Introducing myself and my journal: A Gringa Lost in Honduras

About Me:
Originally from Pennsylvania, I moved to Honduras two years ago to take a job as a 4th grade teacher and I've been living here since. I stuck with teaching for two years until I started volunteering at the local children's shelter where I immediately fell in love with 25 abandoned kids who have spent most of their lives living in appalling conditions without even the semblance of love or adult care. The more I learned about the shelter, the more I learned that corruption can manifest anywhere, even under the guise of the most noble causes. Instead of listening to the advice of my friends and neighbors, I decided to do something about the living conditions at the shelter. I decided that the best way to help the kids I'd fallen in love with was to start over.

With a group of local residents, we started building Casita Copán from the ground up. Our main goal is to find permanent loving homes for orphaned and abandoned children while doing everything in our power to prevent child abandonment. On Monday, we are opening a daycare center for single moms who are working their way out of poverty. These moms are so desperate that they live their kids at home alone without food or in the terrible shelter because they have nowhere else to take them. Our daycare center will provide quality, individualized care to our children while also offering personal and professional development programs for moms so they can start to break the cycle of poverty.

I envision an organization that works with the community, not against it, providing the most vital services in a sustainable way. We are hiring locally, soliciting food and medical donations from local businesses, and building a volunteer network without the community. We will also provide essential services to children and families who are vulnerable to disease, neglect, violence, and a life of poverty. Now that I've started this organization, Honduras is my new home away from home. And I can't wait to see what's in store!

My Passions:
art, creative writing, human rights especially for women and children, great food, music

My Challenges:
tackling too much at once, learning to see all sides of an issue, relaxing

My Vision for the Future:
a world not governed by greed, where people care about others just because its natural to

My Areas of Expertise:
not giving up in the face of a challenge