Projects
Why do we work in El Porvenir?
More than half of the Honduran population is 18 years or younger and more than half of the population lives on less than $2 USD per day.
A nutritious daily snack or meal, vitamins and educational enrichment provided in a nurturing and safe environment are crucial components to helping children reach their full potential.
El Porvenir is only 12 kilometers from the city of La Ceiba yet most employed adults work at the nearby pineapple fields. Their jobs often require a six-day workweek with long hours. For a single mother or grandmother this means leaving children to fend for themselves. It is not unusual to find young children on their own in the neighborhood. Older children typically miss school to care for younger brothers and sisters.
The Kinder in El Porvenir
HondurasChildren built and is operating a kinder/ day care for the children of poor families working in the pineapple fields and packing plants. A healthy and breakfast or snack is served every weekday. The center also provides supportive childcare for single mothers who are struggling to work while caring for young children. VOLUNTEER TO HELP CHILDREN IN
Along with a Honduran teacher, our international volunteers operate programs for young children in the morning and also provide enrichment activities for older children when they are not in school.
The idea to build a kinder began back in 2005 when Charlie and Amalia Kirkhum opened their home in El Porvenir to about 20 local children to teach them basic skills. Because many children had never attended school, some of these ‘kindergarten’ students were in their teens. Amalia and Charlie initiated the construction of the Kinder to be able to provide these kids with a daily nutritious meal, educational enrichment and a safe place to play and “hang out.” Since 2005, this program has grown to include educational services, meals and material support.In 2005, Charlie & Amalia
With the help of our friends at Amigos of Honduras, Ryan Daniels, then a 17-year-old high school student from Utah made it possible to begin construction on this kinder. Ryan and ten friends traveled to Honduras to begin the construction process for the facility. These high school students donated substantial funding that they raised from a dinner they held in their hometown as well as their energy and hard work at the construction site! HELPING CHILDREN IN HONDURAS, VOLUNTEERS
The finishing touches and lovely murals were done by a workgroup from Colorado that came via our association with Peacework. ¡Muchas gracias to all of our friends who helped to fund and build the kinder!
Vacation Activities Program (VAP)
The Honduran school year runs from February thru early November. However, recent years have left students in the public schools far behind grade level due to frequent strikes and limited resources.
Each year, from November thru January, HondurasChildren operates a Vacation Activities Program for 150-200 children in El Porvenir. Staffed by international volunteers, the program operates along the lines of a “summer camp” experience but also provides daily academic enrichment through games and proje
cts designed to reinforce math, reading, writing and English skills. The volunteers also introduce science activities and provide creative opportunities through art, drama and music. Sports are popular too and although fútbol rules in Honduras, the children do enjoy the opportunity to try new games!
VAP was initiated by Eve Horowitz. The idea is not to take on the job of Honduran teachers but to support children in reinforcing basic skills and helping them to enjoy the learning process. VAP also includes activities and projects to stimulate creative problem solving, critical thinking and good citizenship. There are leadership opportunities for bot
h children and volunteers.
Each year a former volunteer is selected to return to coordinate the VAP volunteers. It’s a collaborative group with the input of all participants welcomed into preparations for the program. Please visit our volunteer page for more info on how to get involved with VAP.
The children in our projects
The north coast of Honduras is a beautiful place. The Caribbean Sea is close by as well as the cloud forests of the Nombre de Dios mountains just to the south. However, the poverty level is extreme and the unemployment rate in Honduras is over 40%. Many of the children in our projects live in homes with only a dirt floor and no indoor plumbing.
Sadly, HIV/AIDS related diseases are the second most common cause of death in Honduras. This leads to countless orphans who are living with grandmothers or other extended family members with a limited ability to provide quality care. In other cases, children are abandoned when their mothers have just too many children to adequately support. These caregivers and the children in their custody live a precarious day-to-day existence.
V
We are a small, “
grass-roots” organization but by recruiting, prepping and providing volunteers to a variety of programs that educate and care for children, we are able to reach many more children in need. In 2011, more than 150 volunteers from all over the world came to join our work in the community of El Porvenir and along the north coast. We estimate that they worked on a regular basis with more than 400 children!!
We invite volunteers and work-groups to join us in this joyful and satisfying work! VOLUNTEER FOR FREE IN HONDURAS!
Sponsorship:
Our sponsor program allows us to provide material and nutritional assistance for the children in our programs. We are careful about how we provide assistance and seek to always find opportunities for folks to help themselves. However, by helping children to stay in school, by helping to improve living quarters, by providing clothing, school supplies and uniforms, and by supplementing the children’s diet with nutritious foods from the local markets, it is hoped that family units will stay intact, thus avoiding the heartbreak of sending children to institutions.
The name of the town these children live in is El Porvenir. It translates as, “the future”. We hope you will join us to sponsor our programs and with your help, these children will certainly have a brighter future! 
Sponsor breakfast at the Kinder for just $15/month! Breakfast Club sponsorship provides nutritional support for the 25+ children in our Kinder program. Click here to sponsor the Breakfast Club!
Partner Projects:
At HondurasChildren, we are regularly involved and value collaboration with like-minded organizations and individuals working to create a better quality of life in the El Porvenir / La Ceiba north coast area.
With this in mind, we support (but do not operate) several other projects in the area by providing screened volunteers, training and material supplies. Please see our ‘volunteer‘ page for more info about how we are working with a local school and children’s home (orphanage) and maintaining an English language project (PEP) in El Porvenir and at some of the local public schools.
Along with international volunteers from all over the world, we currently host university groups from Duke University (Project HEAL), VA Tech and Drew University as well as youth groups from religious and teen organizations. We sincerely welcome volunteers and work-groups so please feel free to apply!
