My Nonprofit Reviews

I have been volunteering with MEDICO for about 11 years now and I’ve really enjoyed every aspect of our trips; from serving the lovely people of Honduras and working with the partnering organizations (PLAN is fantastic!), to learning new skills by assisting the doctors and dentists to working in the pharmacy dispensing medications. I enjoy helping lead the teams and meeting and getting to know all the warm and caring (and fun!) volunteers. But I’ve always longed to be able to offer my skills as a chef.

My opportunity to do just that finally came. Soon after signing up for the January trip, I was contacted by MEDICO’s wonderful Medical Director Maria Betancourth who knows that I am a chef, and was told that our team will be working with the Fundacion Corazon De Gracias that serves homeless children, some of which are severely malnourished. She asked if I would I be interested in teaching the women who work in the kitchen basic nutrition and also cook for the team. Would I!

I set out researching indigenous vegetables and put together suggestions on how to cook them to maintain the vitamins. I then compiled a bunch of nutritious, rich kid- friendly recipes.

I also discovered a product called Plumpy-Nut that Doctors Without Boarders uses in their refugee camps. It’s basically a peanut paste that has been fortified with milk powder, vitamins and minerals. Peanut butter is very expensive in Honduras, but raw peanuts are plentiful and inexpensive. I knew I would have access to all the other ingredients I would need, including liquid children’s vitamins with minerals from Dr. Paredes or MEDICO’s pharmacy. So, I planned to teach them how to make some to always have on hand at the Fundacion.

One of my big concerns was the cultural difference and how to sensitively suggest more healthful cooking practices and techniques since it’s common in Honduras to cook vegetables for long periods of time leaving them devoid of any health benefits. Another was safe food handling and sanitation. It’s not unusual for team members to experience digestive distress issues if the food is not handled properly or is not prepared with purified water. This was a big responsibility. I needed to keep the team healthy!

I need not to have worried. Upon arriving, I learned that the women with whom I would be working were not only receptive to all my suggestions, but genuinely enjoyed the recipes we prepared together and were hungry for as much information as I could share with them. They were absolutely delightful and a pleasure to work with. They also understood the need to protect our sensitive American stomachs against the unfamiliar bugs that are present in the water and quickly adopted the practice of boiling our food prep equipment and using bleach to sanitize surfaces. We were joined by two bi-lingual high school student interpreters that were interested in learning to cook. This added a really delightful component to the project. Together, we had a lot of fun and prepared some really amazing food.

One of the highlights of the experience was learning that the Foundation had a vegetable garden from which I was free to use as many veggies as I wished during the week. Each morning I went out and harvested sweet peppers, green beans, radishes, mustard greens and cilantro. Everything else I needed, I was able to buy at a nearby outdoor market directly from farmers. The produce was of outstanding quality!

Even though the kitchen had no hot water, only two burners and a wood burning griddle for cooking tortillas, we needed to cook for 50 each day. During the week we prepared Arroz Con Pollo, Avocado and Orange Salad, Curried Chicken and Vegetables, Carne Asada with an herb packed Chimichurri, Israeli Salad, and Vegetarian Chili with Jalapeno, Onion Corn Bread. We even baked Chocolate Chip Coconut Macaroons in their outdoor wood burning oven and prepared a big batch of homemade fortified peanut butter.

Having used my recipes all week, on the last day I told the women that I would now like to learn from them and asked if they would teach me an authentic Honduran dish. So together, we prepared corn tortillas with refried beans and cheese and a veggie filled soup with rice. It was delicious!

By the end of the week the team joked that they had all gained weight and the cooks, the high school student interpreters and I laughed and learned together; proving once again that food is the universal language that crosses cultures and brings people together.

Each MEDICO trip that I’ve had the honor to serve on has been unique and extraordinary in its own way. I’ve seen the doctors and nurses literally save lives and volunteers without any professional medical background working side by side showing the people of Honduras that we care about them. This kind of goodwill can go a very long way and everyone, regardless of their talents has the ability to make a difference.

This particular trip was so personally rewarding for me in that I felt I was able to contribute and use my own skills to help.


Thank you again for this wonderful opportunity.

Missy Gurmankin, C.P.C