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Honduras Project Information
Since 2002, we have sent teams of volunteers to Honduras, one of the poorest countries in the Americas. In Honduras, our volunteers are immersed in the culture, live in a small community, learn together and serve alongside Hondurans. In this time, SSP has constructed 14 houses.
Learn more about SSP's Honduras Projects Click here to watch a short flash presentation.
Join Us In 2008 We have scheduled three Honduras project sessions for the summer of 2008. We are excited! These in-depth immersion and service experiences are open to High School juniors and seniors as well as young adults. We are now accepting registrations!
Price The price of this trip is $2,000. This includes airfare from the city of departure and all expenses while you are in Honduras.
Registration Spaces are still available in all sessions! Contact Rick rickeaton@sierraserviceproject.org if you are interested.
To register, download the following items: our Trip Information Sheet and the Registration Form. (If you prefer, call our office and we will mail one to you.) We will continue to accept registrations as long as there is space available. Most participants and many parents choose to talk with us before registering. Please don't hesitate to call our office for an in-depth discussion of this experience.
Each team is headed by a experienced team leader who will meet the team at the departure city, accompany them to Honduras, work along side the team, and accompany the team back to the US. Session 1 will be led by Rev. Courtney McHill, Associate Pastor of the Corvallis First United Methodist Church in Oregon. Courtney is a member of SSP’s Board of Directors, was a summer Site Director for three years and speaks near-fluent Spanish.
Session 2 will be led by Robin Denney. Robin is an agriculturalist and a missionary. She is a 26 year-old UC Davis graduate, and has worked in agriculture, as a legislative aide at the state capitol, and in event coordinating. She has lived and worked in California, Washington DC, Australia, and Liberia. Most recently, she spent a year teaching agriculture, and doing community development projects in Liberia, West Africa. She has experience leading youth trips, including experience with SSP. She has also spent two months in Central America, where her sisters are missionaries. She is passionate about mission work, and its power to transform lives.
The leader of Sessions 3 is Jeff Michel, a resident of Portland and a member of Fremont United Methodist Church. Jeff has experience as an SSP counselor and, additionally, did volunteer work in Honduras following Hurricane Mitch. Jeff is an registered nurse, the parent of a teenager who will be accompanying him to Honduras and an avid cyclist.
In addition to the session leaders, the project is supervised by two experienced SSP employees who will spend the entire summer in Honduras. One Program Co-coordinator will be Rigoberto (“Rigo”) Rios. Rigo is the pastor of a United Methodist Church in Tegucigalpa and has worked as a translator with most of our teams since 2002. He is also the coordinator of youth and young adult ministries for the Methodist churches in Honduras. Rigo speaks excellent English and has a wonderful working relationship with youth.
Working together with Rigo will be Laura Rambikur, one of last year’s staff members. Laura is a senior at Northern Arizona University, majoring in Spanish and Music. She is also the Youth Director at the Flagstaff Federated Church. Laura has made several trips to Central America and has several years’ experience leading challenge courses for youth.
Project Locations Two of our sessions will take place in the rural town of El Paraíso, where two of last year’s teams had very successful experiences. We’ll stay in a basic hotel on the town square and eat family style meals at a local restaurant. Our work sites will be within walking distance of the hotel. El Paraíso has a vibrate Cultural Center with a strong youth program; we’ll spend time at the Cultural Center with Honduran teens and young adults.
Session 2 will take place in the city of Danli. We will be hosted by the United Methodist Church in the neighborhood of La Cofradía. Instead of staying in a hotel, we will stay “SSP style” in this large and secure church building. Our meals will be cooked in the church’s kitchen and the team will sleep in the upstairs fellowship hall. For a bit more information about what both of these locations, go to the Honduras United Methodist Church website.
Construction Team members will work side by side with family members and others from the community to build one or two simple, but safe, dry and secure dwellings. Nearly all of the work is done by hand. This includes moving bricks, blocks, sand and water. You may also be mixing mortar and digging and pouring footings. It’s hard, sweaty work! SSP participants are guided by and work alongside a few skilled Honduran workers.
Cultural Immersion
In order to more fully understand Honduras, the teams will visit several different groups who provide ministries of service in the vicinity. In the past, we have visited a self-help ministry for former street prostitutes, a center for street children, a human rights organization and a group championing the rights of women. We also take a tour of a maquila – a clothing factory where tee-shirts, uniforms and other clothing items are manufactured for sale in the U.S. Most of our cultural interaction occurs on the worksite and at church, however. The groups will attend church on Sundays with our Honduran hosts and will spend time with Honduran youth before and after church. This has proven to be one of the most significant and enjoyable parts of the experience – simply sharing time with Honduran children and youth, playing soccer, playing games or just talking.
New this year is a program of two-night home stays. We will place participants in groups of two or three with carefully selected families. These youth will get an unmatched opportunity for fellowship with a Honduran family. Youth not wishing to participate in the home stay program will remain at the church with our staff.
The Benefits of International Mission Experiences A international service and study experience is offers an unparalleled opportunity for spiritual growth, maturation and education for young people. With our Honduras Project, SSP provides an intense, third-world immersion experience. Our goal is to provide youth from the United States the opportunity to act out their Christian faith by working in solidarity with poor and marginalized communities in Honduras. Educational, cultural and worship activities provide an eye-opening window for participants to understand the third-world reality of Honduras and see the impact that Christian community and service can have. These trips bring inspiration and consciousness for personal and social change upon our return to the United States.
All of us live in a shrinking world and are participants in a globalized economy. The following values guide everything that Sierra Service Project does in Honduras: · Having a light footprint in our host communities. · Whenever possible, do things which build and strengthen local youth organization and Honduran NGOs. · Treating our hosts as equals with respect and dignity. · Promoting the exchange of values, faith, language, culture and ideas. · Encouraging US youth and their churches to support Honduran churches and Hondurans and helping to support the communities there in other ways that are sustainable. · Fostering local economic development.
Who Can Attend This project is open to high school juniors and seniors and college-age young adults. Spanish is not required, but it is very helpful. Each team has about 12 members, plus one or two experienced adults who serve as team leaders. Because our Honduras programs entail 15 days in a foreign country, team members need to be mature, in good health and very good at working with others. All participants must have prior service project experience and be capable of doing hard, physical labor. Youth register for this project as individuals, not groups. Because of the small team size and the presence of a team leader and SSP staffers, there are no adult counselors.
Medical Information The city of Danli, located near El Paraíso, has a full-service hospital and there are medical facilities available in El Paraíso as well.
View Pictures
of Last Years Projects Take a look at pictures from last summer's three Honduras project sessions!
Passport and Visa RequirementsA valid passport is required for entry into Honduras. There is no visa requirement for holders of a U.S. passport. Minors must have an affidavit signed by both of their parents giving permission to enter and leave the country.
Learn More We have put together a slide show and a brochure/flyer about the project. Click on the appropriate link to download and print copies. There are a large number of websites with information on Honduras and the issues and forces shaping the country today. We have put together a page of links for you to check out. | |||||||||||||||||||||
Sierra Service ProjectPO Box 992, Carmichael, CA 95609 Phone: 916-488-6441 Fax: 916-484-0917
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