Honduras, San Pedro Sula – Global Village Assistant

Position #: 2022b
Position Title: Global Village Assistant
Location: Habitat national office in San Pedro Sula, Honduras
Term of Service: Six months, beginning in February/March 2007

Position Summary: This position reports to the Global Village (GV) coordinator. This position is responsible for supporting the GV coordinator and hosting some of the GV teams coming to Honduras. The volunteer will work with and communicate with affiliate coordinators and staff; work with the team at the build site at least the first day and introduce the team to the masons and families; receive GV teams and orient them to the country including safety, culture, build site and Habitat for Humanity; help coordinate logistics for the team prior to arrival including food, lodging and transportation; help with various emergencies that may arise including illness, accidents, contacting MedEx insurance and coordinating with the closest health center; give evaluations to the team and do a summary; and send follow-up material to the volunteers after they’ve left the country. The volunteer will work closely with our accounting office and also work closely with the team to assure their needs are being met.

This position will require frequent travel in country to seven affiliates. The national office will cover the costs of assignment-related travel.

Requirements: Fluent written/oral skills in English, intermediate written/oral skills in Spanish, moderate experience with digital cameras, good interpersonal skills and moderate experience with Microsoft Office (including PowerPoint) software. Must be single or a couple without children.

Preferred Skills: It is preferred that the volunteer will have a four-year college degree, basic skills in French, moderate experience with volunteer management, experience working with Adobe and Web site design, basic experience with masonry and laying bricks, public speaking and reporting skills, ability to interact with many different age groups, and experience working in multicultural environments with people from different backgrounds.

Support from Host Organization:
HFH will provide: office space; computer; housing in a furnished apartment close to the national office with all the utilities; cell phone; and orientation and travel to the seven affiliates in order to get to know all the offices and providers of services. Habitat will cover the expenses while the volunteer is traveling with the GV teams.

Volunteer Budget: Volunteers will be responsible for all costs associated with living in the host country. An estimate for a single individual is given below. (All figures in U.S. dollars.)

*Contact the nearest Honduran consulate for specific information regarding visas. Be sure to clarify what type of visa you will need (tourist or business, single or multiple entry), length of stay and what to do about visa extensions, if necessary.
** Habitat for Humanity Honduras will provide the volunteer with housing while not with a team, including utilities.

Description of Assignment Location: Habitat for Humanity Honduras has seven regional offices (www.gvhonduras.com) where the volunteer will travel in order to work with the teams. The national office is located in San Pedro Sula. San Pedro Sula is the second largest city in Honduras, located in the northern part of the country. It is considered the industrial capital and, at one time, was an important center of the banana trade. Its population is around 800,000, and it is located in the Sula Valley. The whole year round it is pretty hot and humid, staying around 95 degrees to 100 degrees. It is about a one-hour drive away from the Caribbean Sea.

Our Habitat office is a friendly one, with just 15 employees. The office has all the basic infrastructure and office supplies. The San Pedro Sula affiliate is located on the first floor of the building. Our office is pretty well located close to downtown.

As far as dress code is concerned, we are not formal at all; caps, jeans, T-shirts, etc., are acceptable. We do not wear shorts much when we go to the office, even though we live in a warm climate. In general, Hondurans only wear shorts at the beach.

Additional Information: The volunteer must provide proof of valid MedEx medical insurance, visa, passport, work permit (if necessary) and plane ticket for the return trip home. Passport must be valid for at least six months past the return date. Each volunteer is responsible for obtaining visa entry information, although some assistance may be provided by the national office.

Additional items to pack: all prescription medication, extra batteries, emergency contact phone/fax numbers in your home country, rain gear. Sunscreen, summer clothes and repellent against mosquitoes may be useful for the weekends. Please do not bring pets, as it will make it very difficult to find appropriate housing.

Honduras:

Geography: Honduras is the second largest country in Central America, and is also the most mountainous, with 5 million hectares of protected rain forest.

Available Services: In larger cities you can find services like banks and ATMs, but travelers’ checks are generally not accepted. The common transportation is by bus and taxi. Taxis with no meter cost US$2 per ride. Movies cost around US$3. Cokes cost US$0.50 and a fancy meal would cost around US$10. If you want to go to a club you can expect to pay about US$8.

Safety and Security: Poverty, gangs, and low apprehension and conviction rates of criminals contribute to a high crime rate, including horrific acts of mass murder. Criminals and pickpockets also target visitors as they enter and depart airports and hotels, so visitors should consider carrying their passports and valuables in a concealed pouch. Two-man teams on medium-sized motorcycles often target pedestrians for robbery. There have also been reports of armed robbers traveling in private cars targeting pedestrians on isolated streets.

Travelers should always drive with their doors locked and windows rolled up to avoid potential robberies at traffic lights and other places, such as congested downtown streets. Avoid driving at night. All bus travel should be during daylight hours and on first-class conveyances, not on economy buses. Please pick taxis carefully, and note the driver’s name and license number. Instruct the driver not to pick up other passengers, agree on the fare before you depart, and have small bills available for payment, as taxi drivers often do not make change.

Do not resist a robbery attempt. Most criminals have weapons, and most injuries and deaths have resulted when victims have resisted. Do not hitchhike or go home with strangers, particularly from nightspots. Whenever possible, travel in groups of two or more persons. Use the same common sense while traveling in Honduras that you would in any high-crime area in a large city. Do not wear excessive jewelry; do not carry large sums of money, nor display cash, ATM/credit cards, or other valuables you do not need. Avoid walking at night in most areas of Honduras. Do not hike alone in backcountry areas, or walk alone on beaches, historic ruins, or trails. (http://www.travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1135.html)

Cultural Insights: Honduras has been a young culture since the arrival of the Spaniards, until its independence in 1821. It has eight native ethnic groups spread throughout the country. People are generally conservative. The holidays are based on the Roman Catholic tradition. The Honduran government has been a young democracy since 1981, and, before, it was run by military regimens. The local diet is based on corn, rice, beans, and tropical fruits, with the main exports being coffee, bananas, rambutan, chocolate, guava, Tabasco and jalapeño peppers, shrimp, lobster, and garments.

Habitat for Humanity’s work in Honduras began in Santa Cruz de Yojoa, Cortés, in the Yure River valley in 1988. As evidence of its growth, there are now five regional offices reaching more than 50 communities.

The houses consist of two bedrooms, a living-dining room, a kitchen with a breakfast counter, and a toilet. The walls are made of concrete block reinforced with steel, and the roof is made of corrugated aluminum-zinc sheets. The houses feature shuttered windows and polished concrete floors.

Families are offered two house models: one measuring 48 square meters and the other 36 square meters. The first model has been used for almost 14 years, and the second was recently introduced with great success, as it allows Habitat to reach families with even lower incomes.

Honduras is one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere. Before 1998, Honduras had shown moderate economic growth as a result of government reforms. Nevertheless, after losing US$3 billion due to Hurricane Mitch, Honduras’ economy is still in the process of recovery. The agriculture sector, responsible for most exports, was the worst affected. Mitch also caused more than 6,000 deaths and left 8,085 missing and 75,000 homeless.

After the Hurricane Mitch tragedy, the housing deficit percentage increased from 63.1 percent in March 1998 to 65.9 percent in March 1999, representing an increase of 165,000 houses. According to reports published in 1999, 66 percent of the houses in Honduras are considered deficient.

A deficient Honduran house is made of cardboard and plastic, with four to 10 people living in a single room. Due to poor sanitary conditions, cases of diarrhea and dysentery, among other diseases, are very common.

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