Honduras Child Alliance

Program Reviews

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Yamit
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

A Truly Amazing Experience

I volunteered with HCA for four months after graduating high school and I am so grateful that I did. When I arrived in El Porvenir, I was warmly welcomed by a wonderful and enthusiastic group of volunteers from all around the world (Germany, Scotland, Israel, Australia, Spain etc.) The classes were definitely my favorite part of the HCA experience. I loved getting to know the kids and both learning from them and teaching them in class every day. Our classes were filled with art, games, music, healthy snacks and laughter, and were just a ton of fun! After leaving HCA I couldn't really stay away and ended up coming back a year later to work on a Baño Project. I miss El Porvenir, the students, and the volunteers all the time and I can't wait to go back!

If you did this all over again, what's one thing you would change?
I would stay for longer! 4 months was amazing but I'd highly recommend going for even longer and/or going back more times!
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Lila
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Loved It So Much I Came Back

I spent four months living in El Porvenir on a gap semester between high school and college. The town itself is beautiful, quiet, and safe, the people are very friendly, and the children are absolutely amazing. Teaching PEP classes to the kids each day was a blast and I formed strong relationships with many of the students. In fact, I even ended up planning a trip a year later with a group from my college. The goal of the trip was to help a family of two of my students build a bathroom in their backyard that was wheelchair accessible so that their handicapped family member could use it easily. Both times I went to El Porvenir, the volunteers were all fabulous. They welcomed me with open arms and by the end of my time there many of them felt like family. I was also surprised by how much the residents of El Porvenir respect HCA's program. HCA does real good in the community and I'm so thankful that I discovered this program and that it played such a pivotal role in my life.

What is your advice to future travelers on this program?
Try your best to engage with the town people and get to know them because they have a lot to offer and are truly wonderful people.
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Eliana
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Volunteer with HCA

HCA has a great relationship with El Porvenir. Everyone is so welcoming and friendly in the community. The area is extremely safe. The kids love meeting new volunteers and will jump all over you and ask you questions. Three classroom locations are all easily accessible. You teach English, computers, science, and art. You can also get involved teaching English for adults in the evenings. It is a great place to work on your Spanish. I found everyone really patient with me and ready to help fill in the words I was missing. You can also do study buddies where once a week you spend an hour being tutored but a Honduran intern.
It is right on the beach and you can see the beautiful mountains on the other side. There are lots of fun things to do on the weekends visiting the jungle, rivers, beautiful beaches, the city la Cieba.

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Laurine
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Volontaire en Honduras

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What was your funniest moment?
Voir deux petits garcons se comparaient les muscles du bras
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Grace
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Love HCA

I began working with Honduras Child Alliance in February 2019 as the Healthy Snacks Coordinator. In the past five months, I have felt so safe and supported during my time in El Porvenir, and have had the opportunity to get to know people from all over the world and make a difference working with kids. Honduras is a beautiful country with so much to offer, and our community of El Porvenir is extremely safe and supportive of travelers. The town is situated right on the Caribbean and has a great reputation. The locals are friendly and always interested in what we are doing, and the kids are amazing. Our students are so bright and kind, and once you make the choice to make a difference with them, you're changed forever. I have two more months left in lovely El Porvenir, and I intend to spend the rest of my time continuing to immerse myself in this beautiful and safe culture.

What is your advice to future travelers on this program?
If you're wondering if you should travel to Honduras and change the lives of kids, just do it!
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Victoria
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

My time with HCA

My time with Honduras Child Alliance was the best experience of my college career. I went the summer before my senior year of college as part of an internship and it was incredible. My favorite part about the work we did itself was the fact that every day was different. Some days you would be teaching kindergarten, youth, and adult English classes and other days you would be out in the community handing out flyers about our classes. Or working on constructing a baño for a family in the community. But no matter what you were doing you were always surrounded by the incredible friends you made with other volunteers and community members! Nights were filled with family dinners with volunteers or long conversations with friends in the community, and sometimes even a quick lesson on how to dance bachata or how to make a good tortilla. You really feel like a part of the community with HCA and that makes the whole experience that much more incredible. I loved it so much I’ve decided to return for a year!

What was your funniest moment?
One night to celebrate the end of a session of our adult class all of the volunteers and adult students put on crazy outfits and had a celebration! We played musical chairs, ate some snacks, and laughed A LOT. It was so much fun to just connect with some of our students, most of who were about the same age as me!
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Eddy
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Best experience of my life!

I first volunteered with HCA in 2016 and absolutely fell in love with El Porvenir and Honduras. The town is so friendly and it is perfectly located next to a larger city and also by the beach so it has the best of both worlds. The community in El Porvenir is what makes HCA so special, everyone is so welcoming. HCA works with the community, including employing a number of local interns. Volunteers are from all over the world which means that some of my closest friends are from Spain, Scotland, and America thanks to my time volunteering with HCA. The program works alongside the Honduran school system and classes have a strong emphasis on learning through play. HCA accepts many different types of volunteers, including medical, dental and university workgroups to construction projects. If you're looking for something different from your regular life and off the beaten track in Central America, I can't recommend HCA enough.

If you did this all over again, what's one thing you would change?
I would tell myself not to worry about making mistakes when speaking Spanish. All the community members that I spoke with were all understanding that I was learning Spanish and they helped me practice. I wish that I got over my fear to speak sooner because as soon as I started speaking Spanish, it was an incredible way to talk with the kids and community.
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Lynda
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

A place to call my second home

I volunteered for Honduras Child Alliance and it was unlike any other experience I have had in Latin America because it was the only one where I felt like a part of the community and not just a visitor. HCA has done an amazing job integrating into the community and has become a foundational part of the lives of the kids in El Porvenir. People are welcoming and friendly and as soon as the kids learn your name they will be calling you every time you walk down the street.
You can expect a high energy, high creativity atmosphere with a bunch of really awesome volunteers to share the experience. My co-volunteers were from all sorts of countries and have developed to be lifelong friends. Being part of HCA was one of the best decisions I've made and leaving was one of the hardest.

What was the most unfamiliar thing you ate?
Baleadas ! I had never heard of them and now I cannot stop the craving !
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Molly
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

One of the best experiences of my life!

I arrived in Honduras in February of 2019 to become Honduras Child Alliance's Outreach Manager. I've been here for four months now and I have absolutely loved every single second of my time here. Before coming here I was very nervous about safety in Honduras because being from the United States all you hear is how dangerous Central America is, but there has not been a single time that I have felt unsafe here. The community of El Porvenir is so welcoming to all new volunteers, allowing everyone to make real connections and friendships in the community. I have learned so much from spending time with the children of the community about how to be a more compassionate and empathetic human just because of the fact that life here is so drastically different from the life most people live in the United States or any other developed country. This experience truly has changed my life thus far and I could not recommend volunteering with Honduas Child Alliance enough!

What is your advice to future travelers on this program?
One of my pieces of advice would be to take advantage of every single opportunity to be a part of the wonderful community of El Porvenir, whether that be watching the soccer game at the local field, or getting food at the local restaurant and chatting with the owners, Iris and Montoya.
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Domitille
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Amazing experience in Honduras

My experience at HCA is really amazing. I have the opportunity to help children of the community and it is very nice to see their happy smile when they learn something. I am currently organising a curriculum with nutrition and business so we can teach them so new notions.
Concerning the safety in Honduras, even if the current political situation is incertain and confusing, we are living in a village near the sea, El Porvenir, and I’ve always felt very safe here.
It is also wonderful to get to know the people in the communities. We have good relationships with people around the town, as the interns that are working with us.
The staff of HCA is also really nice and opened to new ideas, it is wonderful to work with them and I am thankful for this amazing experience!

What was your funniest moment?
The atmosphere between volunteers is very nice and we have a lot of funny moments.