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Honduras Resource Pack

Honduras is the original 'Banana Republic' a reputation that conjures up images of its stormy past of corruption and poverty. Honduras however is an unrealized land of rare inspiring scenic beauty. The second-largest country in Central America after Nicaragua, Honduras sprawls from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast, from Caribbean flatlands through the cooler mountainous interior, and south to the sun-baked shores of the Golfo de Fonseca.

The romantic legends of 'Banana Republic', plantations of the past, are today are not so romantic when they have had exploited social and political influence leading to Honduras's claims to be one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere. With an extraordinarily unequal distribution of income; it relies heavily on trade privileges due to its economic situation and on aid and debt relief. 80 percent of Hondurans live in poverty and 40 percent are unable to read or write. The population of Honduras is growing rapidly at 7 million, with much of the population living in the ever growing shanty towns to accommodate the growth. Any economic progress that Honduras had made was wiped out with Hurricane Mitch, as the storm devastated the agricultural sector.

Honduras's current situation requires development for all areas of society, to curb the all encompassing inequity and inequality affecting the majority of the population. Global Volunteer Network is providing volunteers to work with our partner organisation, a local NGO which has been operating out of Honduras since 2005. Volunteers can be involved in teaching English, building houses and schools for local communities, working in an orphanage, working at a soccer centre for disadvantaged youth, or working at a hospital.

Tasks on the building project include renovation, labouring, painting, decorating, making bricks, building walls, digging, and building wooden playgrounds. Volunteers assist with cement mixing, sand sifting, cutting wood, and transporting building materials; there is little equipment and it is mostly manual work. The building projects are to help families build or improve their homes and schools, and the community decides which projects are in need of assistance.

On the teaching project, volunteers help with teaching English, sports or computers. There is no set curriculum for teaching English in rural areas, but past volunteers have left behind their notes, recommendations and teaching materials, both at the schools and with our partner organisation, so that future volunteers will have a good idea where to start and to give some continuity to the teaching process. Volunteers bring with them teaching aids, which they then also leave for the Honduran Schools further benefit.

These are great simple and effective ways to initiate and bring instant development and relief to a country that needs help in so many ways.

Easy Facts

For the Honduras Easy Facts sheet, click here.

Articles

Re-building homes and Lives in Honduras: http://www.volunteer.org.nz/media/articles/tabitha.php.

Further Reading

In the Name of Fashion: Exploitation in the Garment Industry, Hector Figueroa, NACLA Report on the Americas, January 1st, 1996: As you read this article, there is a good chance that you or someone close to you is wearing clothing imported from Latin America. A quick check of the label may reveal that it is a shirt from the Gap made in Honduras, a pair of Lee Ryder jeans made in Brazil, Bali underpants made in Guatemala, a Levi's golf shirt made in the Dominican Republic, or a Haggar sports jacket made in Colombia.
http://corpwatch.org/article.php?id=3034

Honduras and Resistance to Globalization, Helen York, International Forum on Globalization: Honduras is a country rich in natural resources, but like most developing countries, only the wealthy and foreign corporations benefit from this wealth, not the poor. In fact, Honduras makes more money exporting its people to work abroad than it does on traditional exports of bananas or coffee. The gross family remittances from Hondurans living abroad (mostly in the United States) rose 27 percent to $700 million in 2002, making family remittances the country's main source of foreign currency.
http://www.ifg.org/analysis/globalization/Honduras2.htm

Sex Tourism Plagues Central America, Paul Jeffrey, Response: Before leaving their rooms at the Parthenon Beach Hotel in the northern Honduran city of La Ceiba, two men reread information they had downloaded from the Internet before leaving home in Illinois. Then they walked two blocks east to a club featuring young nude dancers. http://gbgm-umc.org/response/articles/sextourism.html

Country Profile

For Honduras' country profile, click here.

Mt Everest Trek 2008
Between 29 September and 18 October 2008, GVN is offering a hike to fundraise for the support of 13 children living in the Brighter Future Children's Home in Nepal.  > Read More