Honduras, San Pedro Sula – Global Village Assistant

Location: Habitat National Office in San Pedro Sula, Honduras with frequent travel to the affiliates
Term of Service: 6 months, beginning in May or early June

Summary: The volunteer will serve as a liaison between the volunteer groups that visit Honduras and the national office. We ask the volunteer to provide logistical support and a human dimension that the groups deserve for their noble decision to come to volunteer with Habitat for Humanity Honduras and the communities. We ask that the volunteer:

*Provide coordination support regarding all activities prior, during, and after the Global Village Team visit. These activities include: assist with arrival itineraries, reception at the airport, housing, food, purchasing of supplies, giving tours, and all hiring of services needed.
*Price the services that the group requires and/or for any related activities.
*Maintain a record of all visits, as well as a report and photographs from each period, which should be presented the 29th of each month.
*Administer the volunteer group evaluations at the end of the team’s visit.
*Report on both the quantitative and qualitative data from the evaluations
*Develop a testimonial report on the transformation and changes on their lifestyle of at least two families benefitted by Habitat for Humanity Honduras
*Accompany and work with the volunteer group at the work site for at least two days during their visit.
*Act as a tour guide to the volunteer group when necessary while the group travels to the affiliate location.
*Provide translation between the members of the group and the community.
*Manage the maintenance and good use of the institutional department materials, by doing a monthly inventory.
*Responsible for the reasonable use of the department equipment and vehicles, providing the usage guidelines when in use.
*Support the activities of media coverage, transporting them to the work sites to cover the events.

With the affiliates, the volunteer would be asked to:
*Aide the affiliates with the preparation and development of all activities related to having a volunteer group (agendas, dinners, activities, affiliates and dedications).
*Provide support regarding church relations, according to the affiliate’s programming.
*Assist the organization with logistical support for internal activities, and also when other departments of Habitat are involved (trainings, special programs, regional conferences, special events, etc).
*Support the formation and strengthening of the student chapters, according to the affiliate’s programming.

The Global Village is a Habitat program which organizes 1-3 week “working vacations” for groups who wish to help construct Habitat houses abroad.

This assignment will require a high availability to travel in country to seven affiliates often. The national office will cover the costs and traveling expenses of the volunteer for in-country, assignment-related travel.

Requirements: Fluent skills in English, intermediate skills in Spanish, outgoing, flexible, moderate experience with Microsoft Office (including PowerPoint), ability to interact with many different age groups and backgrounds.

Preferred Skills: Previous Habitat for Humanity involvement, moderate experience with photography, moderate experience with press releases, group management and team building skills, 4-year college degree, Adobe Photoshop, experience working in multi-cultural environments. Prefer a single volunteer without children due to traveling and lodging restrictions.

Support from Host Organization:
HFH will provide: office space; computer; housing in a furnished apartment or home stay close to the national office with water and electric up to $200; Habitat will cover the basic expenses while the volunteer is traveling with the Global Village teams

Volunteer Budget: Volunteers will be responsible for all costs associated with living in the host country. An estimate for a single individual is given below. (All figures in U.S. dollars.)

*Contact the nearest Honduran consulate for specific information regarding visas. Be sure to clarify what type of visa you will need (tourist/business, single or multiple entry), length of stay and what to do about visa extensions, if necessary.
** Habitat for Humanity Honduras will provide the volunteer with housing in a furnished apartment or home stay close to the national office with water and electric up to $200/month.

Description of Assignment Location: Habitat for Humanity Honduras has seven regional offices (www.gvhonduras.com) where the volunteer will travel in order to work with the teams, and the national office is located in San Pedro Sula. San Pedro Sula is the second largest city in Honduras, located in the northern part of the country. It is considered the industrial capital and was of big importance a long time ago with the banana business. Its population is around 800,000, and it is located in the Sula Valley. The whole year round it is pretty hot and humid, staying around 95-100. It is about a 1-hour drive away from the Caribbean Sea.

Our Habitat office is a friendly one, and we are just fifteen employees. The office has all the basic infrastructure and office supplies. The San Pedro Sula affiliate is located on the first floor of the building. Our office is pretty well located- close to downtown.

As far as dress code is concerned, we are not formal at all; the volunteer can come with cap, jeans, t-shirt, etc. For some reason, probably cultural, we do not wear shorts much when we go to the office, even though we live in really warm weather. People just do not use shorts except at the beach.

Additional Information: Must provide proof of valid MEDEX medical insurance, visa, passport, work permit (if necessary) and plane ticket for return trip home. Passport must be valid for at least six months past the return date. Each volunteer is responsible for obtaining visa entry information, although some assistance may be provided by national office.

Additional items to pack: all prescription medication, extra batteries, emergency contact phone/fax numbers in your home country, rain gear. Sunscreen, summer clothes and repellent against mosquitoes may be useful for the weekends. Please do not bring pets, as it will make it very difficult to find appropriate housing.

Honduras:

Geography: Honduras is the second largest country of Central America also is the most mountainous of the region, having 5 million hectares of protected rain forest.

Available Services: In larger cities you can get services like banks and ATMs, but traveler checks do not work. The common transportation is by bus and taxi. Taxis with no meter cost $2 USD per ride. Movies cost around $3 USD. Cokes cost $0.50 USD and a fancy meal would cost around $10 USD. If you want to go to a club you can expect to pay maybe $8 USD.

Safety and Security: Poverty, gangs, and low apprehension and conviction rates of criminals contribute to a high crime rate, including horrific acts of mass murder. Criminals and pickpockets also target visitors as they enter and depart airports and hotels, so visitors should consider carrying their passports and valuables in a concealed pouch. Two-man teams on medium-sized motorcycles often target pedestrians for robbery.  There have also been reports of armed robbers traveling in private cars targeting pedestrians on isolated streets. 

Travelers should always drive with their doors locked and windows rolled up to avoid potential robberies at traffic lights and other places, such as congested downtown streets.  Avoid driving at night.  All bus travel should be during daylight hours and on first-class conveyances, not on economy buses.  Please pick taxis carefully, and note the driver's name and license number.  Instruct the driver not to pick up other passengers, agree on the fare before you depart, and have small bills available for payment, as taxi drivers often do not make change.

Do not resist a robbery attempt.  Most criminals have weapons, and most injuries and deaths have resulted when victims have resisted. Do not hitchhike or go home with strangers, particularly from nightspots.  Whenever possible, travel in groups of two or more persons.  Use the same common sense while traveling in Honduras that you would in any high crime area in a large city. Do not wear excessive jewelry; do not carry large sums of money, nor display cash, ATM/credit cards, or other valuables you do not need. Avoid walking at night in most areas of Honduras. Do not hike alone in backcountry areas, or walk alone on beaches, historic ruins, or trails. (http://www.travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1135.html)

Cultural Insights: Honduras has been a young culture since the arrival of the Spaniards, until its independence in 1821. It has eight native ethnic groups spread out in the country. People are generally conservative. The holidays are based on the Roman Catholic tradition. The Honduran government has been a young democracy since 1981, and, before, it used to be run by military regimens. The local diet is based on corn, rice, beans, and tropical fruits, with the main exports being coffee, bananas, rambutan, chocolate, guaba, Tabasco and jalapeño pepper, shrimp, lobster, and garments.

Habitat for Humanity Honduras: Habitat for Humanity’s work in Honduras began in Santa Cruz de Yojoa, Cortés in the Yure River valley in 1988. As evidence of its growth, there are now five regional offices reaching more than 50 communities.

The houses consist of two bedrooms, a living-dining room, a kitchen with a breakfast counter, and a toilet. The walls are made of concrete block reinforced with steel, and the roof is made of corrugated aluminum-zinc sheets. The houses feature shutter windows and polished concrete floors.

Families are offered two house models, one measuring 48 m2 and the other 36 m2. The first model has been used for almost 14 years, and the second was recently introduced with great success, as it allows Habitat to reach families with even lower incomes.

Housing Needs: Honduras is one of the poorest countries in the Western hemisphere. Before 1998, Honduras had shown moderate economic growth as a result of government reforms. Nevertheless, after losing US$3 billion due to Hurricane Mitch, Honduras’ economy is still in the process of recovery. The agriculture sector, responsible for most exports, was the worst affected. Mitch also caused more than 6,000 deaths and left 8,085 missing and 75,000 homeless.

After the Hurricane Mitch tragedy, the housing deficit percentage increased from 63.1 percent in March 1998 to 65.9 percent in March 1999, representing an increase of 165,000 houses. According to reports published in 1999, 66 percent of the houses in Honduras are considered deficient.

A deficient Honduran house is made of cardboard and plastic, with four to ten people living in a single room. Due to poor sanitary conditions, cases of diarrhea and dysentery, among other diseases, are very common.

APPLY NOW
BACK TO VOLUNTEER POSITIONS