November 2008

Sorry, this year’s Exposure Tour to Honduras is full……..however…..

 Why not consider joining us next year when we travel to both Panama and Costa Rica to meet with our partners in both of these beautiful countries?

Again, spaces are limited, so please reserve your spot early.

Learn more!

What is an exposure tour?

An exposure tour is a unique opportunity to travel and learn about the culture, history, and social context of a developing country. This is an excellent opportunity for individuals who want to go beyond traditional tourism, and learn about community development and social justice. Delegates will travel throughout Honduras and meet directly with Horizons five Honduran partners to learn about the work that they are doing in their communities, and with other social justice organizations.  The trip also includes visits to important historical and cultural sites. In February 2009 the delegation will visit the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Copán, a major Maya kingdom of the Classic era (5th through 9th Centuries).  Copán is located in western Honduras in the Copan Department, near the Guatemalan border.

 Dates: February 18- 27, 2009

 The total cost of the tour is $3,000, (the price may  be ajusted if individuals sign-up AFTER December 15th and ticket prices have gone up) and includes:

¨ Round-trip airfare from Toronto

¨ All ground transportation in-country

¨ All accommodation and meals

¨ Translation

¨ Briefings on the country’s political and

    economic situations

¨ Meetings and activities with community members^.

¨ Visits to cultural and historical sites 

Horizons in Honduras

Horizons has been supporting projects in Honduras since 1973.  The work of these organizations include: disaster prevention, women’s rights, education, sus­tainable agriculture and micro-enterprise.

Simiente Foundation for Human and Community Development

Simiente Foundation, founded in 2001, works with marginalized communities in the southern part of Honduras on sustainable agriculture, small livestock production, gen­der equity, citizen participation and micro-enterprise initiatives for women.

Location: Tegucigalpa, Nacaome, Langue

Centre for Women’s Studies-Honduras
(CEM-H)

CEM-H is a feminist organization that pro­vides health services and promotes women’s rights through political, organizational, re-search, and communication actions. It pro-motes and strengthens women’s empower­ment to: a) reduce domestic violence; b) ob­tain respect concerning decisions about their own bodies; c) have access to pay and re-source equity; d) reduce poverty; and e) have equal opportunities to move into posi­tions of political influence.

Location: Tegucigalpa

Honduran Institute for Rural Development
(IHDER)

Since 1978, IHDER has worked with farmers’ groups, providing training in organization, admini­stration, agricultural technology and financial support for production activities. In the last sev­eral years, IHDER has expanded its mandate in one of its micro-regions to facilitate access to distance education at the secondary level. Location: San Pedro Sula

Garifuna Emergency Committee of Honduras
(CEGAH)

After the devastation of Hurricane Mitch in Hon­duras in 1998, CEGAH was founded among 16 rural Garifuna communities mainly affected by significant losses of crops, cattle and homes. With support from various sources, CEGAH helps poor communities to become self-sufficient and thriving. This support helps these communi­ties combat the poverty they face and to work towards sustainable development .

Location: Trujillo

For more information on the tour, please click here.

“Community Development in Rural Honduras: the positive after effects of Hurricane Mitch” 

 Through its incredible ability to motivate and organize, the Garifuna Emergency Committee of Honduras (CEGAH) is working with grassroots women to build resilient communities in order to foster sustainable economic development in disaster-hit areas in Honduras, and world-wide. Analucy Bengochea, the coordinator of CEGAH, will embark on a Canadian tour this week, giving presentations in Ottawa, Kingston, Cobourg, Toronto, Edmonton, and Yellowknife through Horizons of Friendship Community Outreach Program.  Analucy will be speaking publically in Edmonton and Yellowknife this coming week.    These are free events, and open to all community members who would like to attend.

CEGAH was created in response to Hurricane Mitch in 1998 and provides immediate disaster relief and support to communities in sustainable organic agriculture and reforestation.  They also work toward the preservation of the Garifuna way of life, a diverse culture that incorporates African traditions of music, dance, religious rites, and ceremonies; Native American cultivation, hunting, and fishing techniques; and a French and Arawak influenced language.  Garifuna communities are now found in Guatemala, Honduras and Belize, and the United States, and are direct descendants of the “Island Caribs”,  a group of African slaves who escaped two ship-wrecked Spanish slave ships near St. Vincent in 1635. 

Ms. Bengochea has over 15 years of experience as a community organizer within Garifuna communities, empowering women through income-generating projects and other community development activities.  The Garifuna Emergency Committee of Honduras is a member organization of GROOTS International, a global network of grassroots women’s organizations.  Through GROOTS, Ms. Bengochea has worked together with other organizations worldwide in disaster preparedness and response, has participated in Peer Exchanges with other grassroots groups, spoken at numerous UN conferences, and played a leadership role within GROOTS at the global level.  She has also participated in various global conferences as a result of winning the UNDP Equator Initiative Prize Finalist in 2004.  Ms. Bengochea has been a leader in bringing the voice of grassroots women and indigenous to the global stage, and through GROOTS Toronto, Ms. Bengochea will have the opportunity to travel to Edmonton and Yellowknife to share her experiences and knowledge with Canadian Indigenous groups working in community development and cultural preservation.

Those who would like to schedule an interview with Ms. Bengochea can contact:

Rachael Currie

Community Outreach Coordinator, Horizons of Friendship

Cell:  (905) 376-6643 

rcurrie@horizons.ca

Horizons of Friendship would like to acknowledge the generous support of the Rotary Club of Cobourg. 

Analucy Bengochea- “we realize that disaster can also bring development”

 Analucy Bengochea, Coordinator of Horizons partner organization, the Garifuna Emergency Committee of Honduras (CEGAH) will embark on a Canadian speaking tour in mid-November as a guest of Horizons of Friendship’s Community Outreach Program.  Analucy will share her experiences of working with grassroots women who are building resilient communities in order to foster sustainable economic development in disaster-hit areas in Honduras and world-wide.

CEGAH is an organization that was created in response to Hurricane Mitch in 1998.  The organization has provided immediate disaster relief and support to communities in sustainable organic agriculture and reforestation.  They also work toward the preservation of the Garifuna culture.  Ms. Bengochea has over 15 years of experience as a community organizer within Garifuna communities, empowering women through income-generating projects and other community development activities.  The Garifuna Emergency Committee of Honduras is a member organization of GROOTS International, a global network of grassroots women’s organizations.  Through GROOTS, Ms. Bengochea has worked together with other organizations worldwide in disaster preparedness and response, has participated in Peer Exchanges with other grassroots groups, spoken at numerous UN conferences, and played a leadership role within GROOTS at the global level.  She has also participated in various global conferences as a result of winning the UNDP Equator Initiative Prize Finalist in 2004.  Ms. Bengochea has been a leader in bringing the voice of grassroots women and indigenous to the global stage.

 The Garifunas are an afro-descendant population who face many of the challenges confronted by the poorest populations worldwide.  Speaking at the UN’s Commission on the Status of Women, Analucy said, “we realize that disaster can also bring development”.  Referring to the community development work of CEGAH, Analucy said, “Women and communities had to organize themselves in order to demand their rights and rebuild healthy communities”.

The organization now focuses on disaster prevention by mapping the vulnerabiiities and strengths of disaster-prone communities.  It has a long-term vision of environmental and cultural sustainability and connects with youth, local authorities and at-risk and marginalized communities. 

Analucy at the 2008 International AIDS Conference

For more information from the Huairou Commission about the Garifuna Emergency Committe, please click here .

To read about Analucy’s recent involvement in an historic peer exchange involving 26 women from Guatemala, Honduras, Belize,  Kenya and Uganda  please click here.