Students Helping Honduras
Encyclopedia
Students Helping Honduras (SHH) is an international NGO operating in both the United States
and Honduras
. While the majority of its projects are centered on the peripheries of El Progreso
, the organization engages in projects throughout all of Honduras.
and his sister Cosmo Fujiyama
first traveled to Honduras in the summer of 2004, volunteering on a mission
trip organized by the Campus Christian Community of the University of Mary Washington
to help victims of poverty
and domestic abuse. Shin met and grew close to the people of a squatter
village called Siete de Abril (Spanish
for April 7th); the villagers, whose homes had been destroyed by Hurricane Mitch
in 1998, named the village after the date on which their sudden homelessness forced them to establish it. Having bore witness to the harsh conditions in which the villagers and their children lived, Shin vowed to help them overcome poverty. The semester following his trip, Shin founded Students Helping Honduras (SHH) as an official student organization within his university, as did his sister who attended the College of William & Mary.
The organization, which began as a small group of students eager to help the siblings fulfill their mission, began to hold local events in an effort to raise funds. Their first walkathon
, held in the spring of 2006, raised over $148,000 with the help of a matching grant
from Doris Buffett, founder of The Sunshine Lady Foundation. Those proceeds allowed the students to travel back to Honduras and build a school with the villagers of Siete de Abril.
While constructing the school, a 10-year old girl named Carmen gave a handwritten letter to Shin. It expressed her dream in which, one day, every family in her village would live in a safer home. Shin, touched by the now iconic letter, once again mobilized his friends to fulfill her dream. Doris Buffett offered the students a second matching grant of $100,000, on the condition that the students raise that very amount by the end of the semester. The students reached out to friends from other college campuses including Virginia Tech and the University of Virginia
, both of which would establish chapters of SHH. The band of students raised $110,000 by the end of the semester, earning Buffett's matching grant for a combined total of over $210,000. With this money SHH was able to purchase a land title
on which the villagers could live legally, and they had raised enough money to build one cinder block
house for each family from Siete de Abril.
Shin registered Students Helping Honduras as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization
in 2007, as advised by Dr. Gregory Stanton
, founder of Genocide Watch
. Today the organization hosts service trips throughout the year as part of its formal operations. Students and adults travel to Honduras in groups to assist with construction, build relationships with the local residents and witness the conditions in which they live. Respectively, these three activities facilitate most of the progress of the organization, by: (a) shortening the project completion time; (b) building trust and fidelity between the villagers and the organization; and (c) stoking passion within trip participants to support those villagers upon returning to the United States.
and instituted a Student Board to represent the interests of student volunteers.
The original mission statement of SHH was stated as the following:
The Board of Directors recognized that this mission statement lacked a vision that was specific enough to guide the actions of organization in a focused manner. They agreed to hone their mission statement and thus their operations toward the welfare of orphan
ed and at-risk children; hence the current mission statement of Students Helping Honduras is "to mobilize students in a massive and focused effort to empower orphaned and at-risk children in Honduras to reach their full potential."
This project consists of forty-four 22’x 28’ homes, each with three bedrooms, a central room, bathroom, and shower. The design of the homes and the entire village was based on drawings made by the villagers. The village will also include a community center usable for church gatherings or town meetings, land for farming and sustainable businesses, a well, a library, eco-friendly waste management system, electricity, and most importantly, a soccer field.
In order to sustain the home, a sister organization of SHH called the Central American Children's Institute (CeCI) has developed the "One Cup of Coffee" program. Members give $4 each month, or the cost of one cup of coffee that will go straight towards providing food, shelter, education and loving staff members for the children in our children’s home. Membership to this program is hoped to reach 500 donors by the end of the year.
Chapters are typically located on U.S. college campuses including:
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Honduras
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
. While the majority of its projects are centered on the peripheries of El Progreso
El Progreso
The municipality of El Progreso is located in the Honduran department of Yoro. Ramón Villeda Morales International Airport of San Pedro Sula is located west of the city. To the east of the city is the mountain range of Mico Quemado ....
, the organization engages in projects throughout all of Honduras.
Origin
Shin FujiyamaShin Fujiyama
Shin Fujiyama is a Japanese-American philanthropist who co-founded Students Helping Honduras. He graduated from the University of Mary Washington in 2007 with a Bachelor's degree in International Affairs and Pre-medicine. He and his sister, Cosmo Fujiyama, incorporated Students Helping Honduras in...
and his sister Cosmo Fujiyama
Cosmo Fujiyama
Cosmo Fujiyama is a Japanese-American philanthropist who co-founded Students Helping Honduras. She and her brother, Shin Fujiyama, created incorporated Students Helping Honduras in 2007 after visiting Honduras on a service learning trip...
first traveled to Honduras in the summer of 2004, volunteering on a mission
Mission (Christian)
Christian missionary activities often involve sending individuals and groups , to foreign countries and to places in their own homeland. This has frequently involved not only evangelization , but also humanitarian work, especially among the poor and disadvantaged...
trip organized by the Campus Christian Community of the University of Mary Washington
University of Mary Washington
The University of Mary Washington is a public, coeducational liberal arts college located in the city of Fredericksburg, Virginia, USA. Founded in 1908 by the Commonwealth of Virginia as a normal school, during much of the twentieth century it was part of the University of Virginia, until...
to help victims of poverty
Poverty
Poverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...
and domestic abuse. Shin met and grew close to the people of a squatter
Squatting
Squatting consists of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied space or building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have permission to use....
village called Siete de Abril (Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
for April 7th); the villagers, whose homes had been destroyed by Hurricane Mitch
Hurricane Mitch
Hurricane Mitch was the most powerful hurricane and the most destructive of the 1998 Atlantic hurricane season, with maximum sustained winds of 180 mph . The storm was the thirteenth tropical storm, ninth hurricane, and third major hurricane of the season. Along with Hurricane Georges, Mitch...
in 1998, named the village after the date on which their sudden homelessness forced them to establish it. Having bore witness to the harsh conditions in which the villagers and their children lived, Shin vowed to help them overcome poverty. The semester following his trip, Shin founded Students Helping Honduras (SHH) as an official student organization within his university, as did his sister who attended the College of William & Mary.
The organization, which began as a small group of students eager to help the siblings fulfill their mission, began to hold local events in an effort to raise funds. Their first walkathon
Walkathon
A walkathon , walking marathon or sponsored walk is a type of community or school fundraiser in which participants raise money by collecting donations or pledges for walking a predetermined distance or course...
, held in the spring of 2006, raised over $148,000 with the help of a matching grant
Matching funds
Matching funds, a term used to describe the requirement or condition that a generally minimal amount of money or services-in-kind originate from the beneficiaries of financial amounts, usually for a purpose of charitable or public good.-Charitable causes:...
from Doris Buffett, founder of The Sunshine Lady Foundation. Those proceeds allowed the students to travel back to Honduras and build a school with the villagers of Siete de Abril.
While constructing the school, a 10-year old girl named Carmen gave a handwritten letter to Shin. It expressed her dream in which, one day, every family in her village would live in a safer home. Shin, touched by the now iconic letter, once again mobilized his friends to fulfill her dream. Doris Buffett offered the students a second matching grant of $100,000, on the condition that the students raise that very amount by the end of the semester. The students reached out to friends from other college campuses including Virginia Tech and the University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
, both of which would establish chapters of SHH. The band of students raised $110,000 by the end of the semester, earning Buffett's matching grant for a combined total of over $210,000. With this money SHH was able to purchase a land title
Land registration
Land registration generally describes systems by which matters concerning ownership, possession or other rights in land can be recorded to provide evidence of title, facilitate transactions and to prevent unlawful disposal...
on which the villagers could live legally, and they had raised enough money to build one cinder block
Cinder block
In the United States, a concrete masonry unit – also called concrete block, cement block, and foundation block – is a large rectangular brick used in construction. Concrete blocks are made from cast concrete, i.e. Portland cement and aggregate, usually sand and fine gravel for high-density blocks...
house for each family from Siete de Abril.
Shin registered Students Helping Honduras as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization
Nonprofit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
in 2007, as advised by Dr. Gregory Stanton
Gregory Stanton
Gregory H. Stanton is the founder and president of Genocide Watch, the founder and director of the Cambodian Genocide Project, and the founder and Chair of the International Campaign to End Genocide...
, founder of Genocide Watch
Genocide Watch
Genocide Watch is an international organization based in the United States which attempts to predict, prevent, limit, eliminate, and punish genocide throughout the world through reporting, public awareness campaigns, and judicial or quasi-judicial follow-up...
. Today the organization hosts service trips throughout the year as part of its formal operations. Students and adults travel to Honduras in groups to assist with construction, build relationships with the local residents and witness the conditions in which they live. Respectively, these three activities facilitate most of the progress of the organization, by: (a) shortening the project completion time; (b) building trust and fidelity between the villagers and the organization; and (c) stoking passion within trip participants to support those villagers upon returning to the United States.
Evolution
Students Helping Honduras has restructured its governing body in at least two ways since its inception: it has rewritten its mission statementMission statement
A mission statement is a statement of the purpose of a company or organization. The mission statement should guide the actions of the organization, spell out its overall goal, provide a path, and guide decision-making...
and instituted a Student Board to represent the interests of student volunteers.
The original mission statement of SHH was stated as the following:
- Provide fundamental human needs to orphaned and impoverished children in Honduras. This includes, but is not limited to, educational opportunities, nourishment, access to adequate shelter, clean water, general livelihood, and a chance to participate in sports.
- Cultivate volunteerism, compassion, and global responsibility.
- Promote awareness of the condition in Honduras.
- Connect and mobilize students throughout the country utilizing the full range of today's technology.
The Board of Directors recognized that this mission statement lacked a vision that was specific enough to guide the actions of organization in a focused manner. They agreed to hone their mission statement and thus their operations toward the welfare of orphan
Orphan
An orphan is a child permanently bereaved of or abandoned by his or her parents. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents is called an orphan...
ed and at-risk children; hence the current mission statement of Students Helping Honduras is "to mobilize students in a massive and focused effort to empower orphaned and at-risk children in Honduras to reach their full potential."
Villa Soleada
SHH Women's Academy
SHH is providing girls from underprivileged communities and orphanages the opportunity to study at the best universities in Honduras. The program offers group housing and full scholarships to qualified candidates. Currently, four girls live in the house, and the number is expected to reach fifteen by 2012.La Ceiba Microfinance Institution
La Ceiba seeks to empower women in Honduras as they develop business plans, undergo training, and create their own businesses.Fuel-Efficient Cooking Stoves
These stoves significantly reduce the amount of indoor pollution in households utilizing traditional fuel stoves. This includes as smoke and carbon monoxide, the fourth leading cause of death for children under the age of five in developing countries. Through its efficient design, these stoves require only half of the amount of firewood compared to an ordinary stove and have significantly contributed to the health of villagers in Siete de Abril.Por Venir School
In 2008, SHH built a three room elementary school at the village of Por Venir that is currently enrolling nearly 150 children.Unidos Venceremos Elementary School
The families of Unidos Venceremos came together in 2007 to build a provisional, one-classroom school to educate their children. One teacher provides education to 30 children of all ages and grades. The growing community hopes to upgrade the school into a cinder block facility with a bathroom that will recycle rain water.La Nunez Elementary School
La Nunez elementary school has been in operation since 1998. Today, six teachers serve 150 children. Their current 3-classroom structure is made of rotting wood and tin. Their goal is to build a 3 classroom cinder block school. The families are extremely organized and have raised the funds to pay for a skilled mason to help with the construction.Rio Chiquito Elementary School
The Rio Chiquito Elementary School has been in operation since 2000. Six teachers serve 134 children in just two classrooms. With an increasing population in the area, Rio Chiquito is hoping to build 3 to 4 additional classrooms and refurbish the existing classrooms.Las Flores Elementary and Middle School
Las Flores elementary and middle school was founded in the 1960s in the deep banana fields of El Progreso. It serves more than 300 children from 7 surrounding villages. In response to the increase in the number of students recently, the families organized bake sales and penny drives to build four provisional classrooms. They hope to build walls for these open air classrooms to protect the children from rain, noise and gang members in the area. Las Flores is also hoping to build three new classrooms for the middle school.Villa Soleada Children's Home
SHH will be opening the Villa Soleada Children's Home in 2011. The project will provide shelter, food, education and a loving family to the orphaned and abandoned children in northern Honduras. Full fundung for the project has been reached and the home will open Fall 2011.In order to sustain the home, a sister organization of SHH called the Central American Children's Institute (CeCI) has developed the "One Cup of Coffee" program. Members give $4 each month, or the cost of one cup of coffee that will go straight towards providing food, shelter, education and loving staff members for the children in our children’s home. Membership to this program is hoped to reach 500 donors by the end of the year.
Volunteer Home
Upon its completion, this "hotel" in Villa Soleada will help house student volunteers of SHH. Along with housing the volunteers, this will provide a number of jobs to local people who will run the facility.Membership and Chapters
The membership of SHH consists of more than two thousand students, young professionals, and adults from fifteen states and twenty chapters.Chapters are typically located on U.S. college campuses including:
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