[Visiting Palmichal Carmen SMU model village]

In 2011, the government of Honduras recognized the necessity of launching Saemaul Undong and requested Korea Saemaul Undong Center (KSC) to impart its expertise. Since then, from 2011 to 2018, KSC invited about 50 personnel from the government of Honduras to provide them with training on Saemaul Undong. In 2015, a memorandum of understanding on cooperation for Hondura’s Saemaul Undong was signed during the Korea-Honduras Summit. The Honduran government designated the IDECOAS (Institute for Community Development, Water and Sanitation) as the government ministry responsible for Saemaul Undong to lay the foundation for the movement.

[Visiting Cuyali SMU model village]

Honduras has been ed as a new project country in 2019 and will be conducting SMU model village projects in four villages until 2023. KSC visited Honduras from April 27 to May 8 for onsite instruction to engage in preliminary inspections as a preparation for starting the projects in earnest. The onsite team conducted the site inspections and gave detailed recommendations on opening joint accounts, preparing project plans, and holding general meetings. The KSC inspection team also visited local governments and embassies to ask for their assistance and sharing work arrangements in the future.

[La Florida On-site Training at the village]

The KSC team trained residents and leaders at community halls in each SMU model village. They gave information about the Saemaul Undong system, including general meetings, formation and operation of Saemaul organizations, the responsibilities of each member, and how to prepare project plans, manage projects, report project outcomes and balance accounts. They also instructed on keeping operational logs for the Saemaul organizations and project logs to increase project management efficiency, and gave basic accounting instructions as to how to manage the village funds necessary for income-earning projects.

[Meeting with related government ministy]

Through this training session, it is expected that stable model village operation and formation of Saemaul organizations will be achievable, and ensure more efficient project operations, more thorough record-keeping in corresponding project logbooks, and greater transparency in the payment and settlement of project expenses. The team also held a meeting with personnel from the local government and the department responsible for Saemaul Undong to share information on the status of model villages and discuss how the government can support the movement. Professors from the National University of Forestry Sciences and the National Autonomous University of Honduras&39 Regional Development Department participated in the meeting to discuss the plans for technical support of the model villages and ways to expand and support the self-help villages and assist with the overall development of the Honduran Saemaul Undong.