june project: building a future/tegucigalpa, honduras

Time's 'a tickin' as the June 2nd kick-off for The Global Citizen Project grows near. (Insert loud squeal of excitement here.) First stop will be with Building a Future in Tegucigalpa, Honduras and I'll be working with them in a variety of capacities for nearly three weeks. Of course, I'll blog, tweet and post about the experience as much as possible. I also have my Sharpies ready to send postcards to the 25 pledge recipients, which span six countries, and at least six decades. Cool, right?

Here's a sneak peek of where in the world I'll be in June and a little bit about the organization I'm volunteering with. Twenty-seven days until the volunteerting adventures begin!

Where is this? Tegucigalpa is the capital city of Honduras and is also the country's largest city. It is located in a basin surrounded by several mountains, at an elevation of 3,250 ft. According to 2005 estimates, the city of Tegucigalpa has approximately 1.25 million people.

About Building a Future: Building a Future’s (BAF) mission is to transform communities by promoting the educational and social development of underprivileged children in Honduras.

Sundry stuff:  BAF hosts an annual trip to Honduras with Texas A&M University Aggie Men’s Club (AMC). This year’s trip took place in March and the group built a home for a family of four, as well as interacted with children from orphanages and support centers managed by Jorge Mahomar. BAF also distributed over 75 soccer balls and over 100 tee-shirts to deserving children. If you’d like to get a better sense of the work BAF does, take a few minutes to check out this video created by AMC’s Andrew Paton documenting the recent trip (the editing is way cool). Also on this trip, I will find a happy home for the XO Laptop that Foodista.com so generously donated. Thank you again, Barnaby for spreading the worldwide tech/educational love. And thanks again to everyone who played a part in making TGCP happen. It's hard to believe that an idea I conceived just seven short months ago (a) got funded within 90 days, and (b) is actually happening within the next 30 days. It's overwhelming and exciting and I'm humbled every day that I have this opportunity ahead of me to make a difference in so many lives around the world. Thank you.

honduras gumbo

Thank you Gladys Chavez for sharing this blog about life in Honduras, Honduras Gumbo, especially since my first stop for The Global Citizen Project will be volunteering with Building a Future in Tegucigalpa. I love Laurie's most recent post about New Orleans, having spent last weekend in the Big Easy for a wedding, and extra love that she mentions La Petite Grocery -- one of my favorite new(ish) restaurants. I didn't have the  opportunity to swing by on this recent trip, but loved a late-afternoon lunch there last January.

the top five picks for my honduran community project are in. please vote.

Alright! Let the real fun begin. My top five picks for which community projects to volunteer with in Honduras as part of The Global Citizen Project are posted on the Visit Honduras Facebook Fan Page and it's up to you to vote which one I will participate in.

Since I know you probably don't have spare time play Nancy Drew and investigate what each of these organizations does, I've made it easy for you with a quick blurb about each one and link to its website (if you wish to learn more - I strongly encourage you to do so). Thank you again for all the project suggestions! I really appreciate your input and collaboration on this project. Each and everyone project suggested is a worthwhile endeavor and it was tricky to narrow it down to only five. I am confident that no matter which project you choose for me, that it will make a huge impact in the community it serves. So thank you, please vote, and if you feel inclined, pass the word along.

Here are the five Honduran community project contenders:

Building a Future
It is Building a Future's mission is to transform communities by promoting the educational and social development of underprivileged children in Honduras.

Honduras Outreach, Inc.
Honduras Outreach is a non-denomination, Christian organization dedicated to building life-changing relationships between the people of the Olancho department of Honduras and caring North Americans and other nationalities. The Honduran government had previously identified Olancho as an area with one of the highest concentrations of infant mortality, and poverty. The median rural family income is less than $400 and 68 of 1,000 children die before reaching age five.

Clinica Esperanza
Specializes in providing health care to the people of Sandy Bay and surrounding areas. They serve 1,000 patients per month; 60% are children. They rely on 150+ volunteers annually to help operate their 4,500 sq. ft. facility.

Hands to Honduras
The Hands to Honduras Tela Program is a partnership program bringing together North American and Honduran communities to provide educational, technical, cultural, and humanitarian assistance to the Atlántida coastal region.

Helping Honduras Kids
Helping Honduras Kids' mission is to improve the lives of orphaned, abandoned, abused and/or neglected children on the North Coast of Honduras.