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Opportunity creates Opportunity

Humanity and Hope United Foundation

The Humanity and Hope United Foundation is a non-profit organization that was founded by Riley Fuller in 2010 established in the country of Honduras. It aims to end poverty by providing the people of the Remolino and La Coroza villages with clean drinking water, to create jobs as well as extending access to education past the sixth grade. They focus on a transformational love that encourages potential in themselves and others to create change and opportunity within their community. "Their Mission: to empower people through self-directed, sustainable changes in six key areas: Infrastructure, economy, community, health, education and leadership to create opportunity."

Background

In 2007 Riley Fuller, president and founder of Humanity and Hope, arrived in Honduras a part of a relief trip with his family, which he admits he was forced to attend by his parents. Fuller expresses that his time in Honduras was both an eye opening experience which lead to a motivational return to the villages of La Coroza and Remolino to pursue the opportunity for the people of the community. The team consists of Riley himself, multiple board members including the 2016 Bachelor Ben Higgins who has been a part of the H&H foundation since 2011. Ben was the season 20 U.S bachelor, though his story does not end there. With over 1 million followers on Instagram, Ben has dedicated his social media page to inform and share knowledge with a mass audience the purpose behind the H&H Foundation by educating his followers on issues such as poverty, health and the change that is possible from people helping one another. The foundation aims to address the lack of clean drinking water in Honduras villages which is recognized as a global need, according to the United Nations Childrens Fund, that states, "roughly 780 million people are without access to clean drinking water." In addition to sanitation requirements, Humanity and Hope also aims to improve the economic situation. As local economies can be bolstered with initiatives such as micro financing which has been shown to have positive effects in the short term and the long term. In addition to helping solidify the economy through job stability which is challenging, the foundation empowers people with donations that are structured as micro finance loans to help start small scale local business that have been shown through numerous studies in North America on third world nations to help, "increase self-employment activity, business ownership, inventories and a shift away from wage work."

Honduras

The Republic of Honduras is located in Central America, which became part of the United Provinces of Central America in 1823 after gaining independence from Spain in 1821. It is known for its natural resources such as coffee, minerals, tropical fruit and sugar cane. The country has experienced and endured tragic and unfortunate natural and economic devastations. The citizens of Honduras have not lost hope. "For a nation that has endured more than its fair share of poverty, unrest, upheaval and violence, coffee cultivation is a rare success story." In 2012, Honduras was ranked seventh in the world for coffee production and was the second largest export of quality Arabica beans. The export of this good has created jobs, increased economic stability and international trades. The Humanity and Hope Foundation lends a hand to this evolving and successful industry, board member Ben Higgins launched a Generous Coffee event which focuses its recognition towards the arabica beans grown in Honduras. Agriculture is a dominate industry in Honduras which has created a substantial amount of jobs that contribute to the supply of exported goods. Climate change and extreme weather conditions have affected agriculture, healthcare and development in areas across Honduras. The people of Honduras suffered a devastating time of destruction during Hurricane Mitch, which is recognized as one of the deadliest Atlantic hurricanes recorded.

Education

The economic hardships of Honduras have greatly impacted the education system as well as its children. Being the second poorest country in Central America, many children are obligated to leave school and enter the workplace at a young age to help support their families. In most parts of the country education is only offered to the sixth grade, with almost every student required to repeat classes. Studies show only half of the population of children complete elementary school, due to the cost of school supplies, uniforms while roughly 13 percent of children do not have access to education. Additional studies reveal only 30 percent of students attend high school, and even fewer graduate. Hurricane Mitch is also responsible for the termination of 3000 schools across the nation. When the organization started in Honduras most adults H&H worked with have not graduated elementary school. As one of the pillars of H&H, “education is the key to a brighter future.” The vision in which shines through this pillar is for children and students in the village to have the opportunity to finish elementary school and the chance to continue their education through college.

Education in Honduras is free from kindergarten to the 6th grade, with only one teacher who is expected to teach all grades. The growing capacity of children in schools has motioned H&H to hire a kindergarten teacher who is dedicated to preparing the students for first grade. Thus providing the higher grade students, more time with their teacher who can meet their needs to continue education. In 2016 Humanity and Hope United implemented an education sponsorship program for the villages of Honduras, due to enrolment fees, cost of school uniforms and transportation, to continue education at a secondary school including a fee to attend which deterred parents and prevented students from continuing education. The sponsorship program allows students to have the opportunity to attend private secondary schools and has addition created job opportunities to help parents with the cost of their child's’ education. A few villages also have access to attend Escuela del Vidrio, which is a glass making school which encourages students to learn and develop skills in trades which are beneficial to the growth and management of communities of their country including, trades such as crafts in glass. “Education is a factor of change, a right, and an essential factor for the fulfillment of other Human Rights.”

The Humanity and Hope United Team emphasize bilingual learning to widen children stability in the economy. Bilingual education benefits cognitive development which can increase attention span, social skills, and further education opportunities. The ability for children to learn english as a second language will provide them with opportunities in larger cities within, or outside Honduras. Humanity and Hope also focuses on vocational training as it is important for the longevity of a stable economy. This type of education deals with preparing people for specific fields of work such as carpentry, technician, trades etc. This training allows people to acquire and master skills of trades in order to subsidize and manage work in their country. In the capital city of Honduras, Tegucigalpa there is a training centre that focuses on providing stations of practice for disadvantaged youth, similar to the efforts made by the Humanity and Hope team. The Salesian centre in Tegucigalpa explain the possible risks of youth engaging in training, such as exploitation, vulnerability, violence and social exclusion. These centres in turn, provide children with more opportunities to support their families and develop manual skills of trade that will benefit them in the workplace and increase their employment lifespan. Humanity and Hope pairs both bilingual learning with vocational training to provide the children of Remolino and La Coroza with cognitive and physical skills to work towards a prosperous future.

Villages

The village of La Coroza is one of the villages Humanity and Hope works with, that also suffered the destruction of Hurricane Mitch in 1998. The foundation has created jobs through the natural resources of crops and livestock, that have workers tend to corn fields a part of plantain projects and livestock projects of feeding and caring for animals before they are sold to the market. Employed so far is 16-18 men and 12 women who were previously working one day a week or unemployed, and have provided them with opportunities to work five days a week in the corn plantation and effectively prepare livestock for the market. The village of Remolino is located in the mountains of Northern Honduras. The crop and livestock projects in this village has employed 15 men, who harvest, fertilize, weed and protect the crop fields six days a week. The livestock projects in this village is run by 16 women, that care for the animals as well as assisted the women from the La Coroza village start their pig project. The unity between these villages displays work of compassion and motivation to generate a positive change within their communities. Humanity and Hope reinforce the notion of unifying communities, in order to create a supportive environment for growth.

Generous Coffee

A part of the purchase with purpose fundraising process, Humanity and Hope's Generous Coffee company believes “Generous” is a lifestyle. The mission is to improve the lives of the coffee farmers worked with in the villages, and by donating all profits towards efforts focused on bringing hope to the world. One of the largest exported goods in Honduras is coffee. Climate change and natural disasters have impacted the production of coffee beans, though the coffee industry employees a large percent of the population in Honduras the work is typically seasonal. Humanity and Hope United focus on villages to create opportunity and establish change among the people by creating jobs and sustain an economy that will continue to grow and support one another. Board member Ben Higgins and past Bachelor, has started a company called 'Generous Coffee' that revolves around the notion similar to that of Humanity and Hope. Generous Coffee is a non-profit company that donates the money earned to Humanity and Hope as well as other non-profit organizations that are also trying to make a positive difference.

Fundraisers

The foundation raises money through donations or products that are made by the people of Remolino and La Coroza. The Mudlove "Get Hope, Give Hope" campaign have partnered with Humanity and Hope in which every bracelet purchased will create a full day of work for someone in a Honduran vilalge. Mudlove is also partnered with a company called Water for Good that will provide one week of clean drinking water per each bracelet purchased. Ben Higgins thought of this campaign idea and visited the production studio while he was filming The Bachelor. There he had a bracelet made for him with the word "hope", which he wore throughout his journey on the show. During the planning this partnership, Ben states "In a situation that can feel selfish and all about me, this bracelet reminded me that there is hope in the bigger picture." This resonates to what the campaign slogan "Get Hope. Give Hope" signifies. This resonates to what the campaign slogan "Get Hope. Give Hope" signifies. As a result of this organization it has helped hundreds of people in the villages, buy creating opportunities for education and employment, developed sustainable work and housing environments. The efforts and contributions of the Humanity and Hope United Foundation has not gone un noticed, as they are a voice of awareness that poverty does exist in our world, and a community that opportunity comes from working together.

External Links

For more information visit their Facebook page or Instagram Page to learn more about Humanity and Hope United, the team, as well as photos and videos.