08/31/2001

Teen Mission to Honduras
By Frances Chamberlain

When I suggested that I take the Youth Group of our church on a trip to build houses in Honduras, I wasn't sure how students, much less parents and parishioners, might react. To my surprise, the response was quite positive. Six teenagers wanted to go, their parents approved, the rector of the church even agreed to let his own son go along, and we had a plan in motion.

We heard about the opportunity from The Presiding Bishop's Fund for World Relief and Development in New York City. They coordinate volunteer efforts all over the world and this particular project, Faith, Hope and Joy, had begun after the devastation of Hurricane Mitch killed thousands of people and wiped out whole communities. These people, many of them squatters along the riverbanks, had lost everything they owned for the third time in ten years.

The Episcopal Church worked to relocate many of these people, to build them solid concrete block houses that wouldn't blow away and to give them their own community complete with roads, schools, a church, a community center and an infirmary. For most of them it would be the first real house they'd ever lived in, and even more remarkable, the houses were affordable enough for families to actually own them.

When our Youth Group, from St. John's Episcopal Church in Washington, Conn., arrived in San Pedro Sula in June, 2001, and eventually at the project site, the community was full of families, children were in school and construction was going full force on a new school building, the church and the final few dozen houses.

There were eight of us, Stephen Morris, a parent and professional contractor, his son Trevor Morris of Woodbury, Kipp Shrady of Morris, and Penn Sorell, Rob Ficks, Giuliana Pullaro, Alexandra Chamberlain and myself, Frances Chamberlain of Washington.

None of us had been to this part of the world before. None of us were prepared for what we saw the moment we stepped out of the airport. There were military guards everywhere, because of some recent unrest. There were children groveling for bags to carry so they could earn tips to support their families. As we progressed through the city we saw that many, many people made their livings by selling things like newspapers and bananas at every streetlight. Houses varied from lovely stucco with wrought iron trim to huts made of cardboard and tin. Children and mongrel dogs wandered at the edge of the street.

We traveled silently at first, just taking it all in. Of course we knew it would be different, but I had never suspected there would be so many poverty-stricken women and children along our way, such heat, and so much chaos and garbage.

We went to work right away, hauling cement blocks, mixing cement, painting beams and clearing debris. We worked alongside Honduran craftsmen who spoke no English but communicated with their hands and expressions. The craftsmen were about the same age as the teenagers in our group. The first great cultural difference -- while most of my group was making plans to start sophomore or junior years of high school in September, these young men were already skilled, out of school, and obviously proud of the work they could do.

It didn't take much for these six teenagers to realize that they had far more privileges, opportunities for education, better food and clothes -- basically more of everything -- than their Honduran peers. It was hard to accept that the handsome little six-year-old who followed us around had no parents. He was charming and personable and not always in school when he should have been. There were hundreds of others, following us for a glimpse at the Americans, maybe the opportunity to share balls, coloring books, crayons and bubbles. We weren't the first to come bearing such treasures.

It was hard, in a week's time, to feel we had accomplished much. The heat made it difficult to keep up a steady pace at work. There was so much to be done. But when we looked back over several days efforts, there were all those painted beams, there were level, cement floors in the whole schoolhouse, we had made friends with lots of people; we all felt like we had contributed something and that it had made a difference.

As we traveled home, they began to talk more about experiences: the boy who collected tips at the airport, the little children at Faith, Hope and Joy who stole our hearts, the happiness of these children in the face of devastating poverty, the disorienting state of affairs that left other squatters along the riverbanks, children selling things on the street, people living in hovels. We had done what we could do, and it had been significant, but we also knew it would never be enough.

I would guess that one of the biggest things this group learned on their trip was that you can't imagine another culture, or even learn about it from National Geographic. You have to be there, immersed in it, because the reality is never quite the same as glossy pictures. They told me they realized how privileged they were, how fortunate to be able to return to Connecticut, their schools, and their lives. And they also said they understood how important it is for people to help others, wherever they can, because there is so much to be done in this world.

Our involvement in this project was arranged through The Presiding Bishop's Fund for World Relief, The Episcopal Church, New York (1-800-334-7626). The group spent most of two years raising funds for this trip, and also received generous support from The Teens Who Care, Devereux Glenholme, Washington, CT., and from The Waterbury Foundation, Priscilla W. Whittemore and Saroj Gulati-Sikand Funds.

There are many other reputable organizations that help volunteer groups commit to projects either here in the states or in another country.

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Note from Beth Bruno: I wish to thank Frances Chamberlain, Registrar and Public Relations Coordinator at Wisdom House, Litchfield, CT 06759, for writing this account and making it available to SNET readers, many of whom have expressed interest in serving the needs of people less fortunate than they are.

Some links to Web sites that offer interesting volunteer opportunities include:

Quaker Information Center
Youth Service America
Points of Light Foundation

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Please send questions or comments to bbruno@snet.net.