Irish grub on the menu for Ocean Park church’s benefit
OCEAN PARK Youngsters at the Church in Ocean Park are planning a St. Patrick’s Day feast for families in Honduras, which is a world away from Ireland. While they won’t be eating Irish mainstays corned beef and cabbage with soda bread and other green delights, those living in the Central American country will be able to benefit nonetheless.
That’s because the church is trying to raise money to help build homes for people in one of the poorest countries in the Americas. While filling empty stomachs, the group of young activists hope to fill church coffers with tithes so that they can travel to the tiny village of El Paraiso, Honduras, where families live without running water or electricity, making ends meet on less than a dollar a day.
This enterprising group of young people is looking for businesses and individuals to sponsor their endeavor. The trip is expected to cost $2,200 per person, which includes airfare, lodging, meals, and most importantly, everything needed to build two new homes. Families of five youth are able to support some of the costs, but the group still needs to raise an additional $6,500 by April, said Anne Hawthorne, youth director at the church.
Youth from the church will join others from across the state as part of the Sierra Service Project, a non-profit service organization that works with high school age kids and young adults alike to help them realize the power of serving others who have a culture and life experience different from their own.
The group intends to purchase building materials from vendors in or near the village and then assemble the homes by hand. They work for two weeks, with weekends off. They travel the country during their breaks and visit with locals. Last year, the kids had a chance to visit with local young people living in an orphanage, and talked with a group looking for the remains of those who disappeared during El Salvador’s civil war.
“One of the most important things I got out of the trip was that I had been studying the third world in school and had heard all about the warnings about traveling there, the dangers,” said Nicholas Gerda, 16, who helped build two homes in La Jagua, Honduras last year. “But seeing it with my own eyes, being there for two weeks and really getting to interact with people there, that helped me get over a lot of my fears and changed my perspective completely.
“I had a great time and it was kind of hard for me to leave because I had grown so attached to the people there and the culture,” Gerda added. “It changed my whole outlook on life …I’d like to do something that helps people internationally. Working with the Peace Corps. definitely appeals to me, the United Nations, the State Department.”
There’s no doubt that the Sierra Service Project changed Minister Janet McKeithen. She volunteered 30 years ago, working on a reservation in the Sierras, and has been involved ever since. She said it helped her find direction, turning her from an atheist into a true believer.
“It allows young people to change the way they look at the world, their part in it and what they might have to offer,” McKeithen said. “It helps some people to become less selfish and less materialistic. Others gain a wider view of the world.”
Those who wish to lend a helping hand, or cut a check, can attend the dinner or send a donation to the church’s youth fund. To reserve a spot at the dinner, call (310) 399- 1631, or send an e-mail to
Molly Temple, an 18-year-old senior at Venice High School, will be the chef for the St. Patrick’s Day feast. She hopes to attract enough people with her cooking to fund to entire trip, and while she may not be able to go because she may be moving into her college dorm, she will put her all into the dinner.
“The church has helped me so much,” Temple said, “that it’s only right to help others and be supportive.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 6, 2007. Read the original PDF.