Olancho Aid Foundation Inc

Son jovenes dignos de admirar por su gran trabajo, por su dedicación y su esfuerzo para dar un buen aporte a nuestra sociedad

I have worked on OAF educational and water projects with volunteer teams since 2011. It is an organization which serves to meet the Immediate needs of the community through clean water and food relief projects & for the future through educational opportunities that include those with special needs.

I have 10+ years experience with Olancho Aid. One of the things I like most about this foundation is that they help students with special needs. The Nazareth School gives special needs students an opportunity to learn, grow, and make friends. This type of opportunity is not provided by the public school system in Honduras. Thanks to Olancho Aid, these special students are not excluded from education and development.

Olancho Aid Foundation has been a pillar of the Juticalpa community for many years. I have watched this organization grow, change the lives of many children & their families, and pivot as needed throughout the pandemic. OAF has continued to prioritize education, community needs, & the Catholic faith. And in doing so, has brought in resources and programs that support the people of Juticalpa and their needs.

The Olancho Aid Foundation works to help families stay well, stay together and have an option to stay home in Honduras. It is unique as its donor trust the foundation to choose the projects that will bring the most benefit to families, and its Honduran team will make it happen.

I have served on the board of many other organizations, this one has the greatest day to day impact.

Being part or Olancho Aid has been an amazing experience for me for the young adults that I have brought down over a dozen times. Not only is it great for those that go to serve - what OAF does for those that they serve and minister to each day is nothing short of a miracle.

Took myself & my 2 daughters, that were in high school, to Honduras on the mission trip w/ St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church. What a great experience & to meet all of the people who live there. They were so humble & kind. We helped build a school that needed so much work and got to visit the special needs school. They were so greatful! I got so much more out of this trip than the work! Can wait to go back!
Susan Templet
Praireville, LA

I worked with Olancho Aid for almost a year as an ESL teacher. They are such an incredible organization that does amazing things for the community!

I've been connected to Olancho Aid for thirty years now and my respect and admiration have grown with each passing year. Padre Ricardo set the process in motion with his unwavering love for and devotion to the children and families of Olancho. My brother's name is on a plaque at the chapel at Nazareth School, which provides a quality education and wide-ranging support for children with cognitive challenges. Every aspect of this enterprise is based on community, relationships, and connection, excellence, best practices, expertise, and professionalism, fiscal responsibility, and most important of all, compassion and regard for the God-given dignity of each individual.

I know that every cent I donate is used well and that the amazing people, programs, and projects at Olancho deserve support. It is an outstanding example of love in action that leads to genuine opportunity and empowerment.

This organization efficiently and effectively runs many programs helping those most in need in Central America, including the Nazareth School, educating children with special needs who otherwise would have few opportunities for education.

I have 8 years of experience and shared love and service with Olancho Aid Foundation. Years ago a young Honduran boy with a chronic disease came into our lives as he sought medical treatment in the U.S. Thanks to Olancho, after he was able to get through a dozen serious surgeries and return to Honduras, he entered Cardenal Rodriguez and although it took years he was able to graduate, having learned so much and received endless loving kindness from every single person connected with Olancho. When we were fundraising in the state of Washington, we had the pleasure of meeting Rob and Carlos. For many years the scholarship director, Wendy Varela, served as counsel, friend and advisor to us and to our students. We could not have managed without her and Olancho. We are forever grateful to Olancho and know that it provides the opportunity for education and an improved way of life to wonderful Honduran children. Best wishes y gracias!

This is a beautiful organization that provides hope for the poorest people through education and love! You really do make a difference with this organization!

High heels in Honduras
By Monica P Flood
Prairieville, Louisiana

Through the hole in the roof…

The bugs scurried in.

The wet trickled in.

The dust swirled around carelessly.

A unpleasant carpet of dirt and grime replaced the students that once gathered here eager to learn.

Poverty can be shaming.

People are afraid to look it in the eye because it’s too real - too immensely painful.

Poverty calls us to pay attention and act.

I said yes because I wanted my friend to stop badgering me. She went on and on, “You need to come. It’s life changing. Everyone should do it once.”
“Okay,” I thought,
“I can do about anything once, right?”

Every day when I get out of bed I follow two rules to help set my day off to a positive start. Exercise, watch your carbs, and wear heels. Okay, so maybe that’s three.

I’m a big believer that what you put inside yourself is what you give back to the world.

I have a lot of blessings: warm house, nice car, food on the table, supportive friends and family, (mostly) good genes.

I appreciate the numerous gifts I enjoy. I feel this beckons me to contribute where there is need.

Mission work appealed to my desire to be part of a force bigger than just me. I showed up and others showed up too. Soon me transformed into we.

We helped replace the roof on the falling down classroom.

We hauled away the debris. We pulled weeds. We painted walls. We climbed mountains. We gathered supplies. We talked. We prayed. We laughed. We cried. We cheered each other on. We held each other up. It works because we are stronger together.

For a brief moment in time we embrace the reality of Honduran life in which over half the people live below the poverty line. During our stay we reside in a community where time seemingly stands still. (No worrying about traffic jams, depleted phone batteries, rushing to the next appointment, or waiting in line at Starbucks.) We stand hand in hand and heart to heart. We are as one. Reaching out as a united strength to make a difference-to spread God’s guiding light of love.

I thought this was for the people of Honduras but I discovered it was for me.

It was a profound lesson in the unity love radiates-in being part of something mysterious, immeasurable, and more meaningful than I alone could ever achieve. It was an experience of shared humanity that binds us together-to give of ourselves, our time, our talents, our blessings and our shared compassion for one another. We discovered we are more alike than different and we belong to each other. Do something. Reach out. Show up to help and you will help yourself become a difference maker. (Heels optional, of course)




Lagniappe (as we say in Louisiana, a little something extra):
If you put me in a line up- with my snuggly fit dress, long-flowing, auburn hair, strategically placed make-up, and celebrated heels, you would certainly vote me most likely NOT to go on a mission trip. (especially one involving a rustic camp like setting) But I have been blessed with an enormous array of beautiful souls in my life who are immensely caring and give endlessly of their time and talent. They are friends, family, teachers, artists, priests, deacons, and spiritual role models for me. These remarkable people showed they lovingly cared through example, not words, and I learned by silently watching them in utter amazement. Thank you for repeatably being patient with me and gently encouraging me to steadily blossom. At times my journey has been laced in painful, snail paced, backward shuffles but you never gave up your encouragement and hopefulness. You continually cheered me on with love and beckoned me strive for progress not perfection. May what you choose to do continue to be a lasting inspiration to others as you, gratefully, have been to me.

This is one of the greatest organizations I have ever had the opportunity to work for. Incredible people devoted to serving those in need in Honduras. Can not wait to go back.

Olancho Aid is a phenomenal organization that works to build education, hope, and transformation in Olancho. I've been fortunate enough to volunteer with Olancho Aid for almost ten years, and the organization cares so deeply about its staff and the people they serve. Olancho Aid has changed me for the better & had such a positive impact on my life!

Just over ten years ago I volunteered as a teacher with the Olancho Aid Foundation at one of their schools in Olancho. During this time I was able to witness first hand the good work they were doing in education, empowering those with mental differences, and employing many local residents of Olancho. Since returning home I have kept up with the work of the OAF and am happy to see how they have sustained their efforts and expanded into other projects such as providing clean water to communities in need. Knowing that the OAF is doing such good work is what keeps me supporting them. I hope you will too.

A true life changing experience, provided to some of the poorest, yet lovely Honduran people, especially children, helping them learn and grow in a safe and faithful environment.

Olancho Aid is an amazing organization that helps the children most in need in Juricalpa and the surrounding community. Children from all backgrounds and abilities were provided with the education they need to develop into productive citizens. As a volunteer there in 2007 I was saw firsthand how dedicated and giving the whole organization was. Olancho Aide is a bright light in a poor and struggling city.

I took my son in the summer of 2018 to work with Olancho Aid in Honduras. He was 15 years old at the time. Seeing the joy of the people of Olancho and being able to help them really shaped his world view. Jeremy is a better person for being down there and Olancho Aid provided us that opportunity.

What a blessing has been Olancho Aid for our community. This year I graduated from Instituto Bilingüe Santa Clara, two years ago I had the opportunity to go to Erie, Pennsylvania and study for my TOEFL exam. Thanks to Olancho Aid and their donors. Just like me there are a lot of kids that have been helped by this fundation.

Olancho aid is the family that saw my growing physically and intellectually, it’s my second home ...Olancho Aid always give support to those who need. it’s an institution that helps to make a better society.

I have seen first hand that the work of Olancho Aid Foundation has a deep impact on those in the community of Juticalpa and surrounding areas.

Olanchoaid aid provides teenagers and kids great education and opportunities to develop themselves, all within a welcoming bilingual environment.

I had the privilege of volunteering with OAF in 2016. I loved teaching second grade at Santa Clara school and working in the Olancho Aid main office.

A very worthwhile and honest charity that provides an excellent education for Honduran children

I sponsored two children after my niece and her family became involved with Olancho. My niece sponsored a child several years ago who needed a surgery in the US, and the child and her mom stayed with my niece in the US. They have remained in contact with the family ever since and later did a charity drive to help the mother finance building her own home in Honduras. My experience has also been great with personal letters from the children and videos from the staff. It is obvious to me that this organization is making a big difference in the lives of the families they are touching.

Olancho Aid Foundation is helping Hondurans where it matters most. Their clean water initiatives and bilingual schools are transforming lives and neighborhoods.

I have been involved with Olancho Aid since before it was officially incorporated. Next March I will be leading a team of 18 volunteers (we all pay our own way) for my fifteenth year! We have a large group of medical personnel and we will run medical clinics in the mountain villages. Other team members do construction work in the schools and in the past we have had educators working in the school along side the regular teachers. We can not say enough good about Olancho Aid. We have watched it grow while always adhering to their principles of Education, Hope and Transformation. We are in awe of what they have done to improve the educational system as well as installing water treatment plants in villages to help create healthier communities. They are truly committed to helping the people of Honduras recognizing that the way out of poverty is through education and good health.

OAF changes not only the lives of the students it supports but also the hearts and minds of its volunteers. Eight years ago, I lived in Olancho and taught at one of its schools. Today I continue to voice my support and donate to OAF because I know that funds go directly to students who hunger for education and change. The continuation of the program depends on donors and volunteers like me.

My 2 daughters and I went on a week long mission trip in 2016 to Juticalpa through Olancho Aid. We saw firsthand how helpful this organization is to the community and Honduras. We helped build a stage for the school and painted the public school in town. We got to interact with the children and their families, attend mass, took a walk in the woods along a steam and played soccer with the locals. We also handed out donated clothes to a remote village and saw the start of Olancho Aids clean water project. This trip touched my heart. Our family has adopted a girl whom we pay for her education. I love getting pictures, updates and report cards from them. I highly recommend this non-profit.

I volunteered on a weeklong mission trip with Olancho Aid in February 2018. Olancho Aid provided me and our group with an outstanding experience of Honduras which I would have been unable to get as a regular tourist. I visited two hospitals, several churches, an orphanage, A water treatment facility, and many villages. I was able to connect with many Hondurans. Thank you Carlos and everyone at Olanch Aid for a memorable, informative and powerful experience.

I have served on several Mission Trips and worked closely with the folks at Olancho Aid. They are excellent stewards of donations and resources. They use their resources to help not only folks in their schools, but people in the town who are in need and give Olancho Aid back nothing in return. They are changing Honduras through education and love.

Carlos and his team are do-ers! They get the job done and have accomplished so much from building to schools-elementary to high school and special needs-to clean water facilities serving many villages. This is an incredible organization!

I have been volunteering with Olancho Aid through mission trips for the past four years, and this year I was able to volunteer on a longer term basis as their first development intern. The honest love everyone involved has for this organization never fails to blow me away. The whole foundation has pure hearts and just wants to see the people of Olancho set up for the best possible future. I have made strong friendships with the children we see every year as well as the workers who make mission trips and volunteer opportunities possible. Olancho Aid has become the focal point of my summers every year and I hope that does not change. They're a genuine organization with great intentions and even greater people making their vision come to life.

This experience has been really great so far.. I had the opportunity to learn so much of the Honduran culture by working for Olancho Aid Foundation. Get to meet great people who are willing to go out their way to help others. I am glad to be part of this team, which is helping the Olancho community providing good quility education to help them to dream with a better future for their children.

Olancho Aid gets it! I have been part of a Mission Team that has worked with OAF for the last 12 years. They are truly committed to giving the best possible education to the children they serve. They believe that through education, all things are possible. With a great education, the future is brighter for Honduras. They have also been a catalyst for building water treatment buildings in many of the surrounding villages. The health of the people in these villages is much better because of the clean drinking water from these plants. Olancho Aid is truly making a difference in not only the lives of the Honduran people, but in the lives of those who volunteer for them.

The Olancho Aid Foundation brings hope and needed skills to The youth of Honduras. A strong, healthy, educated community provides stability and keeps families together in Honduras. If anyone feels helpless about immigration, this is the type of organization that allows People in the US to invest in long term solutions.

Olancho Aid Foundation gets it. By investing in clean water, you give children and their families their chance to LIVE. By investing in the education of the children, they receive the gift of knowledge which will no doubt be brought right back in to the communities from which they come. By address special needs children, shame is eradicated. All of this adds up into one of the most thoughtful foundations which heals, educates and brings hope to thousands.

I believe Olancho Aid does a great work offering opportunities to young people. I myself find my opportunity amusing. I got to know lots of people and places, I improved my English and I found myself capable of new posibilities.

Without a doubt, a great and engaged nonprofit organization! I am an example of the education, hope and transformation that OAF promotes here in Honduras.

Volunteered for OAF in 2009. It is making an amazing impact on the lives of Olanchanos. Joined the board in the last year to continue my involvement. Over the years the organization has grown and become more sophisticated. It provides over 100 jobs in Juticalpa and quality education to the children of the city.

Olancho aid helps me to have a better level of English.they Help me to lived a unique experience in the Gannon university in which I shared with different cultures. I really thanks them

It was amazing experience! I loved seeing my students every day, being immersed in their culture, and eating baleadas for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

My daughter taught as a volunteer at the Santa Clara Elementary School run by Olancho Aid Foundation in Juticalpa, Honduras, for the 2010-2011 school year. I visited in Juticalpa while she was there, and I was amazed at the good work being done at all three of the school OAF administers there (Nazareth, Santa Clara, and the High School.) OAF is providing an excellent opportunity for education for the children of Juticalpa, and I believe that will lift many of these children from very low socio-economic backgrounds to a much better life when they complete school and find employment. The organization also is providing job opportunities for many of the residents, as they work in the schools that OAF has founded and administers.

For the academic 2010/2011 year, I worked for Olancho Aid as a volunteer pre-kindergarten English teacher at Santa Clara, the bilingual elementary school. Although the experience of living in this developing country and working with a population that has expectations and a culture far different from my own was challenging to the extreme, I can nevertheless truthfully claim that it was the most valuable experience I have ever had. In addition to the personal growth I experienced and the special friendships I made with both Hondurans and my fellow volunteers, it was humbling and eye-opening to be a small part of an effort to educate and improve the life situations of those less fortunate than I. Olancho Aid’s vision centers on the saying that if you give a man a fish he will eat for a day, but if you teach a man to fish he will have the ability to feed himself every day. I came to see the truth in this analogy for the empowering nature of education.

I have been doing mission work with Olancho Aid for the past 3 summers and recently moved to Honduras to volunteer with them full time. It's rewarding to volunteer with an organization that is able to provide education, hope and transformation to children who would not otherwise have an opportunity.

The Olancho Aid Foundation has been built on faith - in God, in the Juticalpa community, and in the goodwill of our volunteers and donors. We have faith that we can change the reality of children in Honduras through education. I am in my third year of service and I feel so blessed to be part of a wonderful group of people (from Honduras and beyond) to provide a quality education.

In 1993, I made my first trip to Juticalpa, Olancho and fell in love with the gracious people there. So much so, I have returned each year with a group of people looking for an experience of a life time. Each time I have gone I have learned more and more about the people and the culture that they love, and I have witnessed many of my team be drawn onto a journey of new awareness that the face of God is all people. With that awareness comes an acceptance of our own responsiblity to level the playing field of the riches of the world, in other words how to live with justice and equality. I have made 20 trips and I look forward each year reuinting with my Honduran friends, helping where I can and sharing a new experience with those team members who have joined in the mission.

In August of 2012 I got on a plane to Olancho, Honduras not knowing what to expect. I was leaving my family and friends for ten months to teach first grade at Santa Clara and "nervous" doesn't come close to describing how I felt. Adjusting to a different culture, getting to know 56 new little faces, and a language barrier were difficult tasks to overcome. Thankfully, I had 14 other incredible people going through that process with me. I received endless support from the organization, my colleagues, and all of the other volunteers. The Santa Clara staff quickly became a big extended family, my students were the joy of my life, and the other volunteers I served with became some of my best friends. I truly can't describe in words how much my service experience with OAF means to me. It was the BEST year of my life to date! I thank God every single day that he led me to such a wonderful place. A huge thank you to OAF for the life changing work you do and for allowing me to be a small part of it.

I volunteered with the Olancho Aid Foundation, Inc during the 2007-2008 school year. I had the opportunity to see first hand the amazing contributions made by everyone who is involved with Olancho Aid. The education provided by Olancho Aid's schools is truly a blessing for each student enrolled in classes. I will continue to support Olancho Aid in every way I can because I have seen the work of staff and volunteers as well as the amazing results of that hard work.

Con esta organizacion que contribuye a la educacion de Olancho, Honduras. Hay muchas cosas que con educacion se pueden cambiar en la vida de cada ser humano. Salir de la pobreza, cambios culturales, desarrollo de nuevas ideas solo se logra con educacion. Olancho Aid Foundation, Inc. esta haciendo eso con la contribucion de diferentes centros educativos para formacion de ninos y jovenes en diferentes areas