The Agalta Valley, located in the mountains of eastern Honduras, has 50,000 inhabitants whose progress has been limited owing to their remote location. Impoverished, with very few opportunities for quality education and health care, the Agalta Valley people live in the 21st century with hardly any experience of its benefits.
The Honduras Wilderness Team, a group of volunteers, has visited the Agalta Valley every year and established infrastructure for schools and medical facilities.
In 2006, the Honduras Wilderness Team founded a non-profit called the Honduras Agalta Valley Education (HAVE) Foundation that has been helping the area with education for advancement.
Most of the work today involves curricula development and provision of books and school supplies. When batches of volunteers reach the beautiful Agalta Valley, often called ‘paradise’ by Hondurans, they live on a large ranch and spend their days and nights assessing what the community needs most, designing projects to meet the needs, and engaging with the inhabitants to fulfill their need for education, medical care, and commerce.
The school program has been doing well – most of its graduated students have gone on to college.
Volunteers for the Wilderness Team sign up from different parts of the United States and, through regular visits, develop friendships and long-term relationships with the Agalta Valley people, who trust them.
All funds raised by the HAVE Foundation are spent on teacher salaries and school uniforms and books for the Agalta Valley children. The HAVE Foundation and the Wilderness Team’s consistent work has given an opportunity for education and growth to the people of Agalta Valley, which they have not received until now.
Creative Commons Love: ana branca on Flickr
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