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ParentNet—A slice of student life abroad written by a Michigan Tech student
October 11–17, 2006, Number 415—http://www.mtu.edu/current/parentnet/
ParentNET: A Student Abroad—A slice of student life abroad written by a Michigan Tech student
June 13–26, 2007, Number 149

Helping Honduras Kids

Jon playing with the children at The Jungle SchoolTaking a rest with Paco (Far left) Jon giving piggy back rides to the children. (Left) Paco and I needed a rest after the tiring hike to The Jungle School. (Click on photos for larger images.)

Jon and I have covered a lot of ground since my last article. After leaving Honduras we headed to Lago de Atitlan (Lake Atitlan) in Guatemala. We stayed in a town called Panajachel in a beautiful hotel located on the water with an amazing view of huge volcanos. We visited local markets and bought handcrafted souvenirs. We spent a lot of time surrounded by the local culture of Guatemala. While passing through a small, local village we noticed a parade and stopped to watch. There were people dressed up in elaborate costumes dancing around to beautiful music. The women sat on the sidewalks, in their beautiful hand-stitched clothing, watching and clapping along.

After having a great time in Guatemala, we bused backed to Honduras to the town of La Ceiba. We did the whole 13-hour bus trip in one day! We were both exhausted when we finally arrived. We spent this past week volunteering at The Jungle School. Located about a 30-minute drive outside of La Ceiba near the Cangrejal River, The Jungle School is a private school sponsored by the Helping Honduras Kids organization. Prior to The Jungle School opening, there were about 40 children who lived in this area who were not attending school due to their remote location. This is an area of economic hardship, therefore, many families could not afford to send their children, via bus, to any of the nearby schools. The school relies heavily on donations, volunteers, and support from the Helping Honduras Kids organization for the school supplies and food.

Teaching in HondurasTeaching EnglishMy class and me in the Jungle School. In the iecond photo, I'm teaching English to my class. "These are Ears."

During our week volunteering at The Jungle School, Jon and I got a ride each morning from La Ceiba to the school with one of the teachers. Many of the students have to walk very far to reach the school each day. One example is a family, including a four-year-old girl, who walks two hours each way to get to school! Upon arrival to the school, a group of children would be waiting beside the road, eager to greet us and help us carry school supplies. Then, we would trek up the steep, slippery hill to The Jungle School, set high in the forest. The one room school serves as a classroom for students from kindergarten through sixth grade. There are only two teachers at the school who do a tremendous amount of work including, but not limited to, teaching, cooking, and cleaning. For the week that I was at the school, I was in charge of teaching the kindergartners through 3rd graders. I spent a lot of time coloring and molding clay with the kindergartners. I worked on writing, reading, and mathematics with the older students. I also spent some time teaching them English. Jon spent his time helping a father of one of the students build stairs up to the school out of old tires and cement. The man really appreciated Jon's help carrying heavy bags of cement up the huge hill. Jon also spent some time entertaining the kindergartens; they really enjoyed his company.

After school was done, I would head down to the kitchen and start to prepare lunch for the children. Since there is no electricity at the school, the kitchen consists of a steel slab on top of a wood fire. The eating area consists of boards on top of cinder blocks. The typical lunch was rice, beans, and boiled plantain. For some of the children, this is the only meal they will eat all day. After lunch is done, all the children help clean the kitchen area and the school before going home. On Friday, our last day of volunteering, we took the children down to the river to swim. They had a wonderful time jumping off rocks into the refreshing river water. I don't think they stopped smiling for the entire two hours we were swimming.

The children at The Jungle School are so great. Each one of them stole my heart. I wish I could stay here longer to help and I wish there was more that I could do. I am not ready to leave yet!  Jon and I are hoping to return to The Jungle School in the near future. When we get back to Michigan we are going to hold some fundraisers to hopefully get some school supplies, clothes, food, and other things together to send down here. If you are interested in more information about The Jungle School, please let me know at kerogers@mtu.edu and I can give you the information on how to help this school.

    Thanks for reading and take care! 
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