Kaine, in Honduras, reflects on lessons learned there

Some things change. Some don’t. Some, though, get better, as Sen. Tim Kaine found when he swung by the small town of El Progreso, Honduras, as he and Sen John Cornyn, R-Texas, travel through Latin America to study regional security and economic issues.

El Progresso was where Kaine, 35 years ago, took a break from law school to work with Jesuit missionaries at a technical school, teaching carpentry and welding.

This week, after Ash Wednesday services at the Parquia de la Mercedes church he attended in those days, Kaine stopped by the flourishing Instituto Tecnico Loyola where he once taught.

“The school has grown rapidly, but the spirit of the people here is exactly the same,” Kaine said.

“El Progreso is extremely special to me,” he added. “ My experience working at Loyola taught me the importance of access to skills-based training – both in Honduras and the U.S. – and inspired me to pursue the issue of expanding career and technical education in the U.S. Senate.”

During their three days in Honduras, Kaine and Cornyn met with the country’s president, Juan Orlando Hernandez, and talked with Hondurans and U.S. officials trying to deal with the ferocious gang violence that has sent so many children and teens fleeing the country, sometimes making it as far as the United States on their own. They also visited with Virginians and Texans stationed at the Soto Cano Air Force Base, where those servicemen and women work on a U.S. Southern Command joint task force that supports drug enforcement and humanitarian assistance efforts throughout Central America.

###