Three Students Complete OYE Internships

DeAngela Alexander (Left), María Suyapa Reyes (Center), and Amy Williamson (Right)

Many thanks to DeAngela Alexander, María Suyapa Reyes, and Amy Williamson for their time and hard work as OYE interns. Read below for some thoughts the interns have left about their internship and time in Honduras.

"Some of the rewarding experiences that I gained while interning and living in Honduras were meeting so many inspiring and admirable Hondurans, becoming a part and truly embracing another culture, and working for an Organization that affects true change in the lives of Honduran youth. OYE is an organization that empowers youth to make changes in their lives and in the lives of their families and communities. I had the privilege of witnessing this first hand, and I will never forget how resilient and strong these Honduran youth are." -DeAngela Alexander, Mary Baldwin College Social Work Intern

"I feel so welcomed at all times. The people here are super friendly in a way you don't see in many places in America. Coming here I have learned so much about who I am. I have learned that I can live in a developing country and survive, people are willing to help you if you ask, and that patience really is a virtue. When I stepped off the plane, I was second guessing the decision and I honestly did not think I could live here. I hadn’t given the country a chance yet, and I was only judging by what I saw immediately around me. After 3 months of living it, breathing it in, seeing it, Honduras really is an amazing place and I can’t wait to come back!" -Amy Williamson, Mary Baldwin College Social Work Intern

"I'm done! I've loved my experience at OYE and working with the staff. My favorite thing at OYE has simply been sharing time with everyone and getting to make new friends. I've also enjoyed getting to know much more about the organization. It's not just about coming to OYE once every Saturday but spending each day year. That's how you can get an idea about what's going on. One can choose to give back or not, and I think you get to learn a lot just be being at OYE." -María Suyapa Reyes, UNITEC Intern

DeAngela’s Dish: Meet Oscar Ruben Suazo

By DeAngela Alexander

On February 4 2012, OYE held it’s first official meeting for its’ 55 scholarship recipients. Amongst the crowd of eager faces were three students who received a thunderous applause when their names were called from the roster. Nathaly Adilene Alberto Santos, Oscar Ruben Suazo Dominquez, and Samuel Adonay Reyes are the newest members to be join OYE.

This past week one of the OYE staff members had the opportunity to sit down and do a two part interview with Oscar Ruben Suazo Dominguez. This young man has a smile that lights up any room, and a calm demeanor that is very endearing. After explaining to Oscar how the interview process would work, he smiled from ear to ear with such delight. Oscar seemed excited to know that he would be featured on OYE’s blog.

Oscar is 12 years old and he attends Notre Dame. After being asked how he found out about OYE, he responded by saying that Fabiola Oro, one of the coordinators at OYE, referred him. Oscar and his mother Gloria are family friends with Fabiola and the rest of her family. Oscar’s favorite subject is natural science, and when he gets older he would like to be an architect. Oscar, like many of the kids his age, likes to play soccer, watch movies, paint, and make new friends in school. After speaking about all of the things he enjoyed the last thing he added was that he enjoyed studying as well.

Oscar was asked what he was looking forward to most when he came into the OYE office on Saturday. He said, after taking some time to think, that he is looking forward to the important “talks” he will have. He then went on to say that he is also looking forward to learning about new topics. Through OYE’s capacity building workshops Oscar will hear and learn about various social issues. After the interview Oscar politely got up from the Oro’s kitchen table, thanked me for interviewing him, and headed back home.

In the second part of the interview Oscar spoke about personal challenges, fears, wishes, and he ended the interview with a couple of words to describe himself. Being in his home this time giving the interview one could see that his mother Gloria was very proud of him. There were pictures from his graduation, medals that he had won, and various art projects hanging on the wall. Gloria smiled the whole time. Oscar, as he had done before, answered each question thoughtfully.

After being asked what he would wish for if someone granted him the opportunity to have just one, he said that he wished to go to college to study architecture. He also expressed a desire to work in another country. One of Oscar’s biggest fears is “not passing school.” It is safe to say that his education is very important to him. The next question was hard for Oscar to answer. When asked what the most difficult thing in his life was, he answered that it was not having a father around.

Despite not having a father present, Oscar seems to have a good outlook on life; he also has a clear direction of where he wants to go. The last question that was asked was “If you could use one word to describe yourself, what would that word be?” With little hesitation Oscar responded with “intelligent” and “friendly.” Although only one word was asked, one could not object to them both. Oscar is indeed a friendly individual with a bright future ahead of him.

DeAngela Alexander is an OYE intern and student at Mary Baldwin College.  

Ahern-Kerndt Visit to OYE in El Progreso

On Saturday, February 19th, OYE board chair Trish Ahern, her 87 year old mother, Pat Kerndt from Lansing, Iowa, her sister Gretchen Kerndt from Fairbanks, Alaska and Trish’s husband, Patrick Ahern visited the new OYE offices in El Progreso, Honduras. The new OYE office, which they are still moving into, is awesome!

They are in the same Eco Pasaje complex as the old offices, but they now have a stand-alone two story building that gives the needed space including a large plenary meeting place on the second floor and an ample conference/meeting room on the first floor. We were there on a Saturday, which is a training day and meeting day and the place was teeming with positive energy and enthusiasm. In the morning there were two groups in “self-esteem” workshops for scholarship students (becados) in 7th through 9th grades and in the afternoon there were another two workshops of the same for the high school and college becados.

Now the staff will be able to work in its own office-- which even has a reception area! At the same time there is a dedicated space and equipment for the becados working on the Jovenes magazine, another space for the sound studio of the radio program, room for the book club and study groups as well as the many other activities going on.

The visitors also spent time with the four Mary Baldwin Social Work students A’ra, Shawnay, Felicia and Shanee who are spending the semester at OYE. That evening the staff and the visitors had a wonderful dinner at Las Tejas in El Progreso.