Honduras Reflections:
Amy Leap, a member of the CCC, reflects upon her past trip to Honduras in December 2010 and the impact it had on her.
“Hola Amigos!
This was my third trip to Honduras with the CCC and this year our group consisted of Bob, the Maitlands and 15 students. The first half of our week we spent in El Progreso. Our first day we spent time at Pro Nino, an all boys orphanage that focuses on rehabilitation of street children that have drug addictions, are in gangs and are violent physically and sexually. During our time there, we took a tour, played soccer, made crafts and had lunch with the boys. Over the next three days, we spent time at Villa Soleada which is the village that Students Helping Honduras (SHH) has been building over the past five years. It was so exciting to see the education center completed. An orphanage is also is the process of being built. This orphanage will integrate orphans into this traditional Honduran community. We also worked with Students Helping Honduras with their newest mission- to rebuild and better over 3,000 rural schools in Honduras. During our days at the work site, we dug the foundation, mixed cement and filled the foundation, made rebar and began laying cement blocks. Something special that I enjoyed was the opportunity to work with the community’s students, teaching English words to these children. It was amazing to see their desire to learn.
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We spent the second half of our week in San Pedro Sula. We visited the state run IHNFA orphanage one morning but I never particularly enjoy visiting here because it is so sad to see the children in such conditions, especially before Christmas. We then spent three days at Our Little Roses, an all girls orphanage. This is my favorite place to visit in Honduras because I have been developing relationships with these girls for the past couple of years. I also had the opportunity to volunteer at the bilingual school in the third grade classroom one day teaching English, reading, math and P.E. I loved having the opportunity to interact with Honduran children in this manner. Overall, my stay at Our Little Roses is the most rewarding because I have established relationships and love simply talking and having a good time with the girls.
This trip was very influential for me. Having chosen to return for a third mission trip- I feel connected to this country and absolutely love the people and language. Over the past year, I have been studying Spanish and was very excited to see my improvements since last year’s trip. I was happily surprised that I could much more easily carry on full conversations. From here, I am planning on maintaining relationships with the different organizations that I have become involved with in Honduras. I can say that I will always have connections in Honduras and hope that I will be able to continue returning for the rest of my life to see the changes that are being made and to visit with my many friends!”
-Amy Leap, Class of 2012
