M E D I A R E L E A S E
for immediate release: June 12, 2003
Horizons of Friendship Announces Exposure Tours to Costa Rica/Panama and Honduras. Horizons of Friendship announced two new Exposure tours today. The first will be a ten-day trip to Honduras to visit community development and women’’s human rights projects in November 2003. The second is a two-week, two-country tour of Costa Rica and Panama in February 2004.
Patricia Rebolledo, Executive Director of Horizons of Friendship, explained that these upcoming trips grew out of the popularity of their original exposure tour to El Salvador last January: “We had wanted to do something a little different for our 30th Anniversary in 2003 so we thought a trip to El Salvador with our supporters would be a great way of marking the occasion. It became apparent that our donors and others greatly appreciated the opportunity to see first hand the results of our community development projects so we hosted a second, smaller one to Nicaragua in March and are now planning a third and fourth to Honduras and Costa Rica/Panama.”
Jessica Farias, community outreach coordinator with Horizons of Friendship will be hosting the trip to Honduras. She explained that this excursion is a return to the organization’s origins.
“When this organization was founded by three Cobourg residents (Christine and David Stewart and Father Tim Coughlan) it was originally called the Help Honduras Foundation and grew out of their volunteer work in that country. In many ways this trip marks a return to these roots and for those who will be coming on this trip it will be a chance to see our traditional work in rural development, particularly agriculture projects, and our ongoing work around women’s issues.
The Honduras exposure tour will include visits to such world-class cultural sites as Copan (ancient Mayan ruins declared a UNESCO World Heritage site), national parks, and community projects in Tegucigalpa, Santa Barbara and San Pedro Sula. The cost for the trip is approximately $2,800 and includes airfare, ground transportation, accommodations, meals, airport taxes, and visa costs. Participation is limited and the deadline for reservations is June 30th.
The tour in February 2004 will coincide with International Development Week and will be jointly hosted by Patricia Rebolledo, Executive Director, and Horizons founder Father Tim Coughlan. Patricia commented “We are all very excited about this trip. It’s going to be a little different from our previous trips: the accommodations are going to be a little more comfortable, it’s going to involve a lot of travel and it will have a more cultural and environmental focus. As well, we are delighted that our founder and longtime mentor will accompany us. Not only will people have a chance to experience some truly beautiful natural wonders but they will also have an opportunity to do so with Father Tim Coughlan, one of Canada’s ‘originals’ of international development and international cooperation.”
Father Tim, who is a recipient of the YMCA International Peace Medal for his international volunteer work, described this tour as more of a look to the future following Horizons 30th anniversary: “Although Horizons of Friendship will always work on rural development and women’s issues, increasingly we find that our endeavours must also look to the protection of the environment and the preservation of indigenous cultures. This tour is going to allow our supporters and others to have a unique opportunity to see why that work is necessary.”
The two-week trip will be extensive. The itinerary includes visits to the Arenal Volcano, Monteverde Rainforest National Park, San Jose, organic coffee cooperatives and coastal and rainforest indigenous communities. Also to be visited will be the old colonial city of Panama, the Panama Canal and the Interamerican Cooperative Institute (an educational institute supported for many years by Horizons and known throughout Latin American for its excellent training programs in community development.). Given the substantial travel and higher-priced accommodation, the all-inclusive cost of the trip is $4,500 and reservations will be closed as of August 30th.
For more information or reservations on these upcoming exposure/reality tours please contact Katherine McMurdo/Executive Assistant or Jessica Farias/Community Outreach at Horizons of Friendship at 905-372-5483, toll-free at 1-888-729-9928, or by email at info@horizons.ca.
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Media inquiries: Jessica Farias, Community Outreach, 905-372-5483 ext. 24
