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Extension Honduras

Through Stonehill's International Extension program in Honduras, volunteers serve with the Guimaca Mission, founded and operated by the Dominican Sisters of the Presentation.

Volunteers work as teachers/tutors at the Marie Poussepin Center, an all-girls school for approximately 70 young women in grades 7-12 in Guaimaca, Honduras. Opportunities to participate at Nazareth Farm and Santa Rosa Clinic may also be available.

The Guaimaca Mission

Marie Poussepin Center

The Marie Poussepin Center (CMP) received its first class of girls in 2005, offering not only room and board, but also formation in Christian values and catechesis, and training in computers, sewing, cooking, organic agriculture and English.
The young women, ages 12 to 20, receive education during the week and return to their homes for the weekend.
Most travel long distances on foot, buses or trucks. It is not uncommon for these young women to leave their homes at 3 AM to arrive at school by 9 AM.
The Center encourages the young women to become leaders in their communities.

Santa Rosa Clinic

The clinic assists approximately 40 patients a day who come from distant areas seeking help.
Children are supported by a soy formula that helps them gain weight.
For a requested donation of $1.50 people receive a consult and all the medications prescribed. For many, this is the only healthcare they can afford.

Clinical Staff

Two Sisters and trained people from the community provide the necessary services.
The clinic receives about four medical teams from the United States each year. These teams bring specialists such as dentists, obstetricians, and gastroenterologists.
Several Honduran dentists offer their services once or twice monthly.

Nazareth Farm

Nazareth Farm has an extension of 227 acres. The majority of the farm is pine forest, with 22 acres devoted to agricultural lands.
Two green houses grow the seeds for many area farmers.
Tomatoes, bell peppers, sweet potatoes and plantains are harvested and sold nationally and internationally. They have also had crops of beans, corn, mangoes, limes and oranges.
The farm provides work to many people of the area, especially to young men.
The students at the CMP go to the farm for science labs, as well as to assist in the care of the plantations, to relax and to pray in the woods.
The farm is 100% organic and produces the only organic vegetables in Honduras.
They also produce and sell their own organic compost and bio-compost.

Affordability

Program resources will cover the cost of room and board, medical insurance, and travel expenditures to and from the destination country at the start and end of the program. A modest monthly stipend will also be offered.

Student Loan Deferment or Forbearance

This volunteer experience may also allow participants to defer their student loans during their time in service. For student loan deferment or forbearance information, contact Eric Newnum, Associate Director for Loans, at 508-565-1394 or by email at enewnum@stonehill.edu.

Requirements

Extension Honduras is open to Stonehill graduates with Spanish fluency. No prior teaching experience is necessary, but a strong interest in teaching and working with children is required.

Orientation and Training

Volunteers participate in a four-day orientation program at Stonehill College immediately prior to departure. Orientation and job specific training will also be conducted onsite in Guaimaca upon arrival.