This post was written by volunteers Lucille and Gerardo who recently spent some time at the New Hope Village.
Hello all from Puerto Aventuras - we made it back safely from Tegucigalpa after an intense five days. On the night of the 3rd, we arrived in a propeller plane to heavy clouds/rain and had to attempt landing two times before making it successfully - very difficult landing to say the least and Gerardo needed to use the “emergency” bag before we landed to empty his stomach…very charming. The Director, Jeff Ernst picked us up at the airport and drove us up into Valle de Angeles to the Volunteer House. We woke up the next morning to the beauty of the Honduran mountains - full of huge pine trees and tropical plants and quite cool. The Children's Village "Hope Village" is about 4 blocks away. We had lunch and dinner with the children each day in the dining hall - meals are cooked by the kitchen staff and were very delicious. We were able to have homemade "pupusas" and "baleadas" which are very typical in Honduras. The school year is in "summer" session right now so the home is providing add-on classes to supplement the normal curriculum provided by the public schools.
Day 1 (Wed) – When we arrived to Hope Village, we were given a tour of the home and introduced to the children, young adults and staff. There are 30 children living in the home ranging from 7-17 years old. The home has 4 large bedrooms with large bathrooms, a dining hall, several terraces, an office, a large field and a large back yard full of garden beds for vegetables and two small chicken coops. After the tour, we were surprised with a welcome show given by the children – songs, poems and stories. It was fantastic to see the pride in the performers and we felt very honored to be so welcome! We spent much of the first day back in Tegucigalpa to pick up a missing suitcase that didn't make it on the prior day. While waiting for the bag, we went shopping with Jeff and found a store with 51% off. We filled up two shopping carts full of black shoes for school and other school and personal hygiene supplies to be used at the home. We made it back to the home in time to have dinner with the children and hang out until close to bedtime reading stories, watching TV and sharing many hugs. Gerardo got in a game of soccer with the elder boys too.
Day 2 (Thursday) – Gerardo and I arrived just before the first classes of the day started. Gerardo assisted in the two mathematics classes that were scheduled prior to lunch. The teen boys and girls were working on long division. He was able to remember how to do it himself and then share the “tricks” on how to make it a bit simpler. I was with the younger children and assisted Pamela with a bit of English. We played kick-ball and then the cards came out. We played many hands of “Mona” which is the same as “Old Maid”. After lunch, Gerardo assisted in English classes with the older groups and I assisted with the younger in Social Studies. Then more card games and “Cazino” which is the same as “Yahtzee” in the USA. Jose was the star learner for that game! “Crazy Eights” was also taught – “Ochos Locos”! After dinner we walked into town for walk-about and needed to warm up from the cool mountain air. We found Restaurant Manolo was serving a fantastic hot soup “Sopa de Res” that was full of cabbage, potatoes and cilantro with the best beef stock I’ve ever experienced! By the time we got back to the Volunteer House, we just fell into bed and crashed until the next morning.
Day 3 (Friday) – On Friday we helped with the morning classes, had lunch and then started on the project of building a larger chicken coop that will be able to hold up to 20 chickens and protect them from the dogs and other predators. It will also allow for more production of eggs to support the kitchen staff. Gerardo, Lafitt and Jeff worked on the design, dimensions and overall plan. A team of children helped me work on clearing the area and digging the post holes for the support structure. The post holes were challenging due to the rocky terrain. By the end of the day, cement was poured for the primary support posts. While Gerardo and team were busy working on the Chicken Coop, I worked in the garden and then moved on to cards with several of the children. I taught “Kings Corners” a la “Esquinas del Reyes” and we also played Ochos Locos and Mona many times too. We shared dinner and walked back to the Volunteer House to crash for the night – absolutely exhausted.
Day 4 (Saturday) – There were limited classes on Saturday so we spent most of our time in the back working on the chicken coop and the gardens. In the afternoon, I walked to town with one of the teachers and the younger class. Gerardo watched an intense soccer game with the older guys. We helped take down all of the Christmas decorations too. Cards were played again and Gerardo assisted in an English translation too. We left after dark and had dinner with Jeff the Director in town before packing for our early morning flight on Sunday.
A fast and powerful four days. We look forward to return visits and getting to know the children better year after year.
Here is a link to the photos I took during the visit: share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AasXDFi2bNmLTFg
Thanks to all for your support and prayers for our trip - Lucille and Gerardo.
