2010 El Hogar Team - Honduras

The team visiting El Hogar will be involved with projects requiring manual labor, such as painting or doing construction. All teams are highly encouraged to interact with the children of El Hogar as much as possible. When teams are not working, they spend time playing with the children­ soccer, basketball, marbles, cards, drawing, reading and just talking. Work teams also spend time visiting some of the neighborhoods and homes that our children come from. Teams sometimes visit areas in or near Tegucigalpa, the capital city where El Hogar is located.

Thursday July 1, 2010 | 9:16 PM | Jonathan Moran

To start off the day, we all read and practiced math problems with some of the children. We also played Bingo with them, which they all very much enjoyed. After this we left for the El Hogar Farm, which is about one hour away of the orphanage. It was a very scenic drive through the mountains to get to the farm. The El Hogar Farm is where boys from the orphanage can go after their time at the orphanage. There they learn about animals and how to grow crops. We met up with Father Wes and some other kids from the Baltimore area there. We saw cows, ducks, geese, chickens, and other animals there. After receiving a tour of the farm, we headed back to the El Hogar orphanage. Some of us continued to paint bookshelves for the orphanage, while others played with the children here. Tomorrow we will go to a Honduran market and do some shopping in our last full day here at El Hogar.

Wednesday June 30, 2010 | 9:38 PM | Jonathan Moran

The sun came out for the first time this week here in Honduras. Overall the weather has been very nice during our stay, with temperatures in the high 70`s and low 80`s. This morning we all helped the children with reading and math, which they all enjoy very much. After this we all went to the Technical School, which is about 45 minutes away from the orphanage. The boys from El Hogar can go to the Technical School after they leave El Hogar and study either welding, carpentry, or to be an electrician. We saw many boys at work in the shops at the Technical School. After we returned back to the El Hogar orphanage after visiting the Technical School, some of us began to paint bookshelves that we have been constructing. Others went to play with the children. Tomorrow we will visit the El Hogar Farm, another option for the boys of the orphanage to attend after their time here.

Tuesday June 29, 2010 | 9:43 PM | Jonathan Moran

Today we worked with the children in math, using sidewalk chalk to write out problems for them. After lunch, we all went out to the hardware store and a grocery store. Walking into the stores was a bit foreboding , as there were heavily armed security guards standing outside. We purchased paint so we can continue working here on a special project tomorrow. Tomorrow morning, we will all travel to the Technical School, where the children of El Hogar can go to study various professions. They have specialities in electricity, welding and carpentry.

Monday June 28, 2010 | 9:13 PM | Jonathan Moran

Today was our first official day of work here at El Hogar. This morning, we all went into the children´s classes and did various activities with them. Afterwards, we all were paired individually with some of the children and they read books to us. Many of the children were very advanced in this regard for their age. After lunch, we began making bookshelves for the guest house that we are all currently staying in. Tomorrow, part of the group will paint the exterior of the kitchen building while the rest of us will finish making the bookshelves. After dinner, we all played with the children. Many of them enjoy coloring books and other art activities. Today, we also met Claudia, the director of El Hogar. Claudia told us all many stories of the children´s past experiences before they arrived at El Hogar, some of which were quite difficult to listen to. Tomorrow we will resume our work that we began today here at the orphanage.

Sunday June 27, 2010 | 9:29 PM | Jonathan Moran

This morning we attended a church service with Raul and some children from the orphanage outside of El Hogar. The music was very upbeat, including guitars and drums. Everyone at the church service was very amiable and welcoming. After the service, we went to McDonald´s for lunch with some of the honor roll students from the orphanage. Afterwards, we returned to El Hogar and spent a lot of time playing with the children. They all enjoy playing soccer very much, and are very good at it. All of the donated soccer balls were very popular among the children. Tomorrow we will start our work here at El Hogar.

Saturday June 26, 2010 | 9:57 PM | Jonathan Moran

Today we arrived in Honduras around 5 o´clock Honduran time. Our flight out of El Salvador was delayed for a little bit due to bad weather, and there was some turbulence during the flight as well. We met Raul and his daughter this evening, and we will get to meet the boys and girls here tomorrow morning. Driving from the airport to El Hogar, we all got to see the areas from which the children at the orphanage came from, which were all very modest. There were stray dogs roaming freely through the city. Tomorrow we will all attend a church service in the morning.