For over a decade, volunteer groups from The Triangle have been traveling to Honduras to build homes and hope. This year, Habitat for Humanity of Orange County will lead TWO service trips. The first trip happened in January, but the second trip will take place June 14-23. Volunteers will build homes, make friends, and explore the local culture.
During the June trip, volunteers will stay in Santa Rose de Copen, the largest and most important city in western Honduras with a population of over 40,000. The historical centre of Santa Rosa de Copán has been declared a Honduran national monument, with preservation of its Republican or Neoclassical architecture and cobblestone streets that has its origins in a prosperous tobacco farming industry of the 18th century. Tobacco farming remains a staple of the local economy, particularly the cultivation of premium cigar tobaccos. Climate is considered subtropical, ranging from 77-84 in the summer.
Volunteer activities vary but can include digging, carrying bricks, mixing cement, compacting dirt, moving materials and painting. During the afternoons and weekends, volunteers will explore the local culture and surrounding areas. Potential activities include visiting a Garifuna community, cooking classes, visiting a pineapple or coco plantation, snorkeling off a nearby island, and touring a national park.
The price for this trip will be $2,400. This includes airfare, hotel accommodations, meals and some snacks, some excursions, and a donation to the Habitat Honduras affiliate. Many people have done fundraising for the cost of the trip instead of paying for it themselves. We are happy to provide any kind of information, support, or ideas to help you fundraise. If you need to setup a payment plan such as a bank draft or monthly payment, please let me know and we can work with you on this. A deposit of $300.00 is due upon commitment to travel to reserve your space. This will be counted toward the final cost of the trip. The remaining $2,100 is due April 15. Remember, spaces are limited!
To find out more information or reserve your spot, email Jesús at jgutierrez@orangehabitat.org or Erin at lyons838@gmail.com.
Habitat for Humanity started operations in Honduras in 1989 and received legal status in 1993. Its national office is in San Pedro Sula, and it has seven regional offices covering about 70 municipalities. Habitat for Humanity Honduras is an organization focused on the construction and improvement of housing solutions. With a commitment to positively impact communities, we prioritize the most vulnerable families in the country, in order to improve their quality of life. With a population of about 8.5 million people, Honduras is one of the poorest countries in the western hemisphere.
Many rural areas do not receive services such as access to clean water. In these regions, many survive from subsistence agriculture and extra income earned during coffee picking season. Habitat for Humanity Honduras believes in focusing on the existing strengths of a community, long-term advocacy efforts, and building on a ‘sustainable livelihoods framework’ which is used to identify and support what a community possesses in various forms of capital (human, natural, financial, physical and social) rather than concentrating on what they do not possess.
