Ruby Hill high school students Shiven Butani, Ekam Bath, Nimrit Bath, Dilan Shah, Arya Shah, and Zoya Paruthi spent a week in Honduras with Blutera, an organization that fosters leadership opportunities for youth through international volunteer trips to create impactful community connections. The organization sponsors American-founded community-based nonprofit schools around the world. 

 

We partnered with 1000 Schools, whose mission is to alleviate violence and extreme poverty in Honduras through education and youth empowerment. We spent one week working with the children in the school, breaking ground, making cement, and laying the foundation. For two days, we were at the school meeting the students and being part of their learning environment. This helped us bond with the children and hear some of the stories about how they grew up and what they have been through.

 

The construction days were hard work but rewarding as we witnessed the community all coming together to help build this school. As I am shoveling cement into buckets, I see children of ages 8 to 18 also shoveling or carrying these buckets. They are all doing it without any complaints and with smiles on their faces, which is motivation to keep on working. It was not only the children helping but also seniors and elderly women shoveling next to me, despite me telling them to take breaks. They were happy to work. The people of Honduras are a community where everyone helps, and every bucket is one step closer to making a positive difference in their lives.

 

Although there was a lot of hard work, there was also a great amount of fun as the main activity in Honduras is soccer. They have a twist on the sport: they play caged soccer. It’s a closed area with no boundary lines to stop play. This was a thrilling experience as the locals are very good at soccer and kids grow up playing the sport.  

 

The living conditions sound scary as there are mosquitos and other bugs to deal with, but it was manageable. We had everything that was necessary for us to stay hygienic and rested. I stayed at the children’s home with four other boys on the trip. The room had numerous bunk beds laid out with a simple mattress and sheets along with fans for air conditioning as it can get hot. The bathrooms contained a sink and a shower with only cold water, which did take a second to get used to.

 

The wakeup call was at 7 am. Breakfast, which included scrambled eggs, toast, or even pancakes, was prepared and served. Lunch was provided at the schools or construction sites and dinner was provided back at the home, which varied from chicken and rice to an amazing nacho bowl.

 

We are empowering these children with education as a way to save their lives and change the system. By building these schools, kids are not joining gangs or taking the wrong path; they’re getting an education that is making a difference. Hearing stories about what these kids want to accomplish is truly inspiring. Education is a means for them to be successful and become future leaders who will change the system.

 

My favorite parts of the experience were the bus rides and going to the children’s home and meeting all of the kids. This was the most heartwarming part of the trip as all of these kids were so happy and kind. We also had so much fun being able to dance with them to popular songs and do Zumba.

On the bus, the traffic was seriously an obstacle as one accident on the road would delay us by an hour just to travel four or five miles. However, this was my favorite part of the experience because I could talk to the people and learn more about the culture.

 

It may seem miniscule, but every bucket of cement I shoveled, every rebar I built, I knew it was one step closer to truly revitalizing the system in Honduras and creating a brighter future for all these children. This realization is why I am going back. I’m hoping to be with some new faces who want to come on this amazing life-changing experience and see why we are all so dedicated to the cause.