Blue Bus to Honduras
By Emily Marshia

This gaily painted blue bus will leave Vermont next week for its journey to Honduras, where it will be at the service of an orphanage. It was purchased and donated by a Chelsea man. Here, Chelsea schoolchildren sign their names to the bus. (Herald photo by Bob Eddy)

Howard Clarke is about to give the biggest gift he has ever given. It is far too big to wrap, uncommonly large as gifts go, financially and sentimentally extravagant, and yet it reflects the simplest of gestures: giving to those who are less fortunate than yourself.

"My heart is in Honduras," beams Clarke, who has lived in Chelsea in a cozy house with his wife, Helen, for 14 years, but longs for the days when he was drenched in sweat and dirt, physically exhausted, and surrounded by children who once lived in filthy streets and bathed in muddy river water. The children of Degucigalpa have captured this 75-year-old man’s heart and energy.

Anyone who travels the East Randolph Road in Chelsea has no doubt seen the bright blue school bus sitting next to a modest wood-sided house. That is Howard’s bus—but not for long. He bought it this fall with his retirement fund, painted it blue, and plans to drive it all the way to Honduras in the first days of 2007. The bus is his gift to an orphanage there.

About six years ago, Clarke traveled to the Central American country for the first time to volunteer with an area church group. He had read an article in a church newsletter and was moved with curiosity. Helping build 200 houses for families there sent him home changed forever.

"Part of me and Honduras were then united," he explains. He has returned multiple times in the years since, becoming more emotionally attached with each voyage. He will give the bus to his friend, Suzie McCall, a missionary originally from South Carolina, who houses and cares for over 50 children in her orphanage. Listening to Clarke describe Suzie seems as though he is speaking perhaps of his own daughter. His esteem and pride cause him to sometimes sit silently and just shake his head in awe of the life she has chosen.

Blue Bus Come to Life

Suzie lives about 15 miles outside of Degucigalpa in a large house with all 50 children. When she has to transport them to school or her large daycare center, where she oversees the care of 80-90 children, they cram into a small 15-passenger van. Field trips or church outings are inconvenient and unsafe. So Clarke decided that when he is home between trips, he could put his energy to work for Suzie from afar.

He started looking for a bus over a year ago. He found a used model with only 59,000 miles, which meant Suzie would be able to get many years out of the bus. His neighbor, Dick Rogers, helped him paint it bright blue, which by the way, is one of Suzie’s school colors.

The side of the bus now reads, "Los Corderitos De Dios," which means The Lambs of God. The back of the bus reads simply "El Cordero," or The Lamb. Not only did Clarke think a biblical reference might make their unpredictable passage through Mexico along the way more smooth, but it is also the symbol of Suzie’s school.

Howard Clarke has never done anything like this before. He’s lived a quiet life, working for a light company in Long Island for 42 years before moving to Chelsea to find a slower pace. Helen has never joined him in Honduras; she is content to visit family and friends during the weeks and months that Howard is away. But he didn’t spend all his retirement money on the bus; he also bought Helen a new car.

Clarke’s tall, slender build is unassuming and gentle, constantly topped with a wide grin. He was immediately comfortable in Honduras, setting aside his own way of life for one without electricity or running water. Not to mention the fact that he does not speak Spanish. "We get along just fine," he laughs.

Clarke knows there is similar need all over the world, but he is committed to keeping his connection in Degucigalpa undistracted. "I refuse to spread myself too thin," he insists. His sincerity is humble, yet contagious.

Two Worlds Merge

Last week, Clarke had the unique opportunity to blend his two worlds. He and his friend, Diana Collins, the deacon from St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Springfield, visited the kindergarten classroom at Chelsea School to share stories of their past journeys and the plan for their next one. Collins is the organizer of many of the volunteer trips to this particular region of Honduras. Clarke describes himself as her support.

Collins shared a slideshow of images with the kindergarten, second and third grades. The mental leap to another way of life in another country was made more realistic for the elementary students because kindergarten teacher Sue Rogers was in some of the shots. She volunteered along with Clarke and Collins a year and a half ago. The students were thrilled to see her building houses and snuggling children.

Not many children raised their hands when asked if they knew where Honduras was, but Collins brought along a map depicting the journey of the blue bus with thumbtacks and string. She asked the children to keep track of things they saw in the slideshow that were similar to their lives in Chelsea as well as things that were different.

There were gasps and sad sighs when Collins explained that a few walls covered in paper was actually someone’s house. They looked baffled when she described a brown river as the local laundromat, or a woman cooking over an outdoor fire as being in her kitchen.

We Are the Same

After the slideshow, Collins put the concepts in context for the students. One of the similarities the kids caught on to quickly was an image of a birthday party. "How many of you have had a birthday party?" They all raised their hands.

"How many of you get presents?" They all raised their hands. And then Collins tells the children that this was the first birthday party these Honduran children have ever had and that there were not presents, just ice cream and cake. The elementary students’ eyes grew wide with disbelief and curiosity.

"How many of you are wearing shoes today?," Collins continues. Again, all the youngsters in the room raise their hands. "And how many of you have more than one pair of shoes?" All hands up.

Collins explains that many of the children in the orphanage did not have shoes on their feet when they came to live with Suzie. Some of them even resorted to eating banana peels in the streets, she explains. That was an image that has stayed with many of the 5,6, and 7-year-olds for days.

And then a small, but poignant voice piped above all others in the room, "Can we send them stuff?"

The adults exchanged heartfelt glances and the other students responded, "Yeah, what can we send them?"

Sue Rogers reminded the kindergarten class of the cards they made in Spanish to send to Suzie’s children and of the beaded bracelets they crafted with care to send along as well.

But the truly exciting answer was that Clarke had brought the blue bus the kids saw in the slideshow to the school and they all got to write their names on it as a way to send good wishes with the bus.

"We are all the same," Collins said simply. "Those boys and girls like to do the same kinds of things we do."

She ended her time in the classroom by teaching the students a Spanish song with the help of Spanish teacher Hannah Barden. Then the kindergarten chose a song for Collins to teach to the Honduran children: "Where is Thumbkin?" was the popular choice.

The event came to a close with kindergartners, second and third graders piling onto the bus in the school parking lot to avoid the drizzle outside. A few at a time, they ventured outside to the back of the bus and wrote their names atop the cheery blue paint that only a child can truly appreciate. The bus was already adorned with the name of students from Brookhaven School for Boys as well.

All the while, Howard Clarke stood in the background, smiling and eagerly anticipating his journey. He let everyone else do the talking; he had already spoken with his heart. His gift to the children of Suzie’s school had already transcended cultures and borders, quietly challenging the notion of what it means to give without expecting anything in return.

On December 31 or January 1, depending on the weather, Clarke and Collins, along with two others, will depart southward with the blue bus. They plan to cross over into Mexico on January 7, then meander through Guatamala and El Salvadore before entering Honduras.

If you would like to contribute to the cost of the trip or are interested in volunteering, contact Diana Collins at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 33 Fairground Road, Springfield, Vt., 05156 or 802-885-2723.

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