Volunteerism

Missouri Army National Guard Survey Team Deploys to Naco

Each parcel of land will soon be home to a clinic or a schoolhouse. In addition to the clinic in Quimistan and the schoolhouse in Micheletti, they also surveyed the parcel of land in La Lima which will become the Flores de Oriente health clinic.

By Mary L. Williams
A four-person Missouri Army National Guard survey team from the 35th Engineer Brigade out of Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, has honed their Soldiers' skills during a recent three-week deployment to Naco (Cortés), Honduras, in support of Beyond the Horizon Honduras 2012. The team is easy to spot as they depart the forward operating base each morning headed out to a construction site. They're loading the bus with a sighting level, tripod and stadia rod -- standard surveying equipment. The parcels of land they will survey are baron or have been cleared of any existing structures. They know it's a tight schedule and that before the engineers begin work, the land is first surveyed.

JTF-Bravo Provides Medical Care in Gracias a Dios

By Christopher Diaz
Fifty-five members from Joint Task Force-Bravo [in Comayagua, Honduras] partnered with the Honduran Ministry of Health and Honduran military last month to provide medical care to 1,774 patients in a four-day joint Medical Readiness Training Exercise. The team traveled to the municipalities of Batalla and Wawina in Gracias a Dios, conducting the MEDRETE in the local schools. Patients received a preventative medicine briefing, health screenings and were able to see a healthcare provider for further treatment as indicated. At the first station, US Air Force Staff Sgt. Daniel De La Torre, Medical Element Medical Technician, assisted in screening patients. For him, serving on the MEDRETE team was an eight-year dream come true. "I've been trying to get on this type of (humanitarian) mission ever since I joined the Air Force," said the med tech. "I found out that there was this mission and volunteered for it... I finally got the opportunity."

Marching for the Environment in La Masica

Normally, it is just beauty queens, business advertisement, lots of punta music, pretty girls and drunk spectators. Oh god, should I have brought these children to this event... ? Is this gonna be PG? Are these parents gonna kill me? But nonetheless, we persevered providing a light of positivity and family fun in this annual parade.

By Allison Havens
It was a hot and humid day like normal in La Masica (Atlántida), Honduras, and all my 100 kids and their parents were already lined up at the gas station ready to start the parade. My heart dropped a little realizing that they all actually showed up on time, for once... Meaning that we still had another two hours to wait for the beginning of the parade, due to my overestimation of typical Honduran tardiness. But it was just as well considering we still had to feed all 150 people and I realized that most of the kids were still wearing their Sunday best, waiting to change into their costumes. Wow, these kids dressed up to come to La Masica to participate in the parade! OK, this is a big deal for them.

Little Roses, Big Dreams

Sidestepping the inaction of the local government, Frade used Allison’s organization to raise funds for her mission. Equipped with US$40,000 and sheltering 26 young girls in a rented house, the foundation for Our Little Roses had been laid.

By Drew Jackson
Nothing about Sleepy Hollow Bed and Breakfast in Somerset, Virginia, appears out of the ordinary. There is a small pond with an accompanying gazebo, tea service with cookies, the promise of peaceful solitude and a wandering black lab, nosing into laps, especially those of strangers, in hopes of a brief scratch. Away from the main house, though, in a small, unassuming cottage, is a line reaching out to another world, a line connecting the scenic seclusion of Somerset with the harshest realities of poverty in Honduras. “This is our international headquarters,” said Beverly Allison, as she motions to a sign on the cottage bearing: Our Little Roses Foreign Mission Society and with her tongue pressed ever so slightly against her cheek Allison is the executive director of OLRFMS and owner of Sleepy Hollow.

Riecken Gets Gates Grant for Community Libraries

The spirit of discovery and community service of the libraries have led teachers to change their teaching from rote to research, opened farmers’ markets, promoted internet coffee sales, demonstrated fiscal honesty that has even been emulated by mayors, inspired prison reading groups, and are recovering endangered Mayan languages by publishing their books of their village histories in their ancestral tongues.

PR Newswire
Riecken Community Libraries this week received a multi-year grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to support their network of libraries in Central America. The non-profit organization started more than sixty years ago when a young boy growing up on Cape Cod discovered his public library. The boy’s future successes allowed him to start what is now a thriving network of 64 rural community libraries throughout Guatemala and Honduras.

Wisconsin Volunteer Helps Infant With Seizures

When Camila was born, there wasn’t even a question if Bear would be the girl's godmother. And when Camila's seizures started -- and Honduran doctors documented they couldn’t provide the medical care she needed -- Bear rallied the troops to get her best friend and goddaughter to America.

By Sarah Worthman
At four months old, Camila Flores began having seizures that violently shook her little body. Doctors in her native Honduras were not equipped to help her, and her mother, Chena Flores, was frightened about the effects the seizures would have on her daughter. But Sam Bear, a 21-year-old Fox Point, Wisconsin, native, stepped up and raised thousands of dollars to help bring Camila to America to discover the cause of, and treat, the baby’s terrifying seizures.

The Ethics of Storytelling

I'm focusing on the positive stories... stories of transformation. I don't want to be one of those people who uses suffering children in the developing world to elicit funding.

By Michael Solis
It's no secret that NGOs (non-governmental organizations), while considered "non-profit," require successful business strategies to survive. With most NGOs relying on the generosity of individuals, foundations, and businesses to keep their operations afloat, they must master the art of appealing to their supporters. One way of doing this is through the timeless practice of storytelling. In light of the "Kony 2012" saga -- the story of one valiant white hero who was ready to take down Central Africa's Lord's Resistance Army... until a mental breakdown of the naked variety brought about his tragic downfall -- more NGOs are contemplating the ethics of utilizing social and digital media to promote their causes.

Northeastern State Will Provide Eye Care in Roatán

Although they're fairly commonplace in the United States, sunglasses and reading glasses can be a valuable commodity in Honduras. Reading glasses can be difficult to find in remote regions. Sunglasses are also important, Kirkpatrick said, because their patients tend to spend more time outdoors than most Americans.

By Silas Allen
In the United States, getting a pair of reading glasses can be as simple as walking into a drugstore and choosing a pair off the rack. But in more remote regions of Honduras, a US$15 pair of reading glasses can make a world of difference, said Megan Kirkpatrick, a student in Northeastern State University's College of Optometry. Kirkpatrick, president of the NSU chapter of Student Volunteer Optometric Service to Humanity, is one of about 16 students who will travel to Honduras this summer to provide eye care on the island of Roatán.

Rancho Bernardo High Grad Helps Orphans in Trujillo

I work hard and obviously have to make some pretty big sacrifices, but I receive so much more than I give, every single day. To know these kids and get to share life with them is to see the face of God in a different way than I ever have before.

By Elizabeth Marie Himchak
Because of the rewarding experience Kate Mattoon is having teaching children at Farm of the Child near Trujillo, Honduras, she extended her missionary commitment from 27 months to 39 months. The 2005 Rancho Bernardo High [in San Diego, Calfiornia] graduate, San Rafael Catholic Church parishioner and daughter of Rancho Bernardans Renee and Terry Mattoon became a missionary following her 2009 graduation from the University of Notre Dame. She teaches third- and fourth-grade math, science and English -- along with duties like catechist, swimming teacher, newsletter coordinator and non-food donations manager -- at the Catholic orphanage on the northern coast of Honduras. Mattoon said it provides a permanent home to about 50 children were who abused, abandoned or orphaned without known family. They live in six houses, divided by age and gender.

Arizona Doctors Provide Medical Care in Nacaome

The last expedition was Vaughn's sixth time volunteering and Smith's third trip. Both are eager to return to Honduras next year and stressed that anyone can help the group by going themselves or helping the program through a donation.

By Jon Johnson
Those in the medical field often dedicate their lives to helping people in their community. A group of medical practitioners in the Gila Valley go a step beyond that aspiration and donate their time and talents to assist the destitute in third-world countries. Peacework Medical Projects is a nonprofit volunteer organization based in Phoenix, Arizona and was founded in 2000 by former Morenci physician assistant Pam Burwell. According to its website, the group's goal is to "improve the health and well-being of rural and indigent communities through the service of medical volunteer teams."