Ellen Finn!

Ellen Finn…one of the most remarkable people I will ever meet. She is a former social worker and is also a professional jazz musician. She feeds all the amazingly unhealthy and sad dogs that live in the streets of Copan and works tirelessly each day to help the adults, children, and animals and everything else she comes in contact with in and around Copan. To add, she is comical, witty, and a smart aleck! Sounds too good to be true, it is not. This lady is for real and I had the absolute privilege of getting to live next to her and spend some time with her. Ellen moved to Copan almost one year ago with a mission. She wanted to help the kids and families in the poverty stricken outlying communities near Copan. She has raised money through donations to improve schools, bring joy to families, improve upon structures, raise awareness and help to improve dental hygiene, health, etc, etc in these small pueblos. Most importantly, she has shared so much love with these people and they not only love her, but respect her and her work. She calls herself Gringita (little gringo women) but she is so much more than that to the people here. Her Spanish is wonderful and it has come through hard work and because Ellen talks to anyone and everyone in Copan and outside of Copan. I loved to see Ellen sitting with four of five local men during lunch. She would have those men laughing and would embarrass them and she was the center of attention in this macho laden culture. Ellen is not here for herself or because she is running away from problems back home. She is here to help and she has dedication like I have never seen. Also, she does not just provide handouts. She collaborates with the communities and it is understood that they need to work also to earn the things Ellen can help them with. We will all miss our Gringita. It warms my heart to think what a wonderful ambassador we have out there. She is a remarkable human being and I will miss her dearly and will need to return to Copan one day or wherever Ellen is to meet up again. She has connected us with a remarkable family in Llanatios and has helped me connect with locals whom I would not have known because of my poor Spanish. You can learn so much from people and Ellen Finn has been a blessing in my life. She has given me advice and wisdom that I hope I can understand more and more and follow each day. If you are interested in helping this amazing person in her mission please email her at: Ellenlfinn@hotmail.com. She is a woman full of passion, compassion, and purpose. She feels these people’s joys and sorrows every day and is probably working on improving someone’s life as you read this!