Teacher to take part in Trocaire trip to Honduras

Teacher to take part in Trocaire trip to Honduras

3 April 2013

A CASTLEWELLAN teacher in Honduras this week with Ireland’s leading humanitarian charity.

Noel Sloan, who is head of religion at St. Malachy’s High School, is one of six post-primary school teachers from the Province heading to Latin America with Trocaire.

During the trip Mr. Sloan will see how the charity — which is celebrating its 40th anniversary — has improved the quality of life for people in Honduras, thanks to those across Ireland who provide Trocaire with financial support.

The St. Malachy’s teacher and the five others heading for Latin America have been invited to take part in the visit to mark the charity’s anniversary.

The trip has been designed to provide them with an insight into how vital support is being provided to those whose human rights have either been ignored or removed.

Mr. Sloan was selected for the trip as the Castlewellan school has been one of Trocaire’s most loyal supporters since its formation in 1973, raising tens of thousands of pounds for the charity.

He leaves this Sunday for Honduras and will visit a variety of different projects, some of which are in the Honduras capital of Tegucigalpa. Mr. Sloan will also be spending time in rural areas.

“We will be visiting projects which provide support to women living with HIV and AIDs and a centre for female victims of domestic violence, both located in Tegucigalpa,” explained Mr. Sloan.

As he prepares to leave this weekend, the St. Malachy’s teacher said he recognises the invitation to visit Honduras is a “tremendous opportunity” to gain direct experience of how Trocaire is working for justice in this part of the world.

“I feel excited about what lies ahead. I am also a little apprehensive because while we as a school have always communicated the serious nature of injustice in the developing world using literature, websites and guest speakers, on this occasion I will experience this injustice directly,” said Mr. Sloan.

“I will however witness the work of Trocaire’s partners who use money collected by St. Malachy’s and others to transform people’s lives and in this sense I will be able to share what is essentially good news.”

When he returns home, Mr. Sloan and his colleagues have been asked to use their experience to benefit the teaching and learning of pupils in the classroom, with action plans drawn up on human rights issues.