.. AfR..\CAN M\SS\ON f"El-l-OWSH\f Row 1: A. Freeman, L. Rushton, A. Owens, D. Bentley. D. Nicholas. Row 2: D. Reese, J. Jennings, S. Borgelt, D. Thornton, O. Tankersley (Sponsor). Row 3: J. Reese, K. Ledford, A. lee, K. Vick, E. Blake, D. Meeks. Row 4: K. McDonald, E. Hetrick, M. Benyman (Sponsor), R. Davis. \ n the summer of 2009, junior Andrew Burnett, a Harding Spanish and international studies major spent two month s wo rking for a community developme nt organization in the mountains of H o nduras. "} was working to give a new source of hope for the people I worked with," Burnett said. Burnetl volunteered for the organization "Non Ro Prez isan" outside: the: city of Catacamas in Olanch o State , Honduras. The o r ganizat ion, fou nded in th e 70S, began as a community health initiative , but recently, with the help of Burnett, they began economic development in the mountain villages. Burnett 's goal was to promote healthy communities through mic ro fi nanc– ing. H e walked or rode a donkey from village to village and met wit h commu– nity leaders to drum up support and adjust fiscal plans to fit the community. "The idea was to meet with th e p eople in theil' homes, go over their ideas and help them create a busi ness plan and figure out viable opti ons for them," Burne tt said. "We we r e trying to get the community to share resources as loans to cre:al e: something that looks like a bank." . Although Burnett spent his weekends in a more developed house in the Junior Andrew Burnett plays with Edwin. from the communi ty of Las Cobos in Honduras during July 2009 . Edwin asked if he could use Burnett's cell phone to entertain himself throughout the day. Courtesy of Andrew Burnett While on Burnett's laptop, Marta asks questions regarding her business plan in July 2009. Burnett walked her through the new business process he created for the Honduran's to use. Courtesy of Andrew Burnett While sitting for the camero Nov. 30. Andrew Burnett tells the story of his summer internship. He chose to stay in Honduras during a coup even after government officials suggested he leave. Nick Michael 214 organizations Row 1: L Crowder, G. Marcellini, l. Wright, N. Freeman, E. Faraj . Row 2: C. Conner, D. Newburn, B. Borgelt. T. Cupples, B. Gardner (Spon– sor). city, during the week he lived at the foot of th e: mountains in a house without electricity . "The most challenging t hing was t o live without e lectricity , " Burnett said. " I didn't have a warm shower for two months. You don' t realize how much you miss it. When the water is icy cold, it makes showering painful." Before Burnett left at the end ofJune, the H onduran m i litary an d con – gress removed the president in power in a non - t raditional coupe. D espite political unrest and advised travel restriction s, Burnett decided to stay and continue his work. " I was there to help the people, and their needs didn't change becau se their government system was failing them," Burnett sa id. Burnett finall y ch ose to leave at the end ofJ uly when political unrest came to a h ead with the ex-president forming a civii ian army. Though his t ime was cut sh ort, Burnett was able to aid th e people h e met during his time in H onduras and came away with a greater appreciation for the things he had in Amer ica. Penelope Cronk
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