Tribune Review covers Scouts' Pro Papa trip

Ligonier Scouts to help build home for Honduran family

article by A.J. Panian, published Monday, June 16, 2008

Tepid rivers and streams teeming with raw sewage, barely passable dirt roads and innumerable cases of liver cancer, malnourishment and abject poverty are just some of the memories embedded in Jeff Hutchinson's mind since his 2005 voyage to the Central American country of Honduras.

"That experience completely overwhelmed me, just seeing how much human need there was there," said Hutchinson, 50, of Rector, who joined members of PRO-PAPA Honduras, a nonprofit foundation, on a medical brigade to the cities of El Progreso, Yoro and San Pedro Sula.

"Traveling there again is something I want to share firsthand with my Scouts."

On Sunday, Hutchinson - leader of Ligonier Boy Scout Troop 372 - will embark with several Scouts, including his two sons, 20-year-old Zakary, an assistant Scoutmaster, and 16-year-old Dakota, on an eight-day trip known as "Scouts to Honduras."

Unlike Hutchinson's prior mission, when he worked in a nutrition center with malnourished children, the group will work with a construction brigade in the town of Urraco Pueblo, Yoro, with a goal of building a concrete-block, tin-roof house for a family in need.

"It was tough, being a father and all, and being around all those kids in bad shape. I didn't want to take my sons on that type of mission. This is a little more laid back," Hutchinson said. That's not to say the job will be easy.

To take the trip, Hutchinson and his group are responsible for raising about $3,500 to pay for construction materials for the house. The group has received help from Kelly McCoy, owner of The Paper House & Basketry in Ligonier, who has collected donations for the cause.

"We have about $700 to go," said Hutchinson, adding that the group is responsible for all travel costs. The group members have applied for and acquired passports from the U.S. Embassy in Honduras. They have received vaccinations for hepatitis A and B and typhoid and must ingest pills to prevent malaria.

While in Urraco Pueblo, the group will sleep on floor mats in a dormitory with no air conditioning or hot water. Cell phone use is prohibited so as not to offend the needy the group is there to help.

All food, security and other logistical needs for the group will be directed by Sister Laurinda Mayer, the international representative for both PRO-PAPA Honduras and PRO-PAPA Missions America, also a nonprofit foundation.

Benigno Ramirez, PRO-PAPA Honduras construction field director, will oversee the group as they build a house that will be a dramatic improvement over where the family is living now.

"There are people living down there in cardboard boxes. I know we've got that going on right here in the U.S., but you've got a far greater majority living that way down there," said William Swope, construction brigade director for PRO-PAPA Missions America. "The purpose of our missions is to help what we call the poorest of the poor."

Once the house is built, the group will gather with the receiving family for a blessing ceremony. "It is very touching and very emotional for a family who considers this to be a miracle from God that someone has cared enough for them to build a home for them," said Mayer, adding that the family will help pay what it can to help replenish PRO-PAPA funds for future projects.

Hutchinson's brigade is the ninth to visit Honduras this year for missions related to construction, health and education. Over the last 20 years, about 200 houses have been constructed for poor families there. "I've been pretty fortunate living in the United States, and I want to be able to share that with the less fortunate in a different country," Zakary Hutchinson said.

A Volunteer's Experience

While working in Honduras in 2005, I found my heart touched by a little girl named Maria. I was working for Friends of Los Ninios, at their nutrition center, and their children's home, Hogar Suyappa, Maria was one of the malnourished children at the center. She was pouting in the corner of the room, so I coaxed her over to sit on my lap. I wanted to cheer her up. From that moment on, she would not let go of me. The staff noticed this. This prompted a great deal of concern. They knew my journey to them began from a desire for my wife and I to adopt a child. This was going to make my departure difficult. Adoption from Honduras is impossible. When I left, I asked if Sheryl and I could sponsor her if she was moved to the Hogar. I was informed that she was going to a foster home. I would never see her again, and there was no way to keep contact with her.

I returned to Honduras in June of 2008 on our Scouts to Honduras Mission. We were building a home for Pro-Papa. on our day off, we took a tour of Hogar Suyappa. The children were settling down to eat lunch. I saw a cute little girl, and thought I recognized her. I was told her name was Lupe, and that she had only been there for a year. I heard a child behind me call her Maria. I yelled stop at the top of my lungs. the room fell quiet. I asked if someone could tell me the little girl's full name. It all suddenly sank in. One of the staff members told me her name was Maria; Lupe was just a nickname. I immediately picked her up and held her. She pointed to me and said to the other children, "mi hermanno, mi hermanno" (my brother, my brother). We want to help her, but there is not much we can do. She is happy, and well cared for by my dear friend Lucy, who runs the Hogar. What I can do is continue to try to help Honduras' poor, through Pro Papa.

Thank you to Jeff Hutchinson for sharing his experience.