Student Experience Inspires Club

By Student Body Vice President Claire Forman

In 2007, I spent the summer living in La Ceiba, Honduras, where five to six days a week I worked with other volunteers at a boys’ home called Casa del Niño (Home of the Boy). One of the boys, Micahel, kept in touch with me via e-mail, sending updates and practicing his English.

I returned to Honduras during winter break last year to visit friends and bring laptops to the boys from the One Laptop per Child program. A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to attend a conference in Honduras and jumped at the chance to go back for another visit. When I e-mailed Michael to let him know that I would be in town, I also asked him if he needed anything (shoes, clothes, school supplies, etc.). Michael said he didn’t need anything like that, but that his bicycle had been stolen.

Michael was sent to live with his grandmother and uncle after his mother abandoned him to leave Honduras for the United States and when Michael’s grandmother died four years ago, his uncle sent him to live in Casa del Niño. When I met him, Michael was a timid, frustrated and depressed teenager. He is an incredibly smart young man who was extremely bored in school.

The other volunteers and I tried that summer to help Michael understand that it was a good thing that he wanted to go to college. Being smart, self-motivated and full of ambition did not make him an egoisto (ego-maniac) like the other boys said.

In July, Michael’s good grades won him a scholarship to attend English classes at a private institution in La Ceiba. A week later, he asked me if I would teach him to play the piano using the small keyboard in the boys’ home. We only got so far as the 12 major scales, but since then he has continued to study on his own and now accompanies a local children’s choir. He is also learning how to play the violin thanks to a volunteer from Australia, and takes karate classes at the local Red Cross.

Michael Plays Piano from Connect Mason on Vimeo.

When Michael told me his bicycle had been stolen, I asked Resident Advisors from Liberty Square and Potomac Heights and members of Mason Ambassadors and Student Government if they would like to contribute at least $1 per person to purchase Michael a new bicycle. The total reached $94, more than enough to purchase the bicycle, a helmet and a lock.

Those of you who gave a donation have helped restore Michael’s faith in people and encouraged him to continue pursuing his dreams.

Michael has transformed into a confident young man with a future he is proud of. He will finish his last year of high school in December and begin taking classes at a teacher’s college in the spring. Michael wants to become a science teacher.

I am starting a new student organization on campus called Students Helping Honduras. If you are interested in learning more about Honduras, the boys at Casa del Niño, and how you can help, contact me at cforman@gmu.edu.