The Children's Villages of Honduras blog is for supporters who want to read more stories and see more pictures about the happenings at the New Hope Village in Valle de Angeles, Honduras.
The members of the Panther patrol pose after their victory was announced.
This past weekend I experienced one of those moments I think any parent can relate to. The kids participated in a scavenger hunt with the Scouts that last all day on Saturday. The kids were divided up in teams according to their respective patrols and set out to scour the town in search of clues and the prized items. When it was all said and done the patrol that shined above the rest were the Panthers, a patrol comprised solely of teenage girls from the Village. I had the good fortune of arriving just in time for the announcement of the results and to hear the good news about how hard the girls in the Panthers had worked and how they had set the example for the others in how to work together as a team. For me it was a moment of great pride, and recognition of the excellent work our staff has done with these kids.
When the children arrived they were mostly shy, lacked self-esteem and often struggled to come together as a team. To have won the scavenger hunt required that they approached and spoke with strangers and worked well together as a team. Certainly there were some members of the patrol who also had a chance to exercise their sprouting leadership skills as well. And as I drove them home and listened to them chanting their troops fight songs to all we passed by, their improved self-esteem was obvious.
Congrats to the Panthers and may this victory be the first of many!
This article marks the first entry in our new blog. The blog was created to provide the friends and family of CVoH with more frequent and immediate reports on the happenings at the New Hope Village, as well as more informal anecdotes, stories and news from the Village and Honduras. We hope you enjoy the blog!
The marching band leads the school in the parade.
The honor roll students break a few moves.
Wendy (in the center with gray glasses) marches with her fellow honor roll students.
Wilmer takes a moment to strike a pose.
Rosali looking as precious as ever in the parade.
Rosita marching with her classmates.
Allan and Cristian Ariel ready to march.
Wilmer, Wendy, Rosita and Rosali wait for the high school to march by.
The Parade of Torches.
Today, September 15th, Honduras, as well as several other nations of the Central American isthmus, celebrates 190 years since they declared absolute independence from the Spanish monarchy. It ended almost 300 years of Spanish rule that was brought on by Columbus’ arrival to the Caribbean coast of Honduras on his 4th and final voyage to the New World. Though this day in 1821 marked independence from Spain, Honduras did not become its own nation just yet as first it became a cog of the Mexican Empire before later participating in several failed experiments to unify the Central American republics under a single federation, the last serious attempt ending in 1852. Honduras was the greatest proponent of the federation, with national hero Francisco Morazan the leading voice, but it was not meant to be. Today Honduras’ flag bears the blue and white stripes of the confederation and 5 stars that mark the other nations of the federation.
In commemoration of Honduras’ independence from Spain there are celebrations across the country led by the nation’s students and schools. Here in Valle de Angeles it is an all day event. At the break of dawn we woke our kids up to get them all dressed up to march in the parade with their respective schools. With so many kids participating and needing all different kinds of costumes it was a bit hectic in the days before Independence Day trying to find everything needed and of the right size. The first school to march in the parade was the Escuela Policarpo Bonilla, the public primary school that our children attend. We had Wendy marching with the other honor roll students, wearing a blue beret, some white gloves and some cool sunglasses. Other kids were marching as cowboys, in traditional formal wear, as part of the honor guard and more.
Later we had a batch of students marching with their high school Manuel Bonilla, with Luis Garay leading the way marching with his fellow honor roll students. Following their school was the other high school we have our kids enrolled, Hector Medina, where we were further represented with our kids marching with their classmates. It was a hot and sunny day and many of the outfits were not exactly made for that kind of weather so those of us on the staff kept busy running around and passing out juice boxes to keep the kids hydrated. The parade lasted for about 5 hours as each school marched throughout the entire center of town before finally reaching central park. After the parade was over there was traditional music in the park until the nightfall.
With the sun down the parade of torches was set to begin. This parade featured students who go to their schools at night. We have several who participated and marched with their homemade torches through the cobblestone streets. It was reminiscent of the Holy Week processions. Following the parade of torches the final event was a battle of the school’s marching bands in the park. We were not able to stay late enough to see who won, but we have the pounding ear drums to prove we were there.
We were very proud to see our kids marching in the parade alongside their classmates. It was a day enjoyed by all and we look forward to next year with the hope that we will have even more students marching with the honor roll!
