In 46 days, we leave for Honduras.  As we prepare to go back to Honduras, there are many things that we haven’t quite finished.  Strangely enough though, I am not too worried.  We have a dedicated team here at UMW complemented by Megan at W&M.  But it doesn’t stop there either; we have SHH long term volunteers in Honduras that have been helping us along the way.  Rachel and Megan were vital over the summer with collecting information, and building a relationship with our customers. 

Now, we have Alex and Laurie, current SHH long-term volunteers who are helping us with many of the necessities to make our trip run smoothly.  Alex is locating a bus and a driver for us and Laurie is setting up a bank account in Honduras.  They are doing much more than this, but those are the large tasks they are currently working on for us. SHH and their long term volunteers have been crucial and will continue to be part of our support through our upcoming trip and possibly through the spring.

I am excited about going back to Honduras. 

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This will be my third trip, but hopefully not my final even though I am a senior this year.  With a year between trips, a lot changes occur on the ground.   It was great to see the one of the families I met on my first trip to Honduras.  Miguel’s children grew a little from the first year and I am thrilled to see them again.  The first year I went to Honduras we worked on repairing the roofs of the homes of many of the families of Siete de Abril.  While working on these homes I met Miguel, his wife Margarita and there children.  Last year when we were in Siete, I was greeted with a large smile and a hug from Miguel when he saw me walking through the town.  I don’t speak much Spanish, but he got his point across. 

There are so many of the families we met for the first time while surveying their homes and administering health surveys just last year as well.  I am eager to see if there are any changes in the health of the families who received any of the improved cook stoves in the spring.  I hope that there is a noticeable change for them as well as for the other people in the community.  I am also curious to see their reactions to the new stoves.  Do they think they are worth it?  Hopefully they will.  Also, what do the people who didn’t purchase a new stove think of the improved cook stove?  If they like it, why didn’t they buy one in the first place? 

I am just intrigued as to whether the stoves sufficiently provide all the various benefits (reduction in smoke, more efficient, larger cooking surface, easier to clean, more durable, etc.) that we read about them before they were implemented.  I am just ready to be in Honduras!

Dan

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