EP Schools continue partnership with Hogar Tierra Santa, a home for abandoned children

Geovani Garcia Calix has taken to life in Eden Prairie during his short visit this week. At the Hegland household, he bangs away at a drum set with a grin on his face – the boy is experiencing a lifestyle he does not often get to see back at his school/orphanage in Honduras.

It is the perspective of students such as Geovani and that of his school’s director and founder, Santiago Martinez, that Eden Prairie School District staff have been sharing with their peers this week.

Last spring break, that same group of staff visited Geovani’s school, the Hogar de Ninos Tierra Santa, or home for abandoned children in Honduras. This year, the volunteers hope to raise funds for a new boys’ dormitory and organize three more trips to the school.

The initiative, called Global Connect, is “all about the partnership that we’re creating with Tierra Santa,” said Chris Kreie, an Eden Prairie school librarian.

The work of Global Connect not only involves raising funds for the orphanage, but is also about educating Eden Prairie kids about life in Honduras, and organizing service trips abroad, he added.

The initiative ties in with the theme of this year’s school year: “local learning, global impact.”

Debbie Bjerke, a world language teacher at the high school, has visited the Tierra Santa home for abandoned children four times over 20 years.

Along the way, she brought her own children to volunteer at the home. The trips “really changed the direction of their lives,” she said.

“I just hope that people have an opportunity to make cultural connections to our neighbors to the south,” she said.

Martinez, who along with two students, is visiting for the week, had similar thoughts.

He noted that his town in Honduras is “a very poor town.”

The Global Connect initiative is looking for people who have a big heart to help the children of Honduras, he added.

Money is important, but he said it’s the connection part of it, having more friends, “that’s good.”

Geovani along with Sarahi Benitez Lopez were the two students who went along for the trip. Their school currently houses about 145 students. According to the Web site (www.hogartierrasanta.org) the school is “a non-denominational, nonprofit organization founded in 1986 for the protection and care of abandoned, abused and orphaned children.”

“We just felt it would be a really strong thing for the staff to see the kids,” said Kreie.

He added that the students would be going to nine different sites over the course of the five days, as the school kickoffs continue this week.

“They’re really kind of doing a lot of work for the benefit of all the rest of the kids,” he said.

People can meet with Martinez and the children during a fundraiser planned for this Friday, from 5 to 8 p.m. at the home of Gary and Marcia Ernst. Contact the couple at 952-934-6701 or send an e-mail to: htshonduras@gmail.com to sign up and find out the location of the event.