ABOUT
AMIGOS DE HONDURAS
Amigos de Honduras began in 1990. Joan Larimore, San Francisco del Valle, Ocotepeque 1986-88 ~ Enumclaw, Washington; Phyllis Bloch Shelton, San Juan Puebla, Atlántida 1986-88 ~ Portland, Oregon; and Marilyn Watts, Yoro, Yoro 1985-87 ~ Ocean Park, Washington, who had known each other as PCVs in Honduras, realized at the 1990 National Peace Corps Association conference in Eugene, Oregon, that in a sea of tables with signs such as “Friends of India” and “Friends of Peru,” there was no sign, no table for Honduras RPVCs.
Our Mission
Amigos de Honduras supports projects within Honduras that make a difference in the lives of the people who live there. Through the network of Returned Peace Corps Volunteers and collaborative partners, we make a sustainable difference in regions throughout the country while
maintaining communication and friendship with past and future RPCVs and staff.
Our Vision
The organization will provide support for small projects and collaborate with partners on larger projects to have a long term, measurable effect within Honduras and around regions and pueblos throughout the country. Amigos will share with our members news, stories from our Peace Corps days and publicize future reunions.
HISTORY.
History (From October 2013 Newsletter by Alan Waugh)
The three friends committed to organize an RPCV Friends of Honduras group. In 1995, with two of the group’s leaders facing personal challenges, Amigos de Honduras fell dormant. Hurricane Mitch trashed Honduras in the fall of 1998 prompting a number of Honduras RPCVs to e-mail, what can we do? Joan Larimore was catalyst once again, e-mailing a request for volunteers to revive Amigos. 135 RPCVs responded and several volunteered to take on specific tasks for the group. Peter Cooey, Orocuina, Choluteca 1966-68 ~ Sacramento, agreed to publish the newsletter, and Alan Waugh, San Pedro Sula, Cortés 1973-75 ~ Seattle, agreed to manage the database of Honduras RPCVs. Peter published a quick post-Mitch issue in December 1998 and then one more issue before being diagnosed with cancer. He died in 2003. Alan volunteered to take over editing & publishing the newsletter, and with the contributions of dozens of writers, sent issues to members’ mailboxes for 12 years.
CONTRIBUTORS.
Joan Larimore has done yeoman’s work over the years, as a founder of the organization, and ever since as master communicator with members; as treasurer: paying bills and accounting for our funds; and as printer: getting the newsletter reproduced and mailed. Alan Waugh assumed many roles: chair, newsletter editor and publisher, communicator with the National Peace Corps Association, organizer of dinners, database manager, liaison with the Amigos Grants committee, writer of annual reports. The Master List High kudos to Fred Corvi, Choluteca, Choluteca 1978-80 ~ San Jose, California for recognizing the importance of identifying all Honduras PCVs and staff over the last 50 years, and working during 2013 to find them and communicate with them in advance of the 2013 Colorado reunion.
