Valle, Honduras
Briefing Report
The 2007 Valle project is off and running! Before the arrival of the Volunteers, Project Staff held two youth conferences, one with each host agency, inviting two youth counterparts from each community to attend. There, they learned about self-esteem, joined in some ice breakers and learned about the opportunity to apply for a small youth grant to carry out their own project with the Volunteers. The proposals are in and the projects should be underway soon.
The Project Staff was so excited to welcome the Volunteers to Honduras with banners and cheers at the Tegucigalpa airport! The Volunteers climbed onto the bus and headed off to the quaint hotel of Montaña Clara Maria, nestled in the mountains near Danlí. After a delicious dinner of beans, tortillas, and plantains, and a good night’s sleep, the Volunteers headed off early the next morning to San Lorenzo, one of the two headquarter cities. There Volunteers spent two days learning about Honduras, getting to know their partners, and preparing to go into their communities. They had a blast competing in Route Olympics and celebrating nine Volunteers’ birthdays with three delicious birthday cakes!
On Saturday, June 23rd the youth counterparts from each community came to a morning youth conference to meet the Volunteers. The youth counterparts and Volunteers drew maps of their communities and got to know each other. The team of youth counterparts and Volunteers presented each other and their youth grant project to the entire group. The projects included soccer tournaments, presentations on health and human rights, reforestation and environmental projects along with other creative ideas. After some fun icebreakers and a tasty shrimp lunch, the Volunteers and youth counterparts headed off to their communities.
The Volunteers are now off to a great start, settling into their new homes for the summer and starting their projects of improving schools and community centers and leading games and educational activities with the local youth.
