¡Bienvenidos!
My name is Rose Raderstorf and I am a junior at the University of Notre Dame. I spent the summer of 2011 participating in an International Summer Service Learning Program (ISSLP) through the Center for Social Concerns here at ND. I lived at the Finca del Niño, an orphanage in rural Honduras on the outskirts of a small town called Trujillo. The Finca is home to about 40 children who each have their own story about how they got there. Many of them were abused, neglected, and malnourished as young children. Some still have parents that cannot take care of them, some don't know who their parents are and never will. Several of the them have siblings with them at the Finca. Regardless of their story or situation, they are taken in by this community of Hondurans and volunteers that raises them to become strong Honduran citizens.
My primary job at the Finca was teaching. For the first half, I taught 7th, 8th, and 9th grade science as well as 8th grade English and Debate. The last half I taught Special Ed to students from all grades (1st through 9th). When I wasn't teaching, the niños were always looking for someone to take them swimming in the ocean, play fútbol, do arts and crafts, or just hang out. I learned more about the meaning of life chasing kids around a dusty soccer field than I ever imagined I could.
Honduras is a poor, developing country. Being in the rural part of this country magnified the effects of this poverty - the children who would come to school begging for water or food and the shoes they would wear with the soles worn through. It was a constant struggle to provide for many of our neighbors. And this is the life most of our kids living at the Finca came from.
Living at the Finca, and experiencing the rural Honduran community surrounding it, taught me so much about our world. I witnessed people giving all they could, knowing they had once been in their neighbor's position, and could very well be there again someday. Where there was a lack of material possessions, there was a wealth of faith and love. I learned what it means to be in poverty, what it means to persevere, what it means to be your brother's keeper, what it means to sacrifice, what it means to love until it hurts.
We talk a lot about all the things we need to change in our world, but there are stories of love, compassion, and success that need to be shared as well as well.
The Finca del Niño is one of them. It is my hope that in exploring this website, you may not only have a better understanding of the issues facing the people of Honduras, but also see the amazing things the Finca is doing for some of those hondureños.