I am incredibly thankful to have had the opportunity to serve and love on the people of Honduras with Humanity and Hope. Specifically, the people of the small villages of Remolino and La Coroza. Because I took over 3500 photos in one week, I decided to split the blog post into 2 parts -- by villages. This post will be filled with images from REMOLINO.
We began the trip with just us girls -- Ally, Dana, and myself -- flying into San Pedro, and having 2 days to spend some time with Bessy (works for H&H and lives in Honduras) and go into the villages as well. It was a privilege to spend some one-on-one time with the people of Remolino the first day, learn about the projects, and play the kids. I am currently working on a film for Humanity and Hope, so we got to interview some of the adults in Remolino... and it was so touching to hear about how Humanity and Hope has changed their lives, restored their faith, and given them hope. On the way back to our hotel that day, we got a flat tire... which luckily happened right at the coconut stand and not only did we have some men there willing to help us out with the spare tire, but we also scored some fresh coconut.
The following day, the rest of the group joined us and we held the first day of the eye clinic in Remolino. Humanity and Hope visits these villages about 5-6 times a year, and although each trip has a specific focus usually, the overall agenda is to inspire hope, generate opportunities, and create better living conditions, in order to empower the Honduran communities we serve. This specific February trip was designed around an eye clinic, whom one of the H&H board directors, Mitch, put together. As an eye doctor himself, Mitch was also able to get another doctor on board, equipment ready, and glasses donated, so that these people of Remolino and La Coroza could get their eyes checked for the first time in their lives, and we could help them to see.
The eye clinic was a huge success! Since it had not been done before, there was some concern with the organization and flow of things since we only had 2 days in each village to check a combined total of over 300 eyes. It turned out wonderful! In the mean-time, the rest of us were learning about the projects around the village... the jobs that Humanity and Hope brought to the villages in order to give them jobs, and in turn, give their kids opportunity for education.
In Remolino, the main projects are the sheep, pig, and chicken project for the women as well as the pineapple fields that the men work in.
Visit Humanity and Hope's Projects page to learn more about these opportunities we provide!
Some of the other things you will see in the photos:
The women teaching us how to make tortillas - a day in the life of them - it's harder than it looks!
The kids loving the disposable sunglasses we gave them after dilating their eyes.
Climbing the water tower that H&H put in recently so that they could have clean water.
Jumping into the river at lunch break.
The kiddos in school receiving letters from "pen-pals" in the U.S that are currently taking spanish class. We also had them write responses back and took back to the U.S. with us!
I saw God's hand at work in so many ways in our short time in Remolino. Unlike any other non-profit organization that I know of, Humanity and Hope doesn't just go in and give to give. Yes, we love and serve these people... but the vision is to give in a way that creates sustainable change (give them jobs and provide a door to education) so that in the future they are capable of doing for others what we have done for them. This trip was an incredible experience and I will follow up with more about the Hope and Humanity organization in Part 2 of this blog post.
I could go on and on about our time in Remolino, but I think I'm going to wrap it up here and let the photos speak for themselves... the evident joy on all of the kiddos faces just melts my heart. Enjoy!
