Two students in the Periclean Scholars Class of 2007 have returned from Honduras, where they visited a hospital and met with community leaders to learn more about the problem of hunger in the country.
Maria Interiano and Stacy Lucius were accompanied by Jim Brown, associate professor of history and advisor to the Periclean Class of 2007, and Jay McMerty, senior video producer. The group gathered more than 15 hours of interview footage with doctors, nurses, government officials and hunger relief agency workers that will be used to produce a documentary this fall.
The Elon team spent extensive time at the Mario Catarino Rivas Hospital in San Pedro Sula. The Periclean Scholars Class of 2007 has spent more than two years raising money to build a dining facility for the hospital’s pediatric ward. During the visit, plans for the facility were finalized and construction will begin in the next few days.
Interviews were also conducted with the regional director of the United Nations World Food Program and the regional director of the Honduran Ministry of Health. The group toured remote mountain schools where the UN World Food Program operates a school lunch program. A meeting with Bishop Romulo Emiliani Sanchez, bishop of San Pedro Sula, provided information on the social and political factors that contribute to widespread hunger in Honduras.
Their visit received media coverage in Honduras, including a story in the LaPrensa newspaper.