Recently, Olancho Aid Foundation welcomed back four volunteer alumni who all taught for a year in Santa Clara classrooms. Here is a note from one of them, Dana, describing her experience returning as a mission team member:Going back to Honduras with some of my roommates and co-teachers from the 2014-2015 school year was one I will never forget! At times it felt like we had never left, but it was also great to see the progress that the Olancho Aid Foundation has made over the past few years. … [Read more...]
ESL Academy at Olancho Aid
ESL Academy at Olancho Aid Anne Foley, Ph.D. Instructional Designer In November 2016, I came to Juticalpa, Honduras to work with Miss Alma Sagastume, the principal at Santa Clara Bilingual School, to develop an ESL program to improve English language skills for the teachers and staff at the schools. As a bilingual school, it is necessary that all staff have competency in spoken English and that classroom teachers also have fluency in reading and writing English. Ms. Sagastume’s goal was for … [Read more...]
Welcome, New Volunteers!
Welcome, Daniel, Emily, and Delton! Olancho Aid welcomes three volunteers who will serve with our team for the next four months. We are all excited for our new team members who will be joining four year-long volunteers who arrived over the summer. Meet the new volunteers! Julio Daniel Da Costa Daniel is from Misiones, Argentina. He earned an International Baccalaureate from United World College Costa Rica in 2013, and graduated from Wartburg College in 2017, earning a … [Read more...]
How did I get here?
SPOT CAMERA REFLECTIONS How did I get here?A year after my stint as District Governor, I saw a PowerPoint presentation by a Lion named Claire M. Sullivan. I knew Claire from the Westport (Mass. 33-S) Lions Club. Her presentation was about a religious (Catholic) based organization in the Central American country of Honduras. This organization is known as Olancho Aid and is based in the city of Juticulpa. Olancho is the Department (State) in Honduras where Juticulpa is situated. Her … [Read more...]
Traveling 3,000 Miles for Clean Water
This past August, Will Zolpe of Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin traveled over 3,000 miles to Olancho for a service learning project to assess Olancho Aid Foundation's water purification program. Enjoy reading Will's reflection below. Visiting Honduras, although only for two weeks, really surprised me in the sense of how different of a life it was from what I am used to. I was invited to fly down to help create an in-depth analysis of the current water projects that the Olancho Aid … [Read more...]
1st Day of School
I was certainly feeling a combination of things as the first day of school approached. Excited to be finally meeting the children that I will be working with, and nervous to see what this school year would bring. However, as the bus came to pick us up in the morning, I could feel myself becoming more enthusiastic about the forthcoming day of school. I began the day at 7:00, greeting parents at the entrance of the school, as they arrived with their children to Santa Clara. Most of the children … [Read more...]
Homesickness – Kelly Ann
HOMESICKNESS There's No Place Like HomeKelly Ann - September, 2016I’d just like to start out by saying that I lasted a lot longer in the homesickness department than I thought I would. I tend to be a very emotional person. To say I’m close with my family would be an understatement; my cousins are some of my best friends and my parents are my rocks. So, when I hit that one-month mark here in Honduras, and realized that I hadn’t gotten upset or homesick at all, I was pretty proud of … [Read more...]