Summer Vacation Travel

I have just returned from my first big summer vacation trip. I spent 10 days in Honduras. I went to work on a school library project and to visit my old Peace Corps work site.

After college I joined the Peace Corps and was sent to live in Honduras for 27 months. I lived in a small village in the mountains working on agribusiness development. I have always wanted to return to my country of service and this year I made my dream come true.

The volunteer project I worked with is named Chispa Project (which translates as spark in Spanish). Since 2016 it has delivered over 70,000 books to more than 100 schools and organizations in the country. I “discovered” the organization through a Returned Peace Corps group I belong to.

The trip was extremely well organized and had the perfect mix of work and tourist activities. There was group of 7 of us in the group and 4 of us were also fluent in Spanish (the ability to speak Spanish is not required to volunteer).

The assignment was to help paint and prepare a new school library. A school having a library is not a usual item in the country. Books are very expensive in Honduras and most homes do not contain any books for children to read.

I helped paint murals on classroom and library walls and prepare the shelves where the books would be held. The program continues in the schools after the volunteers leave. Chispa has in country staff that conduct follow up visits for 2 years to make sure the program is functioning as intended.

Over the next few days and weeks expect more posts about my trip. I had a wonderful time and it was great to return to a place where I spent early formative years as an adult person.

Please visit the website linked above if you are interested in participating in a volunteer trip (new trips are being planned beginning in February) and/or feel moved to provide a donation. Personally, I not only paid for this volunteer trip but am planning on donating more money to help purchase books for the organization.