We started our morning with Norma, the school principal. She gave us a very good overview of the history and programs at the institute. She has been with the organization for 34 years after starting with them and planning to stay for only a few months. She shared many stories of the children and some of the success stories of those who truly had their lives changed by the opportunity El Hogar gave them. Some very inspiring stories in a very challenging environment.

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 It was off to tour the campus in Amarateca as the students have returned from the weekend. School is Monday to Friday and we visited several of the classrooms including electrical, welding, woodworking and computers. All classes are accredited in Honduras except computers. They are currently working with the government. It's a lengthy process and they are currently in year two of that endeavour. The teachers and students did a great job of showing us their shops and some of the projects they are working on. They ranged from new prototype residential setups to wire homes to building new furniture for the school (desks and chairs). We also saw some lovely welded artwork they sell to raise funds for the school. 

One of the electrical instructors is female and has been with the organization several years.  She is a great role model for the girls taking the electrical course.

Terry tried his skills at some welding and impressed the kids!

This was eclipse day and after our tours, we took some time to watch the eclipse (yes, with proper glasses that we brought down and shared with the students). Sky was clear and Honduras experienced about 30% coverage. Not as lucky as our friends and family in Southern Ontario, but it was still exciting to see. 

The glasses were shared with all the classes and they were as impressed as we were being able to see as well as we did, such a historic moment.

After lunch, we spent time with two students who shared their stories of their journey at El Hogar. It was a very open discussion as they shared many details of their past. El Hogar has definitely given them "love and hope" as they look forward to their next endeavours in life. Both were senior students that will be graduating this year and both hope to get to university. We asked many questions including their thoughts about the future of Honduras. Although they remain guarded, they felt the technical and social skills they learned will help them be a positive force in making Honduras a place to call home. 

After the talk, school classes were over and we were treated to a walk home with three of the students. We made stops at two homes in the local villages. When we made it home, we spent time with the residential boys playing basketball (and some of us had some downtime after a busy day. Dinner was excellent as usual and after cleaning up, we were allowed to use the auditorium to have a games night with many of the residential boys. We enjoyed crafts, puzzles, artwork, juggling and some games of UNO. We ended our evening with reflection on the full day we had. Lot's to think about!