#ucucrowdfunding

[empowerhonduranyouth-blog]

Last week we had our first promotional event to raise money and awareness for our upcoming campaign. Thanks to all of the support we were able to sell nachos while as a study break during mid-terms. We spoke to many of our fellow students giving them an update on all of the work we have been doing. Thank you to all of the supporters! Can’t wait to show everyone the movie and launch the campaign very soon!

[empowerhonduranyouth-blog]

Update #2! The Juan Pablo II Centre

Last Friday we went to El Paraiso, a small town not far from Tegucigalpa. We visited the Juan Pablo II detox centre run by Nico Parasmo, an Italian educator who has lived in Honduras for more than 5 years. The peculiarity of the rehabilitation centre is that it is the only free working centre in Honduras, and it can host a maximum of 8 patients for a 1 year program. Juan Pablo II is funded partially by the Church, private investors and the Honduran government, however Nico is aiming to make the centre totally self-sustainable, by selling coffee and beans grown by the people working there. The typical routine of every patient starts at 6am, the first hour of the day is dedicated to having breakfast and exercise. In the morning each patient has a specific task to do: fertilize and cultivating the soil, watering plants, taking care of the centre, cleaning or cooking. The lunch is at midday, the boys work until 3pm, and then they have free time to read, watch television, play football or just chill together. Rules might seem incredibly strict but this is necessary to make the centre extremely efficient. The success rate of Juan Pablo II is 4 times higher than every other detox centre in Italy (2% against 8%). Nico has done a great job so far helping youth in Honduras and we are sure he will keep it up in the future! A few of the boys from Casa Domingo have been rehabilitated by the centre and its success and efficiency have greatly inspired Andrea and the Casa Domingo project.