What It's Like to Volunteer in Honduras

After getting up at 7:30 am every morning, Adams and the rest of her team would work on the worksite most of the day, but more importantly they would get to know the children and the families they were helping.

By Brittney Haynes
A month ago, Carly Adams would have told you that her spring break plans consisted of going on a cruise with her friends. Now, Adams, a junior from Sedgwick majoring in applied behavioral science, plans on saving her money for a second trip to Honduras.

Over winter break, Adams spent eight days in Primavera, Honduras, with the organization Students Helping Honduras building schools for children. ”I’ve felt like I’ve always been called to teach in a Third World country and I’ve always been involved in volunteering,” Adams says. “I found the organization on Twitter this past summer and after researching it, I fell in love with it.”

After getting up at 7:30 am every morning, Adams and the rest of her team would work on the worksite most of the day, but more importantly they would get to know the children and the families they were helping. The team became very close with the villagers and became very active in the community. “The whole trip was amazing, but getting to know the construction workers, the children and families was definitely my favorite,” Adams says. The team learned to cook authentic Honduran dishes and ended every day with a game of soccer.

Adams says that even if you couldn’t speak Spanish, playing soccer was a great way to interact with the children, despite the language barrier. Adams went to Honduras with Jenna Olitsky, a junior from Leawood, Kansas, and the two hope to bring the organization to campus. “We’re having the man that actually started the organization coming to speak to hopefully encourage students to come on a trip this summer or next January,” she says. (1/29/12)

Note: This article was reprinted with permission of the author. It was originally published by the University Daily Kansas of the University of Kansas.