Dr. David Dinehart ~ Dr. Shawn Gross ~ Paul Cianci ~ Rob Cunnane ~ Matt DeSimone ~ Justin DiBiase ~ Kelly Donmoyer ~ Caitlin Glenn ~ Matt Maddalo ~ Ramon Martinez ~ Rory McCormick ~ Jamie Mucha ~ John Mulligan ~ Kevin Perazzelli ~ Angela Russo ~ Ryan Smoke ~ Joe Staeheli ~ Patrick Veale

CEE 4611: Course Description

This service-learning course is an outgrowth of the spring semester Senior Capstone Design Project in Structural Engineering.  For the past eight years, students in that course have worked on various structural designs for Amigos de Jesus, a Catholic home for abused and abandoned boys in Honduras.  Each Spring Break, a portion of the class has traveled to Honduras with the professors and a few civil engineering underclassmen on an associated mission trip in which they work on the construction of these designs.  The mission trip is co-sponsored by the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering and the College of Engineering, and incorporates all aspects of a service learning experience (preparation, service, reflection, and celebration).

 

Mission Statement

This unique experience provides us with the opportunity to become part of the tradition of service that has been created through a relationship with Amigos de Jesus. In traveling to Honduras, we intend to strengthen the bond between Villanova University and Amigos through demonstration of love, compassion, and respect. With positive attitudes and open minds, we will immerse ourselves in the local culture and the lives of the boys for whom Amigos de Jesus serves as a safe haven. We will serve with enthusiasm and an eagerness to learn about a way of life vastly different from our own. It is our hope that through our work, we will help Amigos expand their capabilities to provide refuge for more children, including girls in the near future. Through our efforts as individuals and as a group, we hope to not only provide quality labor for a deserving community, but also to develop irreplaceable bonds with the boys and adults as well. We promise to serve in steadfast commitment to the principles for which our university stands: truth, unity, and love, while striving to make a difference in the lives of those less fortunate than ourselves. Upon departure from Honduras, we hope to leave the boys of Amigos with a sense of happiness for the time spent with us, comfort for the present, and hope for a better future. We will strive to keep in mind that this week represents not a culmination of our efforts or a job completed, but rather the beginning of a new, larger task; one that challenges us to maintain our concern for the needs of the global community long after we return.

 
About Amigos de Jesus

Amigos de Jesus is a Catholic Orphanage in Posas Verdes, Honduras.  It was started in 1997 by Sister Teresita SSND, a Honduran Notre Dame Nun, Christine and Anthony Granese (CE '90), and Father Dennis O'Donnell.

 

The mission of Amigos de Jesus is: "To provide hope for the street children of Honduras. Hope that allows them to grow intellectually, emotionally, physically, socially, and spiritually."

 

The orphanage rests on 70 acres of fertile land in the Northwest corner of a mountainous section of Honduras, about a two hour ride from San Pedro Sula airport, near the border of Guatemala.

 

For additional information, please visit the Amigos de Jesus web site.

 

 

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