November – December 2017

This trip was planned as a joint trip for the 2017-2018 Fuerza para el Futuro (Force for the Future teen leadership program) and the final push for Norris Cotton Cancer Center’s research project to mitigate pesticide exposure for farming families. The team included two regular ACTS volunteers as team leaders, six Dartmouth College students and alumni, and two driver/interpreters.

The trip coincided with the Honduran presidential election. As predicted, the urban unrest during this highly controversial and high-stakes election, was largely unseen in the area of El Rosario. The 10-person team was able to accomplish all planned activities including teens designing and presenting skits and posters about safe storage and use of agricultural chemicals in Chacuite and Carrizalito. The teens also learned about and practiced personal presentation when applying for jobs and how to present one’s self in a resume.

This crew is cutting trees to make it possible to string electrical power to the more distant communities.

Onsite in Chacuite, the Fuerza team is educating local residents about how to mitigate their own exposure to agricultural chemicals.

Using a fluorescent flashlight and “invisible” dye, we demonstrate how liquid from a backpack sprayer, normally filled with pesticides, can splatter all over the operator.

This group of women and children in an indigenous village have few latrines and poor access to family planning — connecting them to ACTS services is a priority.