Project Honduras Conference

(article written by Brian Crowe, Director of Operations for MEDICO)

This past week I had the privilege of attending an NGO conference in Copan Ruinas, Honduras. The conference is called Project Honduras and involves NGO's who serve Honduras from literally around the world. This was the 8th year this conference has been held and the 5th or 6th one held in Honduras. (the first couple were held in Washington DC) I went representing MEDICO and our interests in Honduras. I had no detailed idea about what to expect which gave me the opportunity to be open to all the presentations and dialogs that would ensue.

It was a profound chance to visit with other passionate people who care for the men, women and children of this wonderful country. I engaged with representatives of organizations who, similarly, are very focused on their strategic initiatives. It was rewarding to measure our efforts collectively, seeing the progress that has truly been made in a country where health-care and the humanitarian concerns take a back-burner to the government agendas of many regimes. Clearly NGO efforts are being made and measurable progress is being achieved. This is all in Honduran time - a critical component of the measure in all the work we do.

What was the net outcome of the Project Honduras conference? In my assessment there were some very important networking connections that were made. These are connections with other organizations that similarly do what MEDICO does. Certainly there is truth the statement, "why reinvent the wheel?". Additionally, I felt a sense of optimism for the future growth and development of our humanitarian service organization. MEDICO does have a good model of NGO care in place and as we acknowledge and respond to the cultural trends of our effort, we will continue to impact the lives of people with an unsurpassed quality of care. It will take commitment and effort and thankfully, we have the skill set to manage this impending growth curve.

Brian Crowe
Director of Operations, MEDICO