(Excerpted from the AZ Daily Star)

When teenagers Dan Perino and Fernando Molina trekked into Honduras 30 years ago with Amigos de las Américas (AMIGOS), they were doing more than administering immunizations to children in remote communities. They were also building a bridge to their futures. Decades later, their children, Mason Perino and Lynnea Molina, have traveled to Latin America to assist with education, public health and community development through the same organization. Both parents and children said the cultural exchange and leadership training program has provided an opportunity for which they are eternally grateful; the volunteer experiences have impacted their lives and enriched their relationships. "It is wonderful to see Lynnea so happy and thriving and have AMIGOS be such a positive force in her life as it was for mine," said Fernando, who manages water conservation projects and works in community outreach for Tucson Water, a position that he credited partly to his experience in AMIGOS. "To this day I will be sitting in my office doing some work, and someone says something and I have a flashback experience to all those years ago when I was in the program - it is that much of an impact on my life." Dedicated to providing volunteer service opportunities in the United States and Latin America, AMIGOS originated in Houston in 1965 to combat a growing epidemic of polio in rural Honduras. The volunteer force comprises high school and college students from around the country; about 20,000 young people have participated in the program since its inception. Fernando said that when he entered the Tucson chapter of the international nonprofit in 1975, the program offered a rare opportunity to gain experience managing a budget and a staff at an early age. "By the time I was 18 or 19 years old, I was dealing with program logistics in an international setting in another language in another culture," said Fernando, who felt so strongly about the value of skills he gained that he helped revive the defunct local chapter five years ago. He is the vice president of the chapter, which boasts 22 youth volunteers who meet one night a week and one weekend a month for training in human relations, cross-cultural, language and technical skills, as well as hands-on activities such as building homes for Habitat for Humanity. Responsibility was one of the greatest lessons AMIGOS offered, according to Dan, who joined in 1972 at age 16 because he craved independence and wanted to see more of the world. He spent two consecutive summers in Honduras, Paraguay and Guatemala in villages accessible by horseback or on foot, giving vaccinations from morning until night. He spent his evenings sterilizing needles in preparation for vaccinating 200-plus people each day. "At age 16 I realized I was responsible to the program and people in the community and future AMIGOS. As a young adult, it is one of those rites of passage when you realize that independence is something you value but it comes at a price and you need to be able to deliver on that," Dan said. Like his father more than three decades ago, Mason, 20, is determined to uphold his responsibilities with AMIGOS. He is now in his fifth year with the program, which has evolved over the past 40 years into a more comprehensive community development role that emphasizes health, education and environmental awareness. Volunteers work with community members on issues ranging from formation of youth groups and education on HIV prevention and dental hygiene to construction of latrines and installation of stoves. Mason will serve as an AMIGOS supervisor in Nicaragua this summer, acting as a liaison with community leaders and overseeing younger volunteers. "I think lots of developing nations really benefit from having outside assistance, whether in the form of government support or groups like us that go in and help volunteers with local projects to move communities forward and achieve their own goals. We help them take a step toward the global community," he said. Working in primitive conditions - homes often have dirt floors and no electricity or running water - in isolated areas has provided invaluable insight into his own opportunities, Mason said. "It allows us to truly appreciate the opportunities we have here more than the material possessions. In many countries, there is no other option than to work for the family unit. Realizing that you have the freedom and luxury to go to college helps you to get a new grasp on your life and motivation," said the University of Arizona student, who is majoring in Spanish and Latin American studies and eventually hopes to have a job that will allow him to travel throughout Latin America. AMIGOS veteran volunteer Lynnea, who has traveled to Bolivia since 2001, agreed that the program offers a unique perspective into life in another culture. She said that initially the biggest surprise was that the people she met had no idea what America is really like. She also said that the poverty in most of Latin America is different from the poverty in cities such as Nogales, Sonora. Most people in the rural areas don't consider themselves poor. "They don't have nice houses by any standards, but they have what they need to live: a plot of land and maybe some animals. Even the poorer ones in the community have a couple of chickens," she said. Lynnea, who speaks Spanish and plans to further improve her language skills this summer, said that ultimately AMIGOS volunteers benefit at least as much as the people they assist. "In reality, they end up teaching us more than we teach them," she said. Working with AMIGOS has influenced the Pima Community College student's desire for a career with a nonprofit; personally, it has given her the courage to face new challenges. "I have learned a lot about myself. I learned that I am more social than I think I am, and I really need people around to communicate with," she said. "I never would have pictured myself doing something like this and living in those conditions, but it was amazing. It definitely made me a stronger person."