Roatan - May 2010

Latest news from Roatan… the school in St. Helene is moving full steam ahead! The land has now been cleared and is ready for a foundation to be laid. A wonderful architect from El Salvador who is in Roatan working on a development project donated his services free of charge and created an amazing school design for us! The challenges have been how to create a school with as much natural light as possible (as there is no electricity) and how to do the restrooms… with no running water on the island! We are receiving so much help from so many people on this project! There is a man on the island doing a job to expand the cruise ship dock. He has agreed to donate the time and use of his barge – for free – to transport the materials to the nearby island. The only problem is that his job in Roatan is done at the end of the month, so we have to get all the heavy materials transported before he leaves. Speaking of materials, two of the developers on the island have volunteered to donate – at cost – much of what we need including all the cinder block, cement, gravel and rebar. It has truly been amazing to see the incredible generosity of so many people towards making this school a reality! We couldn’t do it otherwise and we are truly humbled.

As for the people of St. Helene, they are wonderful! It was great to stop by and see the kids in the temporary structure taking their classes. We asked if they were ready for a real school and they responded with a resounding “Yes!!!” In working with Lindon, their head teacher, we identified the classes being taught without any books. Thanks to the generosity of Ted and Cam O’Brien from PIER, we were able to deliver enough books so that every student has their own for almost every course. Usually the teacher either has to spend their own money to photocopy the lessons, or they write it on the board while the kids copy it down. So this is quite nice for them!

We had a wonderful time with the children at the children’s home, too! The four that we are sponsoring to bilingual school are doing well and getting good grades. I was able to sit and tutor 3 of them after school and it’s been wonderful to see how they are flourishing with the higher standards required at the bilingual school. Many of the kids had cards, letters and little gifts from their Mentor to be delivered. Here, Patricio is having the letter from his mentor translated to him. It’s wonderful to see their faces light up when they hear from their ‘friends’ from so far away!

Speaking of mentors… there is a new girl that has come to live at the home since our last visit. Her name is Carla and she is 11 years old. She is a sweetheart and, although a bit shy, she has an infectious smile and bright eyes! We look forward to getting to know her better, and I hope we will be able to pair her up with a Mentor soon. She could use a little extra love and attention right now as it must be so hard to come into a home with so many other kids without knowing anyone.