Laura Long, center, poses with two Honduran children. (Submitted photo)

Next month, the 24-year-old Madera native will embark on her fifth visit to the Latin American country where she works with Proniño, a charitable nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of street children.

"I always felt more needed there than I did here," Ms. Long said, which explains why she has returned to the poverty-stricken area on an almost yearly basis since 2005.

When she first learned about Proniño, Ms. Long had never been out of the country and "thought it'd be neat to travel." Though her Spanish-speaking skills were minimal, the St. Francis University student joined two other women from the college and headed to Honduras for spring break.

While she was excited for the trip, Ms. Long wasn't without reservation.

"I was so nervous," she said. "Part of me wanted to see if I could actually do it."

She said it was difficult to leave her family and scary to think that something could happen, but "it was nice to go with two other girls."

For a woman who said she grew up middle class, Honduras was an eye-opening experience. Ms. Long described a big separation between the country's small population of wealthy and the large number of people who live in poverty.

"Everything was targeted toward the wealthy," Ms. Long noted. There were Americanized restaurants like Pizza Hut and Kentucky Fried Chicken, she said, but all of the advertising was in English.

"None of the poor speak English," Ms. Long said. "The ads were targeted toward the wealthy because they speak English."

But mostly, she was surprised by the friendly nature of the residents.

"Everyone is so friendly," she said. "They love Americans and were interested in why I was there."

Despite that, the country is seething with street children turned out by parents who could not afford, or didn't want, to take care of them. The majority are uneducated, dirty and addicted to huffing glue.

"It's cheaper than food," Ms. Long said, "and it takes away their hunger."

"Most came from abusive homes," she recalled. "Their families just didn't want them. They're such amazing kids; they're all really bright. It'd be sad to think your mom didn't care about you."

Hondurans see the street kids as a nuisance, Ms. Long said, and many become desensitized to them after seeing them day after day. Those who do want to help can't because they lack the capacity to handle the kids' drug addictions.

Enter Proniño USA.

Started in 2000 by George and Betty Mealer, two Honduran-born American citizens, the program uses four phases to help rehabilitate street children. First children work to build trusting relationships, then work to break the grip of drug addiction, and then they move to La Montaña, a center where they learn trades and vocations, and then transition to independent living and job placement.

Once the boys arrive, Ms. Long said a lot of them "become obsessed with being clean after being dirty for so long."

They are given clean clothing, baths and healthy meals. Classes are offered at Proniño, but Ms. Long said that they try to get the kids to go to public school as well.

According to Ms. Long, the children who wind up at the center range in age from 7-18. Most had been on the streets for years, but were receptive to volunteers like her because they were finally getting the attention they lacked for so long.

"That's why I liked it so much," she said. "They were deprived and wanted attention. I'd get like 40 hugs a day."

On Mother's Day 2007, which Ms. Long describes as "the best day of my life," she spent time with 40 boys who lived at La Montaña.

"Mother's Day is a day one might view as depressing for the 40 boys living at La Montaña," she said, "but the staff at Proniño worked to make it a day of celebration and gratitude of the many ‘mothers' that surround the boys."

She said the boys spend the day showing love and thanks to Mrs. Mealer, female staff and volunteers.

"After that, I began to feel like a ‘fill-in mom' to many of the boys who have been deprived of such a blessing," Ms. Long said. "I was there to be proud of them when they marched in the parade or made the honor roll, there to bandage up scratched hands or knees, and there to wipe away tears and to help with homework. I'm sure it meant a lot to the boys, but it meant a lot more to me. Days and experiences like that never seem to leave a person and I'm incredibly grateful to have them."

One boy in particular, the worst case, who Ms. Long called "Sammy," stood out in her mind and eventually became her motivation for returning. She first met Sammy on her first trip in 2005. During her next visit, she learned that he had run away and was addicted to huffing glue. The next time Ms. Long saw him, Sammy was filthy and high on glue.

"He was unrecognizable and not making sense," she said. When she talked to him again, "he was just gone."

"I was really upset and heartbroken," Ms. Long said. "Through that, he became my goal."

Most of the children are used to abandonment, she said, and that's one reason why she feels she must return.

"Some volunteers don't come back," Ms. Long said. "I don't want them to think I left."

For the boys' birthdays, Ms. Long wrapped up small toys to give as gifts. Once the kids were given the gifts, she realized that they were taking a long time to unwrap them. Later, one boy told her that he had never received a wrapped gift before.

"That redefined my definition of poverty," Ms. Long said, and added that it never occurred to her that the boys never received wrapped gifts.

"Even the poorest here [in the United States] are so wealthy," she said, compared to those in Honduras.

Ms. Long said the saddest thing was the fact the some of the boys didn't even know their actual birth dates. She attributed that to the fact that the boys had been on the street for so long and they had no concept of the passage of time combined with the fact that no one was celebrating their birthdays.

"That was a big realization," she said. Her mother, Kathy, helped by sending money so she could buy more little gifts for the boys' birthdays.

When asked if she would ever considering moving to Honduras permanently, she admitted that the thought had crossed her mind.

"I've thought about it, but I try to be realistic, Ms. Long said. Her reality includes student loans, and she still has two classes to complete before graduating from St. Francis University.

"My hope, my dream, is to split my time there, though I don't know how realistic that is," she said.

But mostly, she wants to spread the word about the children of Honduras.

"People need to know that it's not just on TV. You can hear about it, but people need to know that it's actually happening."

For more information on Proniño USA, visit www.pronino.org .