How much Spanish do I need?
That depends. If you are comfortable with the fact that you may not understand what is going on around you, zero Spanish will be fine – you will learn. Obviously, the more Spanish you know before you arrive, the better you will be able to understand the projects, cultures, and your co-workers. Also, the longer you plan on staying in Honduras, the more Spanish you will learn.
How long do I have to stay in Honduras?
As long as you like. Some people come for their two-week holidays, some people stay a year or more.
Where will I be living?
In Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras.
At any given time, ACOES has two or three houses for their volunteers. You can live, free of charge, in one of these houses, with the other volunteers. You will be sharing a room with anywhere up to 3 (or more during the summer months) other volunteers. Each house has one bathroom with a flush toilet and shower. The shower generally has hot water, for most hours of the day.
The houses lock with a key and are safe.
What do I need to bring?
Hondurans generally wear jeans. This would be the safest bet for both men and women. Remember though that the climate is quite warm, and light jeans may be more comfortable. Skirts, shorts, and light cotton pants are also useful, keeping modesty in mind when selecting shorts and skirts (shorts are more for days when you are painting/working in the garden).
Light t-shirts will be fine for most days, although it has been known to get quite cool, so you should bring a couple sweaters. Try to limit singlet or tank tops. These will be useful for days around the house or when visiting the coast, but it is best to err on the side of modesty…
Sturdy old running shoes are useful, as are sandals. You will likely find yourself wearing sandals most days. Some people caution not to bring flip-flop style sandals, and rather to wear sturdier, Teva style sandals. I have found flip-flops fine.
Most Hondurans swim in shorts and a T-shirt. If visiting the coast, however, for vacation, tourists normally swim in regular bathing suits as they would in their home country. It is probably best, though, to have a pair of shorts and a shirt that you would not mind wearing if you are to go swimming somewhere near the city (there are some water parks outside of Tegucigalpa that some groups of children occasionally visit).
Warm pyjamas are great for when visiting rural communities.
A sleeping bag is very useful. There should be blankets at the volunteer house in Tegucigalpa, but not in rural communities.
You may want to bring a few small gifts from home to give to people as thank-yous. You never know when someone will offer you a bed for the weekend, or show some other kindness.
A nice outfit is a good thing to pack. It wouldn’t be strange to find yourself at a wedding, baptism, or funeral.
While it is wise to mostly bring clothes you do not mind getting dirty, dressing as a dirty backpacker is not a good idea. Hondurans dress quite nicely.
Don’t bring anything too valuable that you don’t want stolen, lost, or damaged. I wouldn’t bring an MP3 player – that said, some of the Honduran volunteers carry them around.
Can I drink the water?
Not really. It is up to you, really, but most volunteers choose to buy water. A large tank for the house, as of 2007, cost 26 lempiras. A 500ml bag of water for drinking when out and about is 2 lempiras.
It is best to bring your own water when you go to the rural communities, and perhaps purification tablets as well (in case you run out of water). Boiled water is obviously OK, and you will likely be offered coffee in every community you go to. This is fine to drink.
Some communities have water from a local source, and I found the water quite OK to drink. If you are very concerned about getting sick, however, don’t drink any water you have not bought.
Will I get sick?
Probably. Bring diarrhoea pills and you should be fine.
Do I need to be religious? Catholic?
No and no. While ACOES is a Catholic organisation, it is in no means open to only Catholics. They do not evangelize, and their faith is exhibited through their works. An open-minded person from any faith tradition (or lack thereof) should be comfortable in the organisation.
Do I need to have a skill to offer?
All you need to offer is yourself. That said, doctors, nurses, dentists, teachers, and other professionals may be needed more in one project than another, and it would be best to tell ACOES before your arrival if you have any of these qualifications.
Is Honduras safe?
The house you will be living at is safe. Going out during the day is safe. Follow the example and advice of the Honduran volunteers, and you should be safe. Practice caution as you would anywhere – walking around a busy market downtown with your camera hanging out will make you a target.
What will I be doing?
That is entirely up to you. You make of your time in Honduras what you wish. You can pick and choose amongst the projects, or choose one to dedicate your time to entirely. Your first couple of weeks, if you are staying for a long period of time, will probably be spent getting to know the various projects and finding your best fit. Below is an un-exhaustive list of the projects ACOES works with.
Escuela Santa Teresa and Escuela Santa Clara
These are two primary schools, slightly out of town, owned by ACOES. They are considered to be two of the best schools in the country. They are private schools – Father Patricio chooses the students from those living in the area, choosing children from families with no electricity and no water. The teachers are also hand-picked, having to sit a test in order to get the job.
If you work at these schools, you will leave early in the morning (around 6am) with a pick-up full of teachers who also work there. You will stay at the school all day, offering tutoring to remedial students. There is also a kindergarten there, and a library. As in most Honduran schools, one group of students comes in for the morning, and a different group comes in for the afternoon. This is to give a maximum number of children an education. Both groups of children are feed lunch at the school, and milk and fortified biscuits are given as a snack. This is likely the only milk these students get.
You will come back to the city at the end of each day in the pick up with the teachers.
As the area feeding into these schools is so underprivileged, there is also a great need for doctors, nurses, and dentists to visit these schools to offer their services. I am certain Santa Teresa alone could occupy a dentist for years.
Virgin de la Pena and San Isidro
These are two “comodores” in the city. They are within walking distance from the volunteer homes. In the morning, a group of kindergarten and pre-kindergarten students come in for classes. They learn the alphabet, phonics, and basic math. They also do drawing and singing. A volunteer would help the teacher mark student work, and assist the students with their work. At noon, the students are given lunch.
In the afternoon, a group of “abuelos” (elderly) come. They begin their time by eating lunch. They then spend the evening sewing, dancing, or playing games. They may make items to sell. A volunteer would share this time with the abuelos. They are wonderful, and they all have great stories!
At La Virgin de la Pena, another group of kindergarten children also comes in the afternoon (in addition to a group of abuelos – in separate classrooms).
La Nora
Like the above two projects, La Nora is a pre-kindergarten/kindergarten centre. It is within walking distance from the houses, by a slum on the banks of the river. You must walk through the river to get to the school, just as the students do. Some days the river is very high, making the journey messy!
In the morning, students come in who do not attend school – in the afternoon, another group who has attended school in the morning comes in. You will be helping these students with reading, writing, and math. They are also occasionally bathed, and are required to brush their teeth at the centre.
La Bolsa
La Bolsa is another slum by the riverbanks. Here a group of volunteers goes every morning to offer tutoring in a little wooden building, to those students in the area who are failing their classes. The aim of this project is to ensure the students do not drop out of school, as a likely option then would be joining a gang or turning to drugs.
The volunteers have also started occasionally bathing and washing the hair (lice!) of the students of the Bolsa.
These children are very affectionate!
El Populorum Progressio
There are 8 populorums in the ACOES family. These are homes in the city for students (age 18+) from the surrounding rural areas. The students move to the populorums for the school year, where they are required to attend school and commit to volunteering every morning for ACOES. These students are remarkable people, who are responsible for the child sponsorship program, as well as many of the other projects.
They stay free of charge at the populorum, and are given fare to return home each Christmas vacation.
The populorums can always use volunteers to help with homework (math, physics, biology, health, Spanish, etc.), and especially, for English speaking volunteers, help with their English classes. English in high school is a mandatory subject, so help is always appreciated.
In the past, people have offered other skills to the populorum, teaching sewing classes, clowning classes, etc.
At certain times, ACOES may also need someone to live at the populorums. There is a populorum in Copan (near Guatemalan border), and another in Marcala (mid-Honduras), which currently (2008) have volunteers living there, as the two new populorums get off the ground.
The populorums are great places to visit, and you will be amazed by the students you meet – some of which could not read until their late teenage years, and are now in highschool!
Santa Monica
Santa Monica is much like a drop-in centre (without the drop-in component). Children come in either the morning or afternoon, and receive help with their homework, extra lessons, and the opportunity to learn new skills. The children paint pictures, and learn how to screen print clothing! Santa Monica shows at-risk children alternatives to life on the streets/in gangs, by allowing them to explore their talents and by teaching them new skills. Volunteers would help with existing programs, and offer their own talents to the children.
Maestro en Casa
Maestro en Casa is the project that will get you out to the rural communities most weekends! You will leave for a community on the Friday or Saturday, either in a pick-up or by bus. If the community is far away (like a community in Copan), you are likely to take an overnight bus.
Once in the community, you will stay at the house of the local teacher, the house of another community member, or in the school. You will be required to offer classes to the local students, generally in whatever they want help in – normally math, Spanish or English.
These are students who receive classes a couple of times a week, through the national radio-schooling program, Maestro en Casa (most students have a real teacher, and do not rely on the radio, however). The students are often adults, or in their late teens, and very eager to learn. The teacher likely has had no English education his or herself, so the students generally like and benefit from a native English-speaking tutor. The teacher may also ask you to complete the answers for the English exam, so that he or she will be able to use it to mark the students’ papers.
The accommodation in the communities will vary greatly depending on the affluence in the community. In some communities, you will be offered a mattress on the teacher’s floor for sleeping, and will be given chicken and rice for dinner. In other communities, houses will not have walls, and you will be sleeping on the church or school floor, with very little to eat. All communities are very hospitable, and generous with what they have.
Many communities will also be the home of one of the students from the populorum, and you will therefore be accompanied by this student. This is a wonderful opportunity to see how your friends live, to get to know their families, and to share some time with them. You may be invited to the house of someone in the community for the evening, which is again a great experience.
I would recommend going on Maestro en Casa trips as often as possible. It is a great opportunity to see the country and really get a feel for the culture.
Please note that it is polite to purchase bags of beans, rice and sugar before visiting the community, to give to your host to replace the food that you will be eating.
