Arriving at NPH Honduras

 

We arrived at NPH Honduras Saturday late afternoon and were welcomed by the volunteer coordinator, Sara, and the three volunteers that arrived ahead of us. We were shown our accommodations which are fairly large dorm-style rooms, each with its own bathroom and shelves. There is a common kitchen, library, and laundry area for the volunteers. We were delighted to see an actual washing machine!  We just barely had time to start cleaning and organizing our room when we heard music nearby. We followed it to find the Saturday evening mass which was in a covered arena-type area outside of the church. I am guessing that the church may be a little too small for the group that attended which was just the kids and their caretakers. Apparently on Wednesday morning there is a much bigger mass with much of the other support staff here. A big storm during mass shook the rafters and took out the electricity. NPH has generators which kicked in so that the PA system functioned enough to finish mass. Unfortunately, the wifi system was also taken out and remained nonfunctional until Monday mid-morning.

NPH Rancho Santa Fe Welcome Sign

                                                The Volunteer Building

                                                "New Volunteers" Exploring the Ranch

                                                                Part of the Farm

This location is called Rancho Santa Fe and is a large ranch about an hour northeast of Tegucigalpa. We are just beginning to explore it with our daily walks. A large number of buildings are spread out around the grounds which are several square miles. Homes for the children, a large school, visitors center, clinic, and co-located surgical facilities are some of these in addition to a farm, kitchen, administrative buildings, etc. We had all day Sunday to settle in, explore, and sample the cafeteria cuisine. We are fed 3 meals a day (same as the kids) and can supplement with snacks we can buy on our every other weekend off. The Ranch seems like a little town all by itself. It is quiet and rural compared to the nearness of shops and restaurants in Copan. It is also much higher and cooler than Copan and we are enjoying this coolness, especially at night.

For the next two weeks, we have a full calendar of training, tours, and other activities to familiarize our new volunteer group of 8 (Allen and 7 chicas 😊) with NPH and how it works. Then we will have two more weeks of on-the-job training at our specific tasks. At the end of the month, we should be full speed into our new tasks and routines.