and reading.

The weather is exceptional. Sunny and warm about 78 F or so and cooling down as night has fallen. This is a great escape from the past week in Minnesota and the 116 degree heat index! I might even have to put on a sweatshirt soon!

Tomorrow we will travel to Iximche, a Mayan ruins, and spend some time in Antugua. It is sure to be a great day and we are all excited to take in some history and culture.

Please continue to check in on us as we blog each day about our adventures.

Peace,

Mitch Hegland

Time to Go Back to Guatemala!

Once again a group of Eden Prairie Schools staff members and their families are preparing to embark on an adventure to Central America. This time the trip is to Guatemala - specifically to the organization Common Hope outside of Antigua, Guatemala.

Our mission will be to support one or more schools in the area by helping to facilitate some literacy instruction strategies that are new to the most of the teachers in those schools. Those strategies will include elements of Responsive Classroom and NUA. We will model strategies by instructing students in their native language, and we will also meet with teachers to help them begin to understand some cutting edge ways to help their students become more proficient readers, writers and thinkers. Of course our contribution while in the country will just be a start to what will be an ongoing relationship between Eden Prairie Schools and the schools of Common Hope.

Along with the educational portion of our trip, we will be working with children and families in Guatemala in other ways as well. We will be involved in a portion of the construction of a home for a Common Hope affiliated family, we will get a glimpse into family social work visits that are integral to the work of Common Hope, and we will have time to enjoy the culture of the area. It is shaping up to be another wonderful experience for Global Connect!

The trip will take place from July 23rd through July 31st. Take a look at the members of this year's group below, visit our blog daily while we're away, and please keep us in your thoughts during our journey. Thanks, as always, for your support!

Students from a village school in the mountains near Antigua.

These awesome kids and their teachers came to town from their village to perform for tourists in Antigua.

Mitch's pics from Antigua.

Click above to see Mitch's pics from our time in Antigua. Fun!!!

Likely my last post from C.A.

Chris again, probably for the final time -

I'm sitting in a beautiful, flower-encircled patio at our small Antigua hotel, preparing for our last day of strolling, shopping, eating and relaxing. Hopefully we'll catch some music, too.

Yesterday we spent the morning with Felix and his construction team at Common Hope. We did a small amount of work, helping them prepare some construction materials. How Common Hope helps affiliated families with housing is that it creates all the materials for prefabricated homes at its site, then takes those materials to the village and in a matter of a few days can erect the home for the families. We did a bit of the prep work for another group that is coming down next week. This group with then take the materials that we helped prepare, and construct the house out in a village.

We really just got a flavor for the work, as we only did it for about two hours. We were also joined by Laura, a volunteer from Chicago. After finishing some of the work, we took a 10:00 coffee break with Felix, who is also a member of a coffee cooperative in the area. He and several other families grow coffee then pool their resources to sell their coffee as an organization called "As Green As it Gets." Felix brewed some of his coffee (stong espresso!) for us and we enjoyed his company during the standard 10:00 break that all workers take at Common Hope.

The coffee experience didn't end there. Felix then took us in his truck to a couple of neighboring villages where not only did he show us various stages of Common Hope house construction, but he also showed us all the elements that go into taking a coffee bean from the tree to the bag.

There is much to it, and with Felix's cooperative, most of it is done in small batches, all by hand. Each family does various things to make the entire process happen.

With coffee being such a ordinary part of life in the U.S., it was really cool to see just how some of this Fair Trade coffee arrives in our kitchens and coffee houses. Upon our return to the Common Hope site, each of us bought a few bags of coffee from Felix to take home with us. He also gave us his business card and a way to get his coffee back home.

Around noon we ate lunch then said "goodbye" to Renato, Louise, Laura and others at Common Hope. They crammed a lot of experiences in for us in just a couple of days, and we were extremely grateful. It was a memorable stay.

The remainder of our day was spent roaming around Antigua, shopping and taking in the sites. We sat down for a tasty dinner in the early evening, then wandered and found some music in a cinema/lounge a few blocks from our hotel. Quite another great day.

And... a great, great trip to Central America!

In Guatemala - Meeting new friends and watching volcanoes.

Chris here -

Our trip is nearing its end. All that’s left is a bit of physical work this morning at Common Hope preparing building materials for a Vision Team that is coming down after us and some R and R in Antigua. I must admit that the thought of returning home sounds quite nice right now. We’ve had a FANTASTIC experience, full of great adventures, learning and fun. But I’ve hit my threshold a bit for taking in new information. Our days have been so packed full of experiences that it’s hard for me to step back and process it all. I look forward to sitting at home or up at the cabin in the next few weeks and being able to do that.

Yesterday was quite a day. Renato from Common Hope gave us the whirlwind look at a lot of what his organization does. And he did it in less than eight hours.

It started with a tour of the Common Hope complex by a long term volunteer from Morehead Minnesota. She showed us all that Common Hope does here on site and all of their facilities including: a health clinic; a day care for the Common Hope employees; a library; a work site where all the materials are prepared for house construction out in the villages; their offices; recreations areas; volunteer housing; and more. It’s quite a large and cool place. It provided us with a very stark difference coming from Helping Honduras Kids in which David is working on a shoe string budget and they have absolutely no paid employees. One isn’t better than the other. One isn’t doing work that’s more or less important. The organizations are just different. One serves about 70 kids and focuses on raising a family of 22 children. The other serves hundreds and hundreds of children and families in the area around Antigua. I feel that Global Connect could not go wrong in choosing either of these wonderful organizations to support.

Our tour was followed by a drive up into the mountains to visit the village of San Rafael. Renato showed us around the village, pointing out some of the work that Common Hope is doing to support the families there. Included in that support is the construction of houses for some of the affiliated Common Hope families. This village is 100% indigenous, with many of the families working small plots of land terraced on the sides of the mountains. They work hard and struggle, and they are greatly helped by Common Hope offering them things like health care and education.

I’m going to have to stop for now. There’s not enough time to finish writing but I’ll check back in later. We are leaving soon to help with putting together materials for house construction. We’re going to do that this morning, then off to Antigua for the remainder of our trip. Oh, and by the way, as I’m writing I’m looking off at an active volcano that’s blowing big puffs of ash into the air. Way cool! Ciao!

Okay, back now. Now I'm sitting in the little interior courtyard of our Antigua hotel. We checked in here a few hours ago after enjoying more of what Common Hope had to offer.

But back to yesterday. After visiting San Rafael and the school there, we came back to Common Hope where Mich, Andrea and I were each paired with a social worker. We then drove a van into some of the villages near Antigua. In each various place, one of us got off the van with their social worker. The social worker I was with (can't remember her name!) and I debarked in the small village of San Miguel Escobar. It was there I met Jackeline in this photo along with her little brothers.

The experience in San Miguel Escobar truly became one of the most enriching experiences I have had in my several times coming down to Central America. Here I followed the social worker into several homes where she visited the families to check up on them and to see what, if any, needs or concerns they had. This is a big part of what Common Hope does, and it's a normal experience for volunteers to tag along. At first I thought I would be an intrusion, but I was assured that this was a very typical thing. These families have become very used to it.

Anyway, we knocked on the doors of about six homes of Common Hope affiliated families, several of which had no one at home, or the mother or father were gone. We entered two homes. Each home was very different. In the first was a boy of 13 years who had dropped out of school. The social worker visited with him for at least 30 minutes talking with him about all the problems he would face later in life if he doesn't finish school. She had a very difficult time getting through to him. He did not engage, and he barely said a word. On a couple occasions small tears fell out of his eyes. It was a sad situation. Clearly the boy is on the verge of falling into a life of endless poverty and struggle. Yet, he says that school is too difficult and that he does not want to attend.

The other home we visited was the home of Jackeline. Jackeline and her brothers, though facing huge struggles ahead, were very bright eyed and energetic. When we arrived they were picking limes from a tree inside the tiny courtyard of their home. This was a much different experrience from the first home. These kids seemed happy, intelligent and optimistic for the future. I was so taken by Jackeline, with her energy and her smile, that this morning I asked if I could become her sponsor.

Her mother and their family have just recently become affiliated with Common Hope. They have many needs. I was told by the social worker that families are given classifications of red, yellow and green, red being the worst situation. She explained to me that Jackeline's family, right now, is considered in the red category. Their mother works all day long, coming home sometimes not until 8:00. And with those long days, her monthly income is only around $104. But with the help of Common Hope's programs, the future may be brighter for this family. It makes me very emotional to know that this family is now receiving some assistance, and that I am doing a small part to help make that happen. I will remember Jackeline and her smiley face for a long time to come. And hopefully I can visit her again some day.

honduras summer 2010 kreie 4

And even, even MORE pics!

mitch honduras summer wed-thurs

Click on the picture above for even MORE pictures. We're in Guatemala now!

Meet some of the kids from Helping Honduras Kids

Meet some of the wonderful children of Helping Honduras Kids.

Honduras Summer 2010 Kreie 3

Click the above picture to see more photos from our trip to Honduras and Guatemala thus far.

Chris' thoughts from our time in Honduras

It’s difficult to sum up my thoughts and experiences of the past few days because we have been packing so much into each and every day. I will try my best to summarize and perhaps focus mostly on Monday because that was the day in which we experienced so much of what HHK is doing for the children in northern Honduras.


David carted us around most of Monday. We started with an early breakfast at Helen’s before he picked us up. We then journeyed east toward Cebia and north up the mountains to HHK’s Jungle School. The school is located on the Congrejal river, up into the mountains adjacent to Pico Bonito National Park. The road up the river is just a dirt road full of twists and turns. Many villages are located along this road. The Jungle School is just a short journey up the road. The road then continues several hours by car up the mountain.

We enjoyed some time at the Jungle School, interacting a bit with the children, visiting with the cooks and teachers, and just taking a good look around at how the school operates. I was impressed. The school is nothing more than a few small buildings carved out of the mountain, but what they do with what they have is quite amazing. Over 70 children attend the school, only 20 of those being students from the hogar. The others walk through the jungle each day, some two hours one way, to get to school. The school serves students in K-6. Two grade levels are combined into each classroom. The students have a more than decent set of supplies – pencils, individual workbooks that they can write in, a couple of well-stocked libraries of books, and more. And order seemed to reign, as kids were invested in their work with few distractions or little misbehavior. The school was a well run facility.

After an hour or so of visiting at the school, David drove us further up the mountain to visit some of the villages along the road. We stopped at one village in particular in which HHK has a relationship with three grandmas who live there and care for a large group of children. From time to time David visits them, bringing them clothing, supplies, and rice from Kids Against Hunger or other similar organizations. We walked with a group of about 20 children and David treated them to some snacks and drinks at the local pulperia. This area is so amazing beautiful. The rushing river cutting through this lush mountain landscape is spectacular. Yet that played against the poverty and difficulty of those living there is a troubling thing to see.

David drove us even further up the mountain, along with the 20 kids whom we had picked up in the first village, then back again just to get a closer look at the area. We then returned to the Jungle School which was ending for the day when we arrived. At the end of the day the children who walk from jungle villages are given a noon meal before they return home. The hogar children ride back home with David or catch the bus then have lunch at home.

We continued on with David. He did transport a few of the Jungle School children, the ones who live nearby, back to their homes further down the mountain. We said goodbye to those children then headed in La Ceiba ourselves for lunch. David recommended a little rotisserie chicken place operated out of the front of someone’s home in town. It was great. For a plate of chicken, cooked carrots, and coleslaw the price was roughly $2.00.

Continuing on David took us east where we checked out his former site outside of La Ceiba and a day care, after school care center operated east of La Ceiba by a friend of his. This place is really just a place where kids can go when school is not in session as a way to have something to do and a safe place to hangout. They do some educational projects and they also feed the kids two meals if they are there all day. It was a neat little operation, staffed by the man who is running the place, a couple of Honduran women, and some U.S. volunteers.

Our final stop along the way was to a tiny village near the town of Jutiapa. This is a village of people who were forced off their land by a company who claimed ownership of the land. David and a separate missionary group found new land for them and assisted them in their moving. The people are now in various states of living – some have mud huts, others have makeshift wooden homes covered in plastic, and the well-off have concrete block homes. But it’s a very tiny little development of houses, I think only 30 or so lots. David continues to drive out to the village from time to time, again to provide them with Kids Against Hunger rice or other essential items.

By day’s end we were wiped out. It was an amazing day, and a lot to take in. We appreciate immensely the time and energy David is giving to us by showing us all of the facets of his small but productive organization called Helping Honduras Kids (HHK). He is doing a tremendous amount of good for the children in this area. I will have absolutely no trouble coming home and singing their praises and working very hard to convince people I know to help them in any way that they can.

Our evening ended with a relaxing time in the hotel bar, in the pool, having dinner, and relaxing in our air conditioned cabin. It is not difficult for all of these things to remind me how very different my life is from those of all the people we have seen and met today.

Time at the Helping Honduras Kids Hogar

We had a great time at the hogar (home)!

Hondurans Enjoying the World Cup

See how some of us in Honduras enjoyed the World Cup final. World Cup fever is everywhere - including on a tiny island off the coast of Honduras. We watched the game there with about 20 other islanders who gathered together around a TV. Also, listen one of our new young friends singing the song that has definitely caught on - Waka Waka.

Thoughts from HHK President David Ashby

Thoughts from HHK President David Ashby.

honduras summer 2010 kreie 2

View this photo album of pics from our last few days near the north coast of Honduras.

Grandmas and Campesino Villages...

More reflections on our travels from Mitch....

Well, it is about 5:15am and I guess I was just done with sleep for the night. I am up sitting in the outdoor restaurant of our hotel with a beautiful view of the mountains on my right and the waves of the ocean on my left. It is cool, but a bit humid already and I’m sure it will be another hot day. The weather is amazing here, but to be honest the only time I have stopped sweating has been when I have been in the water.

Yesterday was a very busy day. David took us all over the place- we started at the Jungle School where classes were in session. We were pleasantly surprised at how organized the school is and the materials the students had. Don’t get me wrong, I have more “stuff” in my classroom than they do in the whole school, but we were pleased with what we saw. It was so cool to see the kids, who we had spent time with on the street or playing games with at the home yesterday, here at their desks and in their uniforms studying and working hard. We had time to just see it all happen and then hang out with the kids when they had a little break. This is the time when the kids all get a fortified milk drink. HHk serves this milk and a hot meal to about 70+ kids and a few adults each day. The kids played some soccer or just hung out like kids love to do.  This was a great time. This is a truly impressive facility!

David then took us up the mountain through some very small villages and on to some TINY villages of maybe 8 or 10 houses. This is where the “Grandma Houses” are found. Here we met two little old ladies, each easily 80 years old if not older. They were surrounded by kids who were pretty much dirty, shoeless and undernourished. They are not her own, but she has taken on these kids who have pretty much been abandoned by the community. David and HHK have taken these kids and “Grandmas” under their wing and do what they can to get them food and clothing donations when they are able. Perhaps one of the most beautiful things I have seen here has been when we arrived in this remote little place and all of the kids came running out to greet David and give him hugs. For the remainder of the time he was holding at least two little hands as we walked. It is easy to see why he has chosen this work, he was meant to do this. He is kind and gentle man with a bid, big heart.
We headed back to the school to pick up some kids to give them a ride down the mountain and dropped them off along the way to help shorten their walk a bit. One group of about 6 kids hopped out and would have to cross the river to get home. Jose was the oldest at about 12 years old. I’m sure he would take care of the little ones. We then headed into La Ceiba for a quick lunch. Half a chicken, some veggies and a coke… all for about $2.50… you gotta love Honduras!
Finally David took us out to a Compesino (Peasant) Village. This was again an eye opening experience. This little community is a place of transplanted people who were kicked off of their land a few years ago when some company basically took back the land they had settled on. Here, there a few cement block houses that were built by a local church with American connections. The rest have built their homes of sticks and mud or sheets of plastic. They are pretty tight little community centered around a one room Kindergarten. The poverty here is obvious, but the people are happy… a pretty common theme as you make your way around this beautiful place.

We ended our day back at the hotel, unpacking everything we had seen and done throughout the day. It was a lot to take in. A new blessing, a new adventure, a new cultural experience around each wind in the rugged roads we have traveled. This had not been “vacation” Honduras. We are working hard, seeing and doing a lot and all along trying to processing it all. But, this has been an amazing adventure and I cannot wait to see what this will eventually mean for us all back home.

Peace~

Mitch