As I'm sure you will have heard (and if you haven't, where have you been?) I am going to Honduras in August to volunteer in a children's home for a year! I will be using this blog throughout my time there to keep anyone who's interested updated on what I'm getting up to.
So, what's this all about? Let me catch you up on the events of the last year:
In April 2014 I applied to Project Trust - the oldest educational charity specialising in volunteering placements for school leavers - as I am interested in pursuing a career in International Development and fancied doing something a bit different before going to Uni. After filling in an abundance of online forms, I was invited to come on a 'selection course' on the Scottish island of Coll. My Project Trust journey had begun!
Selection (August 2014)
First of all, this was not as scary as it sounds! This involved staying with a host family and taking part in a variety of activities over the 5 days, including: group work and problem-solving games, planning a short lesson, preparing a presentation on an aspect of Coll, helping out in the community (my group did a beach clean which was great fun!), learning about the countries and placements on offer etc. The aim of the selection course is for the potential volunteers to find out more about Project Trust, for the staff to get to know the volunteers and most importantly to assess whether they've got what it takes to work overseas for a year/if their values are compatible with the charity's! 10 days after returning from what was a brilliant week and having met loads of really great people, I got a letter saying I'd been selected to spend my year in Honduras!
Fundraising
With selection out of the way I then had a daunting task ahead - raising £5900! Which to begin with, seemed near impossible! However, I got started early and had done the majority of my fundraising within 4 months. Big thanks to Ellie Flather for helping me to design leaflets, which probably made my appeals to charitable trusts so successful! I think I raised about 60% of my money from writing to trusts and sending them a leaflet, so it was definitely worth taking the time to do so! I held a big jumble sale, a ceilidh, a stall at a Christmas fair and received some very generous donations from friends, family and also my explorer scout group.
Training Week
I returned yesterday from what can only be described as a very intensive, exhausting but hugely exciting week, once again on the Isle of Coll! This included meeting my Honduras group who are split between other projects in the country, although unfortunately my partner couldn't make it the rest of the group are absolutely great and I can't wait to spend more time with them! We have also been thoroughly prepared (or as much as it is possible to do so) for anything that may get thrown at us - health, safety & security, culture shock, lesson planning, child protection, classroom discipline, primary teaching specific, travel sessions, the lot! Preparing and teaching mini lessons to our peers was particularly useful to gain feedback! Other great aspects of the week included: meeting the volunteers going to Zambia and Guyana, playing Sardines/telling ghost stories in a power cut (not a rare occurrence on Coll), spending an evening at the beach, playing way too many card games and ending the week on a high with a ceilidh!
11/16 of my new Honduran family
Exploring Coll!
My Project
So, what will I be actually be doing next year? Unlike all the other volunteer placements in Honduras, my project is not teaching in a school, but in a children's home. Miqueas 6.8, opened in 2009, exists as a family that saves children from poverty and injustice where the directors have taken on the role of parents and the children are brought up with a strong emphasis on Christian teachings and the importance of education. The main work I will be doing will be: tutoring in small groups, helping children with homework, teaching basic writing and reading skills through games and activities to pre-school aged children, helping children improve their English, organising activities at the weekends and any other necessary work to help day to day life in the home run smoothly. I will be living in a house across from the children's home with my partner, where we will do all our own cooking, shopping, cleaning etc. (should be interesting...)
For further information and pictures, the project's facebook page and webpage are definitely worth a look:
So! Hopefully this has given you a bit more of an insight into what the last year has consisted of and what the next year will hold! I will try to keep this blog updated when and where I can about my Honduran adventures. But for now, it's time to make a cup of tea (let's make the most of it, tea in Honduras is a rarity) and revise some Spanish...
35 days and counting until I'm off!
Hasta Luego chums!
Honduran, Zambian and Guyanan volunteers waiting for the ferry home
