Intibucá, Honduras Update No.1
Volunteers arrived to a balmy Tegucigalpa, eager to pass
through the rolling Honduran hills and arrive in a much cooler La Esperanza.
They were greeted upon arrival to the Centro
Molino (training site) by a bright-eyed staff team and a plato típico of eggs, beans, and
tortillas. The breakfast table was buzzing with chatter Friday morning as
Volunteers wondered about their upcoming partnerships and community placements.
They had almost as much fun helping each other find their partners as they did
learning about the communities they would be working in and getting to know
their partner! On Friday afternoon, we welcomed our youth counterparts with a
variety of icebreakers and team-building activities before learning more about
our partner agency, Save the Children Honduras.
Volunteers buffed up on their Honduran slang while the
youth counterparts learned more about AMIGOS and began discussing youth
leadership. Saturday morning flew right by with packing for communities,
community-based initiative (CBI) discussions with counterparts, and a closing
activity that reminded everyone how valuable and vital they are to project
success, youth leadership, and community development. Shortly after an amazing
lunch of Spaghetti Honduran style, Volunteers hopped on the bus to head out to
their communities with the new friends they’d made at training—their youth
counterparts!
La Esperanza celebrated la fería de chorros (a festival for a type
of mushroom) this weekend, and the city was full of laughter and delicious food.
The mushroom festival was far bigger news than the change in power. La Esperanza
is approximately 3 ½ hours from Tegucigalpa, and very distanced from the
political shift. Volunteers spent the last few days safely in the homes of their
host families, getting to know all their new family members! Everyone is really
excited about collaborating on classes this week. They are busy with planning
for next week’s theme: school gardens and nutrition, where Volunteers and youth
counterparts will be working with teachers, school youth groups, and community
leaders to build and plant school gardens.
