Ahead of visiting Honduras to provide people with eye screenings, Dr Joseph Young of Village Eye Care met with a group of Hawley Elementary School students on April 27. The entire school has been working to write letters that Dr Young will bring with him this month to share with children in Honduras. Many letters were already completed by the time Dr Young visited Hawley.

Dr Young first visited the town of La Florida in the Opatoro, La Paz, region of Honduras last year, when he and other doctors helped roughly 250 elementary school aged students and others. In total, Dr Young said last year's mission helped more than 600 people.

As he told fourth grade students in Gina Shanahan's class, meeting all of the elementary school students last year in Honduras made him think of Newtown's elementary students.

"They reminded me of you guys," he said.

Both last year's trip and the upcoming trip are through the Community Health Partnership. Dr Young said Dr Dan Federman, a Newtown resident and internal medicine physician, first told him about the opportunity to help in Honduras. A group of local doctors and doctors from across the state have traveled there for several years to provide medical care in the area, according to Dr Young.

"I found myself committed to it, and the next thing I knew I found myself on a plane on the way to Central America," Dr Young said.

This year's trip leaves on May 19 for a nine-day stay. When he leaves, Dr Young said he will have the piles of letters from Hawley students to deliver to the area, and then will return with letters from the children in Honduras to share with the Hawley students.

Dr Young said thinking about the children in Honduras and the children in Newtown made him think about connecting the groups in a way that would help the children in Honduras feel less isolated. La Florida, he explained, is situated in the mountains and the people living there do not have mail service or access to other things the Newtown children may have access to daily, like the internet.

Students in Honduras also have different school experiences. Some of them, Dr Young said, may walk up to two hours to school and back. Dr Young said he thought about how nice it would be to open up their minds and connections with the help of Newtown students.

Hawley Principal Christopher Moretti also helped Dr Young explain the letter writing effort for Ms Shanahan's class.

"We're going to try to team you guys up," said Mr Moretti.

The Newtown Lions Club is offering support for the trip and others have also offered help, according to Dr Young. The Alcon company, for instance, helped by donating supplies.

Before the fourth graders began writing their letters, Dr Young said, "Think of something you would like to know about a young boy or girl in Central America right now."

The students used only their first names on the letters. They were tasked with including three facts about themselves and three questions for the "pen pal" in Honduras to answer about themselves. The students could also include more facts and questions if they wanted to, and they could draw a picture on the back of the letter.

Mr Moretti said he was excited about the opportunity for the students to hear directly from their pen pals. Many times, he said, the students participate in efforts that send cards out, but no answers are received.

"That's exciting," said Mr Moretti, about how the students will read the letters from the students in Honduras when Dr Young returns from the mission with a translator.

Dr Young said a video of pictures from last year's trip is available to watch online a Youtube.com by searching "Dr. Young Honduras Mission May 2016."

As he was writing a letter, one student thanked Dr Young for the chance to write to other students.

One letter written by an 8-year-old student read in part, "I love to dance. Do you do eany [sic] after school activities or eany [sic] sports? I also have one sister and we are both gofballs [sic]." Another letter written by a 6-year-old Hawley student reads in part, "I like to hike. Do you? I like videogams [sic]. Do you?"

Some of the completed letters included self-portraits of the students.