BY CHRIS QUARTARONE

For Alan Goedecke of Bedford, traveling to Honduras and helping the people in the town of Danli was one of the most gratifying things he has done in his life.

During the last week of September, Goedecke traveled to Honduras with doctors, nurses and construction workers to help Hondurans in need.

Thirty-two members of the Rotary Club District 7870, which encompasses Southern New Hampshire and Southern Vermont, traveled to Honduras for one week.

The program, called “Amigos de Honduras,” is a cooperative effort between Rotary clubs in America, the Honduran government, a local Rotary Club in Honduras and the United States Peace Corps, said Goedecke.

Since 1999, the program has built a school for the handicapped, a school for street children, a medical clinic and setting up water-filtration systems.

During the time in Honduras, the group’s goal is to provide medical, educational and fresh water to the people.

“We look to attack those three areas,” Goedecke said.

Every day the team was there, the medical team would go out and treat 150 to 250 people.

Goedecke remembers one woman who brought her baby for treatment of sores on its feet, and to see just that one woman smile and walk away with the needed medicine made it all worth it, said Goedecke.

“It makes you feel good to see that you can make a difference in somebody’s life,” he said.

The annual trips started in 1999 after Hurricane Mitch devastated the area. According to Goedecke, the storm killed 11,000 people and 1.5 million others were left homeless.

“The devastation after Hurricane Mitch was catastrophic,” he said.

Goedecke hadn’t been able to make the trip before because he coaches a cross-country ski team, but this year the trip was moved from winter to fall.

“In July, I got a call about the trip and I thought, ‘Yeah, I can do this,’” he said.

Goedecke was part of the construction team that repaired a two-room school for street children.

They fixed doors, installed gutters and channeled water away from the building to prevent damage.

Plans were also made to expand the school with another two rooms.

“These schools give the kids a place not only to learn, but to take showers and get two meals a day,” said Goedecke.

Although it was Goedecke’s first trip to Honduras, he could tell the program was working.

Goedecke traveled to a small village called Los Robles that had been helped by the program early on. Floods had devastated the area, causing many waterborne illnesses.

“Waterborne illnesses were rampant throughout this town,” he said, “A lot of kids were missing large amounts of school.”

The medical team along with Goedecke noticed that the number of waterborne illnesses has dropped significantly.

Goedecke attributes this to the fresh-water equipment they give to the people.

Families get a large piece of equipment filled with sand that filters dirty water and produces 5 gallons of fresh drinking water a day.

“The water purifiers are a low cost to set up and maintain, once set up it will work for 10 years,” he said.

In addition to severe medical help, the group educates people on how to be healthy, including dental care practices.

“All it takes is a little education and a toothbrush,” he said.

Goedecke is the first person from the Bedford Rotary Club to go on the trip but said the local club has supported the program since day one.

He said his experience will allow him to take more of a leadership role if he decides to go again.
“I have a feeling I’ll be going to Honduras next year,” he said.