Honduras Project | SLUH Magazine

“HUMAN DIGNITY IS THE SAME FOR ALL HUMAN BEINGS; WHEN I TRAMPLE ON THE DIGNITY OF ANOTHER, I AM TRAMPLING ON MY OWN.” – POPE FRANCIS

THE HONDURAS PROJECT

18 | SLUH Magazine

Su Legado Vive Throughout his 26-year career at SLUH, Spanish teacher Charley Merriott routinely sold tasty treats from St. Louis favorites such as Ted Drewes and Pretzel Boys during activity period, working with students to collect a couple dollars at a time, all while employing a spirit that hovered between shrewd businessman and gentle philanthropist. Those

dollars, which accumulated each year, were put to good use—in fact, they saved many lives.

In 1994, Merriott went to Centro San Yves, a nutrition center for malnourished children in Yoro, Honduras, with a few students for Senior Project. At the time, the center was comprised of several temporary locations and needed a more permanent and adequate facility.

“We were shocked at the poverty we saw,” says Merriott of his first trip to Honduras. “It took a long time to

get used to. All of the children were extremely malnourished and had so many needs. It was like stepping back in time with dirt roads and ox carts, like something out of a movie.”

With the support of the SLUH community, Merriott raised more than $20,000 to construct a new building for Centro San Yves. This haven, which was completed in 2000, still thrives today, providing malnourished infants and toddlers a safe, loving environment and healthy nutrition.

For the past 23 years, Merriott (affectionately known by his students as

Summer 2017 | 19

“Profe,” which is Spanish for “teacher”) has led service trips with more than 125 Jr. Bills to Centro San Yves. Each year six students are selected to serve in Honduras as part of Senior Project. They stay with host families and provide love, care and attention to the children at the clinic by feeding them and playing games, among other activities.

“It has changed me and provided me a new attitude about everything,” says Merriott, who was a Spanish teacher at DuBourg High School for 24 years before coming to SLUH in 1991. “The ‘man for others’ mantra is more than just a saying to me today—it’s a way of living.”

Tangible Impact It is the children, Merriott admits, who changed him: Sonia, for instance, who was left as an infant in a box on the hospital steps before living her first eight years at Centro San Yves and ultimately being adopted (a thrilling moment for Profe); Fernando, who was taken away from his mother for neglect and adopted after receiving proper care and attention at the clinic (another victory); and Tito, who Profe had known for many years and who recently died (Profe cried on his couch at home upon hearing the news).

“Profe had a special gift of being able to relate to his students,” says Spanish teacher Myriam Aliste. “He was a father figure to many of them over his 50 years of teaching.” Sadly, Merriott never knew his own father, Garland Merriott, who died when Profe was just a few months old. “It was Jean, his mother, whose love and example molded this great man.”

The Honduras Project has profoundly affected those who have served alongside Profe, who says, “You know you’re doing something right when 18-year-old boys are crying when it’s time to come home because they don’t want to leave the children they’ve cared for.”

One senior told Profe that when he returned home he was embarrassed by all of the “stuff” he owned—more, he said, than anybody he helped in Honduras

20 | SLUH Magazine

“You know you’re doing something right when 18-year-old boys are crying when it’s time to come home because they don’t want to leave the children they’ve cared for.” – CHARLEY “PROFE” MERRIOTT would own in their lifetime. Another student recently made sacrifices to save money after his Honduras service trip and gave Profe more than $200 for the babies at the Center.

“The Honduras Project, as well as the many conversations Profe and I had about life throughout my time at SLUH, helped to shape me into the person I am today,” says Adam Hunn '12. “I can never thank him enough for that.”

“I don’t think there’s anyone who taught me more about being good than Profe did,” says Matt Kriegel '97. “He must have helped hundreds of kids in Honduras after all of these years, probably literally saving quite a few lives and providing sustenance and dignity to many more. If they made it, those kids who were there at the center in 1997 are now adults and may be raising children of their own.

“It’s amazing and wonderful to think of what he’s done. And I imagine he’s shaped hundreds of students’ lives by instilling them with understanding, empathy, and humility. Reaching the hearts of the privileged in such a direct way is no small feat. He certainly reached mine.”

Preserving a Legacy A few years ago, SLUH created a committee to continue the Honduras Project upon Profe’s retirement in 2017. The committee aims to expand the program and hopes to get more members of the SLUH community engaged with the Center’s mission. (In 2017, for the first time, a group of six seniors went to Honduras for their spring break.) In addition to sending more students to Honduras, the committee is exploring other opportunities for engagement with the Center.

THE HONDURAS PROJECT

Profe, a storyteller whose loud, hearty, contagious laughter can fill a room, says, “It’s been a real blessing for me and all who have served at the Center, but mostly for the babies that didn’t die because of our efforts.

“Charley has provided a witness to the Catholic Social Teaching regarding Human Dignity that has engaged our students, faculty, administration, parents and alumni,” says SLUH President David Laughlin. “His

Though Profe will no longer be teaching at SLUH or selling candy, pretzels or frozen custard from a small table in a school corridor, su legado vive: his legend lives.

“I don’t think there’s anyone who taught me more about being good than Profe did.” – MATT KRIEGEL '97 “When I hear from the workers at the Center, they are grateful for our support for food and supplies throughout the year. But I tell them they have done so much more for us. They have enriched our lives and helped us to grow and mature in so many ways.”

commitment to those we serve through the Honduras Project extends far beyond the students who have accompanied him over the years to be part of a collective community conscience about our call to follow Christ.”

Passionate Teachers

Adios, Profe, and Gracias!

In his final year before retirement—and after 50 years of teaching (26 at SLUH)—Charley “Profe” Merriott was awarded the Faculty Appreciation Award this spring. This award is given each year to one faculty member who the senior class cites for “excellence in the classroom as well as contributions outside of the classroom.”

#2Centuries2Words

– BEN DUMONT '92 Summer 2017 | 21

LIVE, LOVE: A Honduras Photo Journal

By Will Kelly '17

“NO POWER ON THIS EARTH CAN DESTROY THE THIRST FOR HUMAN DIGNITY.” – NELSON MANDELA

22 | SLUH Magazine

THE HONDURAS PROJECT

On March 10, Andrew Modder '17, Edward Gartner '17, Jacob Elieff '17, Thomas Leeker '17 and I had the incredible opportunity to experience Yoro, Honduras, for a week. Led by service veterans Señora Alvarado and Profe “B” Mueller, we played with, fed, changed, and learned from malnourished children at the Centro San Yves. SLUH provides about 90 percent of the funding for the women employed there and the needs of the children. Our intent was to provide relief to the women and care for the kids. We left, weepy and with solemn and learned hearts on March 19.

It is absolutely amazing to me that a woman of normal means would take us in, let us stay at her house and cook thoughtful meals for us that would take hours—and yet we did not even know each other and I did not speak Spanish. It was the Old Testament’s theme of hospitality personified and unconditional love at its finest. Theology teacher Mr. Wehner often says when we do service, we often get served.

Indeed, this was my experience.

Even a week in Honduras changed my life. About three out of every five people there live on less than a dollar a day, and the top cause of death is by gunshot, not disease. I have been much more conservative and appreciative now with what I have. On this amazing experience I learned a very simple yet profound mantra that I now, too, believe can create palpable change in the world: live, love.

- Will Kelly '17

Summer 2017 | 23

24 | SLUH Magazine

“Change your way of thinking to change the way you live.”

THE HONDURAS PROJECT

“ALL LABOR THAT UPLIFTS HUMANITY HAS DIGNITY AND IMPORTANCE AND SHOULD BE UNDERTAKEN WITH PAINSTAKING EXCELLENCE.” – MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.

Summer 2017 | 25