Our on-site facilitators are on the ground working with, living with, and loving the folks we serve. They know who will drink away any donated money, and who will use it to buy shoes for their children. Their mere presence directly changes the lives of many, and not only because they channel funds and more to communities in need, but because they become a part of those communities. And when you come to understand and love others, helping comes naturally. In the words of one resident, Alirio Banegas, he "never imagined such people would come to El Pital and take a genuine interest in us."

Ken Hutz, Un Mundo Founder

In 1993 Ken Hutz and his good friend Anthony Pereira set out on their motorcycles into the morning mist of the California coast to explore Central and South America. Their journey did not go according to plan, and it took their lives in unexpected directions. At one point Ken fell to ill to travelers’ maladies. While looking for a calm place to recuperate, he stumbled upon the home of an elderly lady, Margarita Lobo (Mama), in the small village of El Pital on the north coast of Honduras. During his convalescence Ken became well acquainted with the Lobo family and many other locals, and slowly became deeply affected by the cruel poverty punishing his new friends. He decided to join forces with locals and build an eco-tourism lodge to help provide employment. While building the lodge, he often found himself acting as an informal middleman, matching the volunteerism of visitors with the needs of locals. When Hurricane Mitch devastated the area and lodge in 1998, he formalized the efforts around him into a nonprofit organization, which became Un Mundo. Ken now works as the Executive Director of Un Mundo, helping to design programs and guide volunteers. Ken's report about Hurricane Mitch Relief Efforts

Holly Meyers

Holly Meyers In September 2001, Holly Meyers signed on as Un Mundo project facilitator. Holly brought to her work two years of Peace Corps experience in Zimbabwe, Africa; a year of teaching experience in the U.S.; and sensitivity to the many issues that make development work an art rather than a science. Un Mundo and many folks in Honduras will forever be grateful for the service of such a caring and talented person in this challenging volunteer position, which paved the way for our current on-site volunteers. While in El Pital Holly taught in the local primary and high school as well as literacy classes to the community. Among her other accomplishments she also facilitated several international aid shipments and established a community garden program. Holly's report

Kate Venner

In her nearly two years as an on-site facilitator, British journalist Kate Venner has been a busy, intrepid Jill-of-all-trades who has written numerous grant proposals, taught in the local high school, facilitated the efforts of other volunteers and NPOs, managed a mural program, compiled databases, designed and overseen the construction of our new building, raised funds, and touched just about all other Un Mundo efforts. Kate's success lies in the trust she has earned from the people she works with and for. That trust stems from her genuine affection for them, which shines through in everything she does. Kate embodies the Un Mundo ideal of a development worker: one laboring out of love, working from the inside out.  Kate's report

Kendra Curry and Dan Keane

After learning about the works of Un Mundo and the departure in September 2004 of on-site facilitator Kate Venner, Dan Keane and Kendra Curry enthusiastically volunteered to move to El Pital to try to fill the enormous void and continue Kate's work with the communities of the Cuenca.

Kendra, a Mainer by birth, was trained in art and community development through art, having studied at the Maryland Institute College of Art and at the famed Chinati Foundation in Marfa, Texas. She has extensive experience in mural and textile arts and in the mobilization of young people in using art in public spaces to beautify and educate. She has developed and initiated an art education program at the women's prison in Oaxaca. In addition to unmatched enthusiasm and energy, Kendra brought a ready smile and sensitivity to the art of development. While in Honduras, Kendra facilitated the Mural Campesino program (continuing to train and encourage the young mural facilitators) and developed children's art classes.

Dan came to Un Mundo from Phoenix via Marfa, Texas, where he spent a few years as an award-winning journalist chronicling life in this west Texas border town. In 2003 he narrowly lost the election for Mayor of Marfa. His experience is varied — with a degree from Columbia in Earth and Environmental Science, and as an assistant manager at the Biosphere 2 Centerin Arizona — and his writing is insightful. He also has a keen (or keane, if you will) ability to connect to people on a very basic and personal level, making all he comes in contact with feel immediately at ease. Dan contributed to the website and newsletters, as well as helped to write grants and, along with Cito Lobo, coordinate the building projects funded by Minke Stichting.