Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Prayer Requests and Prayers Answered!

These past few weeks have been difficult but there is always something to be thankful for.  On October 16th my husband, Isaí, started feeling really ill.  Thinking it was due to some homemade juice he was offered earlier that day, he dismissed the stomach pain and we went to work Monday morning.  Tuesday morning was unbearable for him so we visited the clinic and received some antibiotics and they ordered some blood tests. 
By Wednesday our doctor was sure it was appendicitis and rushed us to the hospital in Juticalpa (45 mins away) with papers for the emergency intake stating he needed surgery within a couple of hours at the latest.  Unfortunately the surgeon in Juticalpa wasn´t convinced it was appendicitis and ordered more antibiotics and blood tests.   Isaí spent almost 27 hours in the emergency ward waiting for his operation during which time his appendix burst.  Thankfully another surgeon took pity on Isaí and rushed him to his operating room when he saw that obviously no one was attending to him.  I can´t imagine what could have happened if we had waited any longer. 

The good news is after a week of really strong IV antibiotics and lots of rest Isaí was released from the hospital early so he could finally feel comfortable at home and take his medication orally.  After being in such a negligent and unsanitary hospital for so long it really made me miss the privileges we enjoy in Canada.   The hospitals here rarely have all the medications the doctors prescribe and it´s up to the family to purchase them at the pharmacy.  The nurses don´t assist in patient care- other than administering medicines bought by the patient.  And armed guards wake everyone up at 4 am to advise that the family member needs to bathe their patient before 5 am at which point all family is expelled until 10am.  I don´t think I´ve ever been so frustrated in my life, not to mention angry for what could have happened if Isaí hadn´t received his operation when he did. 

Thank the Lord for giving me patience during this trying time.  Thanks for the healing Isaí has experienced since leaving the hospital and for all the friends and family that have visited us.  We are still asking for your prayers as Isaí still hasn´t fully recovered.  The last couple of days have been difficult as the fever has returned and the doctors think he may have contracted an intestinal infection or malaria- both of which are totally unrelated to the surgery.  As you can imagine, Isaí is feeling a little frustrated that he´s still stuck at home in bed when he´d rather be working and doing the things he likes.  We are praying for patience, wisdom, healing and a positive outcome from today´s blood tests. 

In other news from Honduras, October was extremely challenging for Honduras living in the southern regions, Choluteca and Valle.  They experienced a state of emergency due to torrential rain, flooding and landslides.  Although the worst weather has subsided at least a dozen people have lost their lives and thousands of people are struggling to recover as their homes have been destroyed, roads are washed out and food shortages persist in the area.  Local NGO´s are working hard to stabilize the situation, including CRWRC´s partner agency Harvest with the help of a generous donation from the Carpenteros and Friends (Ontario, Canada).  Thank God that progress is being made to rebuild homes and roadways.  Please remember the many families living in the south and pray for restoration and a sense of peace for all those affected. 

I am also extremely thankful that my contract extension with CRWRC as their volunteer to Diaconía Nacional has been approved.  Right now we are working on the budget and plans for next year and I am so grateful to know that God is providing this wonderful opportunity once again.  It´s true that when one commits to a year-long volunteer position you never really know how you´ll feel by the end and what your plans will look like.  I appreciate that God has opened this door and touched the hearts of all those involved so that we can continue serving God in this capacity for another year.  I also ask for your prayers as we make these preparations and look for strategies to raise funds once again.  Isaí and I feel extremely blessed to know that we have such a supportive community behind us!


Thursday, October 13, 2011

Parade Season in Honduras

I have learned that Hondurans are very patriotic and eager to seize every opportunity to parade in the streets.  In the last month or so I have been to three parades and we´ve had a number of national holidays.
The 15th of September is a pretty big deal here as it is Honduran Independence Day.  School children spend months preparing speeches, poems and facts about important figures in Honduran history.  Also, High school marching bands prepare new songs and dances for the parade.   The festivities begin with a parade that goes on for hours and passes through almost the whole city.  The restaurant stalls sell a tonne of food – mostly fried stuff – and there is an army of ice cream vendors roaming around at all times. 

September 25th was Bible Day and all the churches from all denominations in Santa María del Real got together and paraded through the streets all morning.  Each church had a banner, signs and even pickup trucks outfitted like parade floats.  At various points representatives from each church had the opportunity to give a 2-3 minute message.  The rest of the time was spent marching, singing and praying for peace and prosperity in the community. 


October 3rd marked the beginning of Catacamas´ annual fair and of course was inaugurated with a parade.  My husband is currently working on his business degree with weekend classes and his work group was chosen by the university to make a float for the event.  I helped Isaí and his classmates out as they put together an enormous float promoting the university and highlighting the urgent environmental issues in the region.  The float featured a kind of before and after scenario.  At one end were beautiful green mountains, a flowing river, animals and real plants and shrubs, while the other end held denuded forests, a saw mill, hunters, a dried up river, dying shrubs and a few endangered species. 

The float turned out really nice and lasted for about an hour in the parade – that is until it starting pouring rain and a ruined pretty much all the parade floats.  It was a bit of shame but that´s how things go this time of year.  Right now it rains for at least a couple hours every afternoon and in the evening we get lightning storms. 
The power outages continue so once or twice a week we are without electricity for a couple of hours in the evening.  Sometimes there are schedule outages on Saturdays from 10am until 5pm which can be tough on small grocery stores and meat shops that can´t afford a diesel generator to maintain their products fresh.  I usually don´t keep a lot things in the fridge for this reason.  I was joking with my neighbour the other day that at least it gives me the opportunity to defrost the freezer when we´re without power the whole day!    

Monday, September 19, 2011

Some big changes happening here in Honduras...

So some pretty big changes since my last post – I´ve been offered an extension on my volunteer contract with CRWRC, I finally got my Honduran missionary visa approved, and last but not least… I´m married now!   Isaí and I celebrated a small civil ceremony Saturday August 27th in Villa Paraíso, Santa Maria del Real with our co-workers, friends and the Honduran part of our family.  Rev. Roldan gave a heartfelt message and blessing, the mayor of Santa Maria del Real officiated the signing of the marriage licence, and our micro-credit director, Lety, was a terrific MC.  Many others helped us out with decorations, picking up table cloths and flowers, managing the sound system and music, taking photos, and whatever else we needed.  So we send out a giant thank you to all of our many helpers.  We couldn´t have done it without you!

Villa Paraíso is a touristic site with a hotel, swimming pools with waterslides, ponds with fish, turtles and even a crocodile, and of course a terrific restaurant.  After the ceremony we all enjoyed anafres, tortilla chips with a bean and cheese dip served over hot coals, and a delicious plate of fried Tilapia fish with toasted slices of plantain.  The Tilapia are raised right there on the property in their fish farm and is their speciality.  All in all, it was a very busy but joyous day that we will never forget. 
In our case one wedding just isn´t enough, so we are hoping to celebrate again in December – God willing.  We would love the opportunity to rejoice in our marriage vows in Canada in front of more family and friends.  I know my extended family is anxious share in the celebrations and also to meet Isaí in person.   The plan is to spend the last three weeks of December visiting Edmonton and the Rockies and then returning to Honduras January 7th or so in order to start the second year of my contract with CRWRC.  We´ve encountered some challenges in getting Isaí´s Canadian visitor visa so we´re praying for good news in the next couple of weeks.  We have certainly been blessed with a very supportive community and we remain optimistic that everything will work out in time. 
Isaí has been perfecting his English skills in anticipation of our trip.  We both spent the first week of September in 30 hours of intensive language classes with CEHDE in Santa Lucia, just outside of Tegucigalpa.  I worked on honing my Spanish grammar and expanding my vocabulary to include more technical credit jargon and such.  In the classroom next to me, Isaí was reviewing and fortifying all the English he has already learned over the years and surprised both himself and me at how much he can speak and understand. 
Each morning was scheduled for grammar lessons and review, and each afternoon was dedicated entirely to practice!   On my first day, my teacher and I went to the local mayor´s office and I interviewed their representative regarding their social development programs and initiatives.  Another day I went to the home of one of the founders of Santa Lucia´s micro-financing cooperatives.  The practical aspect of CEHDE´s language program is essential so they try very hard to tailor the visits to your specific interests.  Isaí is really interested in improving his conversational skills so did a lot of one on one with his tutor and they even went to a local store to purchase a few items without speaking a word of Spanish.  After his first day, Isaí felt totally motivated and surprised at his own abilities.  He kept saying, “I can´t believe I had a conversation for an hour and a half totally in English!”  I was so proud of him.  Now we´re speaking more English at home and he takes advantage of every chance to speak at least bit of English with my parents – December is just around the corner. 

Friday, August 19, 2011

A little more info about Diaconia Nacional

Wow, it has been a scorching couple of weeks here in Olancho.  Sometimes I wake up in the morning and it’s already 30 degrees.  The only refuge from the heat and humidity is to sit directly in front of a fan but with the unreliable power grid that isn’t always available.  I feel a bit like a melting Popsicle sometimes and it can be difficult to concentrate on work once it gets to be 2 or 3 in the afternoon.  However, we are all surviving and working hard as always here at Diaconía Nacional. 
Last week all Diaconía employees were in Tegucigalpa for the annual self-evaluation of the institution and its progress in community development.  Irene Murillo, director of CRWRC in Honduras, facilitated the meeting, organized the employees into small groups and helped us tease out areas that we can improve and also celebrate our strengths. 
As a little summary… Diaconía Nacional is the social arm of the Christian Reformed Church in Honduras with a central office in the capital, Tegucigalpa, and two regional offices in Olancho and Choluteca.  Its 15 employees collaborate to ensure success in its many programs, such as: Micro-credit, Student Scholarships, Environmental Stewardship, Food Security, Reformed Ecclesiastical Training, Public Health and Hygiene, HIV/AIDS Prevention, Youth at Risk Programs, Community Transformation, Sustainable Housing and Potable Water Projects. 

Diaconía receives funding from a variety of sources including CRWRC, Partners Worldwide, Carpenteros and Friends, CIDA, Geneva Global, Northern Alberta Diaconal Conference, churches and universities throughout North America, individual donors and grants from local Honduran institutions.  As with all non-profit organizations, funding is a pretty big issue.  Even though DN explores a variety of support opportunities there is always the inevitable budget crunch when preparing for the new fiscal year.  The trouble is that we’ve got so many great ideas and initiatives that we’d like to implement using our limited resources.  This requires some creative solutions and strategic planning for all of Diaconía’s programs.  In recent years, DN’s youth retreats have unfortunately been cut from the budget as well as a variety of celebrations such as Mother’s Day, Children’s Day, etc.  Nevertheless, each and every employee works hard to support transformational community development in their day to day task; motivating people to plan for a brighter future and empowering them to reach those goals while demonstrating good stewardship of the resources we’ve been endowed.   

Sunday, July 17, 2011

From Water Project Evaluation to Project Appendix Removal!

Following my time with the King’s Water Project Team I was scheduled to visit seven communities around Honduras with some very special visitors from Canada.  Henry and Susan Bosch, from my home church Inglewood CRC in Edmonton, came down for two weeks as part of Henry’s sabbatical project regarding past water projects.  In the past 17 years over 20 teams have traveled to Honduras in partnership with the King’s University College, the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (CRWRC) and the Northern Alberta Diaconal Conference (NADC).  Working for NADC for almost 20 years, Henry has been in charge of promoting and coordinating funds for each water project.  This year Henry has taken it upon himself to gather more information about these communities following their water projects. 


In each community we met with the local leaders, members from the church and various men and women who supported and worked with the team during the project.  They gave an account of their community before and after the water project, the benefits of having taps in their homes, the quality of their water and their experience with the team of young people from Canada.  Common elements from each meeting included benefits like improved water quality, reduced incidence of illnesses such as diarrhoea in children and less time spent hauling water daily - meaning more time for homework and play for children as well as less stress on mothers.  Some villages even described how their water project experience led them to work together and cooperate towards other goals in their community’s development.   We visited the community of Julian only a couple weeks after they celebrated finally getting electricity which, besides water, is one of the major benchmarks of a developing town. I know we were all pretty proud to hear this success story because behind every CRWRC project is the desire to empower people and encourage them to take initiative. 

We also got some great responses regarding their time spent with the teams.  Each meeting at least three or four people took their turns to genuinely thank the Canadians for coming all that way to dig trenches with them, worship with them and give them hope.  Henry communicated that back home there is always the question whether the community would be better served if they skipped sending a team and just sent a bigger cheque so the locals could do more by themselves.  The response to the money vs. team question was overwhelming – they felt the presence of the team was a great motivator, that they felt honoured to have guests come from so far away and that they genuinely enjoyed forming relationships with the young people despite the language barrier.  It was really encouraging to see and hear their testimonies because they prove that each year CRWRC, NADC, King’s and all their supporters aren’t just contributing to a 3-week work project – we are all participants in the transformational development of Honduras.  It is truly amazing what God is able to do through many committed hands and hearts. 


I was very fortunate to accompany Henry & Susan Bosch, Ana from CRWRC and Dilia from Diaconía Nacional on their visits to Las Mangas, Julian, San Pedro de Catacamas – Plan de Argueta, Chapernal and Coyolar, which was 5 out of the 7 we had scheduled.  The rest went on to visit Los Ranchos and Varsovia without me due to a silly little organ called the appendix.  The day I was supposed to go to Los Ranchos my fiancé Isaí took me to the clinic in Santa Maria del Real after almost three days of fever and an ever increasing amount of pain. 
After a couple of clinical exams, an ultrasound and some blood tests, sure enough I was diagnosed with appendicitis.  Once that was established then came the tedious task of deciphering my emergency travelers insurance coverage and the even more important issue of where exactly the operation would take place.  The best hospital would have been in Tegucigalpa – a 5-hr bumpy ride plus waiting time in the hospital, then there was the hospital 40mins away in Juticalpa – but with considerable risks of infection or complications due to their limited facilities, and finally the little clinic in Santa Maria where I was already being treated.  We went with the clinic in the end because at least we could be sure of the cleanliness and the anaesthesiologist was a family friend of my co-worker.  The surgery took a little over two hours and went really well.  Luckily my appendix hadn’t burst quite yet – they said it was pretty close though – so they were able to stitch it up right away.  Apparently once it bursts you have to leave the wound open for a couple of weeks to clean out all the venom – yuck! I spent the night in the clinic and received a tonne of visitors from the church, co-workers, friends, and from my fiancé’s family. 
Appendicitis is such an odd illness because the appendix doesn’t seem to have a purpose other than to explode and that it is totally spontaneous so it could happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere.  My parents keep telling me that I’ve been having such bad luck with my health since I’ve arrived  but at least in this case it has nothing to do with what I ate or with the water I’ve been drinking.  Of course I would never wish that kind of pain on anyone but I’ve been thinking that maybe this was a good experience for me at this moment in my life and in Honduras. In this past month I was in my weakest state and I needed help just sitting up.  However, in this past month I have felt the love and support of an incredible community here and I feel more a part of it than ever.  I also received a great deal of prayer and emotional support from my family, friends and church community back home which has been awesome as well. 
At this point it has been a little over a month since the operation and I am feeling great.  I still can’t lift anything heavy or exert myself too much risking a hernia but I’m back at work full-time.  I already gave 20min presentation at one of Diaconía’s training sessions for Sunday School teachers the other week and thankfully it went really well.  I was a little nervous about getting back into the swing of things and having to speak by myself (in Spanish, of course) to a whole room full of people but it turned out to be a great experience.  Right now I’m preparing to travel around Olancho for the next few months giving small seminars to school children regarding sexual abuse.  The unfortunate reality is that child abuse is common but lacks public awareness and resources to help identify and deal with its effects.  For me it’s a lot more difficult to talk about this subject than giving tips on teaching Sunday School classes but it’s also very important and I hope to grow from this challenge.   


Friday, May 27, 2011

Home from the Water Project


So I’m finally back at home in Catacamas as this year’s King’s University Water Project draws to a close.  Everything went really well with the team here in Olancho and I heard Geoff Brouwer’s team up north in Colón had a pretty great time too.  Both teams had to contend with scorching temperatures, hiking through some unforgiving terrain and basic living conditions but I think the Olancho team had it a little easier than their counterparts in each respect.  However, I did hear rumours that the other team had a nice cool waterfall near their worksite which may account for why they survived the 40 to 43 degree weather.  Overall, there were no major catastrophes, injuries or illnesses - thank goodness.  Well… except that team leader Ashlee Brandsma and I both got very sick on our way back from the community.  Thankfully we survived the three-day stomach ache with the help of some American nurses we ran into at our hotel as well as plenty of rest, water and some handy antibiotics. 



I said goodbye to the Olancho team on Monday morning as they headed to the bus station.  They took a “luxurious” 8hr bus ride up to La Ceiba on the northern coast.  Most of the students this year elected to stay longer and explore a bit more of the country.  A few even have plans to visit Nicaragua and El Salvador before they head home.  I know a few of them were interested in taking in the Mayan ruins of Copan and some of the nature preserves on the coast.  Not surprisingly, the main attraction for the extended trip is visiting the lush Bay Islands.  The team was having trouble deciding between Roatan and Utila but I’m sure they’re having a great time wherever they are.

As the King’s team is lounging around on a Honduran beach taking a well-deserved break, I am playing catch-up with all reports, meetings and sorting through my photos and field notes from the trip.  It was awesome spending time with my fellow Canadians and King’s students but now I’ve got to hang up my pickaxe and shovel in favour of spreadsheets, interest calculations and a mountain of paperwork.  Thanks to everyone who continues to support my work here in Honduras and also the annual King’s Water Project. 

Monday, May 2, 2011

A Recap of March and April

Wow!  I hate to start each blog entry with an apology but I've hardly had time to sit and digest all the activities of the past few weeks - let alone write about them.  So, here's the condensed version of all my recent events.  I know there are a lot of people who like to know what’s happening here in Honduras and I apologize in advance for May.  This week marks the beginning of the 2011 Honduras Water Project with the King’s University so I’ll be incommunicado until the fourth week of May.  I’ll be with 10 King’s students in El Chapernal where there is no electricity so blogging is going to have to wait, sorry.  Although I’m sure I’ll a few interesting stories to tell once I’m back at home in Catacamas.   (And sorry for the lack of photos but it's taking over an hour to load just one)

March 22-29 – Similar to the King’s initiative, New Westminster Christian Reformed Church in Burnaby, BC makes an annual trip to a partner community in Honduras.  This year a group of young people and their youth pastor, Dave Groen, spent their spring break working in the sweltering heat of El Coyolar, Olancho.  This community recently completed its water project last fall - due in part to the help of the 2010 Honduras Water Project teams from Biola and the King’s University.  Now that they have water, the community is ready for the next phase of their development plan: pilas to wash clothes and dishes as well as sanitary latrines.  The New West group initially raised funds to build 5 pilas and 5 latrines but were overwhelmed by support and received enough for 6 of each and a little cement left over to pour flooring in one house.    

I spent the week working alongside the New West team mixing seemingly endless amounts of cement, making trenches, as well as digging drainage pits and then filling them back up with sand and rocks to act as a filter.  It was a lot of work and a lot of heat but the people of El Coyolar will use these latrines and pilas multiple times a day and will save them lots of time and frustration.  We worked each morning from 6am to about 11 or 11:30am, depending on the weather.  The afternoons were reserved for building relationships with the members of the community – after a nice cool bucket shower, of course!   The youth from New West prepared a lot of games and crafts to engage the children of Coyolar.  They even made a presentation about Canada in the school and brought mini hockey sticks to teach them the basics of the game.  We also had meetings with the women in the village, the elders, and the community leaders to learn their history and hopes for the future. 

All in all, I had a great time working with the people of El Coyolar and the New West team.  I hope it was a great experience for these youth and I also hope I’m still around to help them out with their group next year.  I guess we’ll have to see what God has in store once this year is up! 

March 30- April 15 – Following my stint in El Coyolar, I came back to an office bursting with paperwork and a schedule full of meetings with credit groups and individual entrepreneurs.  We gave out new loans to three of our most successful collectives and which included a total of over 40 clients.  With new loans comes a stack of new paperwork.  Each recipient has to sign over 11 forms and we have to fill in the details by hand for each one!  It takes about 5 hours to prepare all the necessary documents and then about 2 hours to get them all signed and dispense the funds.  It is certainly a lot of work but the program is really effective in supporting local businesses so it’s worth it.  However, I’m hoping that I’ll have more time in July and August to revamp some of their forms and start filling out the data on the computer – hopefully before my fingers become arthritic!

April 16-24 – Semana Santa or Holy Week is the next biggest holiday period after the Christmas season.  The people here spend the week leading up to Easter enjoying the hot summer weather with their families.  Some are even fortunate to travel to the northern coast or to the Bay Islands to soak up some sun on those pristine Caribbean beaches.  I stayed a little closer to home in Santa Maria del Real, which is right outside of Catacamas and is actually where the Diaconía Nacional office and my church are located.  I stayed with a host family from my church so that I’d be closer to all the church activities throughout the week and also to get some experience living with a large Honduran family.  Needless to say, I had a great time.  We ate a lot of fish, fried Tilapia and a breaded fish soup, and an excessive amount of watermelon – all of which is typical of Semana Santa.  We had a day-long youth retreat at a nearby river where we had devotions, swam in the cool water, and I swear we must have barbequed half a cow! 

There were many evening church services throughout the week but the biggest was Easter morning.  All the surrounding Christian Reformed Churches join together for a huge service on the banks of the “El Boquerón” river.  Each church takes turns preaching and leading worship songs and they end with baptisms in the river.  There were over two hundred people in attendance – which is a lot considering most churches have at most 30 people at a Sunday service.  I think these kinds of events are really important to Honduran Christians because it reminds them that they’re not alone, that they’re all there to support each other. 

April 23-30 – Biola University’s Water Project team arrived in El Chapernal.  Unfortunately I was too busy working in the office to join them in digging kilometer after kilometer of trenches.  However, I know that the work they accomplished was a definitely blessing to the community and I am excited to pick up where they left off with the King’s group this week.  Like the New West group, Biola always makes sure they bring activities, games and crafts for the children and youth in the community.  They also bring a few luxury items to pamper the hardworking ladies of El Coyolar.  Aside from being a water project, Biola really considers there time abroad as a ministry opportunity so they prepare sermons, songs and devotions throughout their stay.  They came with a group of almost 30 eager and able-bodied students and they accomplished a lot in one week. 

May 1-23 – It’s hard to believe but it’s already time for the 2010 King’s Honduras Water Project!  Due to an increase in the number of applicants this year, King’s is actually sending two groups to Honduras.  Leader Geoff Brouwer will be taking his team to the department of Colón in the north to work with CRWRC’s local partner Alfalit.  The other team, led by Ashlee Brandsma, will be joining me and Diaconía’s project coordinator, Arturo Colindres, in El Chapernal.  I know both teams will have a great time and that both communities are extremely grateful to be hosting them.  Thank you to everyone that continually supports the King’s Water Project and I hope you will keep us all in your prayers in the weeks to come!

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

I can't believe it's mid-April already!

Wow!  I can’t believe how fast this last month flew by!  I guess that’s a good sign since it means that I have lots of work and I’m settled into my routine here.  My first couple of months here were a little slow since I was getting acquainted with all of Diaconía’s programs and such.  Now I have my own projects to work on plus helping out with the credit groups and paperwork.  I like being well occupied because it makes me feel like I’m making my contribution felt – more than just observing and taking notes. 

However, one side-effect of all this busyness is that I totally forgot that I’ve been in Honduras for 3 months… which means my 90-day visitor visa was about to expire April 6th!  Luckily I was already in Tegucigalpa April 5th for Diaconía Nacional’s monthly staff meeting so once Ana reminded me about the visa I went directly to immigration to apply for my 2 month extension.  CRWRC has a lawyer working on my volunteer visa application but he doesn’t think it’ll be done for another two months.  The whole process is very tedious and it seems like there’s a new fee or tax levied at each step.  This time I had to pay almost 800 lempiras (~$43) and leave my passport with them for 4 days!  It’s not easy leaving your passport behind but there isn’t much you can do about it.  I’ll be really happy when I get my Honduran visa and ID!  It’ll definitely be a relief to finish this process plus then I can open up a bank account here, FINALLY!

Sorry but I don’t have time to write more about all the adventures that happened last month.  For now all I can say is “COMING SOON…” and here are some photos to preview!





Monday, March 21, 2011

Happy Father's Day!

So, this past Saturday was Father's Day here in Honduras and I thought I'd share some pictures of our little celebration.  We had a special lunch on Friday at the office followed by a giant cake!  I was in charge of buying the cake so that was fun.  The only hitch was that I didn't realize we were only expecting ten people and the cake I picked out was supposed to feed 25-30 people.  Needless to say, we ate a LOT of cake that day and there was still leftovers to take home. 




Father's Day in Honduras isn't nearly as big as Mother's Day (which is celebrated in May, just like in Canada).  However, this holiday is still an important celebration for families in the community.  In many homes fathers are either uninvolved with their children or totally absent.  Unfortunately incidences of domestic violence, child abuse and alcoholism are pretty common.  It is really a privilege if a family has a stable and loving father-figure in their home.  At church, some women came forward to give heartfelt thanks to all the wonderful fathers and role models in the community.  It really made me think about their influence on the father's of the next generation and about the future of the typical Honduran household.  It also made me miss my own dad so, of course, I gave him a call later on Sunday afternoon!


Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Diaconía's Microcredit Program

So far, my favourite part of my work here in Honduras has been assisting with the microcredit program.  Microcredit is a way of fighting poverty by providing small loans to people in the community so that they can build their small-scale business activities. Pioneered by the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh under the direction of Dr. Muhammad Yunus, the microcredit model emerged in the late 1970s and early 1980s.  Microcredit programs proved that people living in poverty could make good use of credit and other financial services which until then, they had rarely been able to access. As the concept of microcredit spread, organizations adapted it to fit the needs of other regions, economic climates, and populations -- urban and rural, literate and illiterate, male and female.

This program interests me because it targets women and helps them to organize and support each other.  Training individuals as part of a micro-credit initiative involves more than just dispensing loans: it empowers and strengthens the community.  Diaconía works within the neighbourhood to improve business strategies, build self-esteem and accountability, foster valuable family relationships, and develop household management skills.  I have had many opportunities to visit with loan recipients and I have seen their flourishing businesses.  I believe that this approach to development has the potential to truly transform a community through the empowerment of individuals and by nurturing a strong network of support.

At this point, I am still learning the loan process so I’ve been assisting the other team members.  Together we’ve gone to communities around Catacamas visiting potential clients and businesses.  Since the credit program involves investing a lot of time and effort into training and supporting its clients, Diaconía prefers to start with a few preliminary visits to get to know one another.  The priority is always to foster a strong relationship between the organization and its participants. 

This past week I just finished working on a pamphlet and PowerPoint presentation to help us better communicate to our clients their rights, responsibilities and benefits within the program.  We’ve really tried to simplify our message and emphasize the characteristics of a great relationship so we named it “La Receta del Éxito – The Recipe of Success”!  Hopefully this will aid our individual borrowers and loan groups to understand that DN is ready to support them but that they ultimately hold the key to opening or closing the door to this opportunity. 

Our most successful participants are those that take this cooperative relationship very seriously and also take great pride in their businesses.   They realize that we are not loan-sharks out to take advantage and make an enormous profit.  And yet our loans are not charity either because our clients know they have to invest wisely and work hard to pay it back. 
In addition to working on pamphlets and presentations, I have been filling out loan application forms with our potential borrowers and sending the documents to Diaconía Nacional’s head office in Tegucigalpa.  Not everyone can read and write very well so we have to sit down with each applicant – which also helps with my Spanish skills too!  My other tasks include all that fun office work like making photocopies, sending emails, answering the phone and of course filing, filing and more filing.  It seems like almost every job I’ve had involves a mountain of papers that need to be organized. 

All in all it keeps me busy - which is great - and I find the whole program very intriguing.  It also looks like I’ll have a break from the office work starting next week as we are expecting a work group from a church in British Columbia March 23nd.  I bet I’ll be ready for more filing after a week of digging and mixing cement! 

Sunday, March 6, 2011

My Roatan Vacation

So I just got back home to Catacamas yesterday afternoon from Roatan, one of the Bay Islands on the north coast of Honduras.  I left here on Saturday Feb 19th and took a 5-hr bus trip to Tegucigalpa.  I was so happy to spend the night at Dilia's house because the next day was an 8-hr bus trip to La Ceiba on the coast and then an hour and a half ferry ride to Roatan.  Honduras isn't a very big country but even domestic travel can be quite an ordeal.  My parents and my sister flew into Roatan from Houston on Feb 20th and I met up with them at our hotel later that evening.  It was really nice seeing my family again but it also wasn't some kind of gushy reunion either.  After all, it's only been six weeks!  It was strange saying good-bye yesterday though, since we won't see each other until Christmas- wow!

After spending a few days on the beach in Roatan, my parents were ready for a taste of the 'real Honduras'.  Of course Julie was just here in May for the King's Water Project so she already knew that the tropical vistas of Roatan didn't capture what it's really like to live in Honduras.  My family wasn't really interested in the 8-hr bus ride to Tegucigalpa so we flew instead.  Not to worry, the 5-hr trip to Catacamas following the flight was enough for them to get acquainted with the bumpy Honduran highways! 

We spent two nights in my house and my mom was very excited to do dishes in the pila – which was totally fine with me because that meant I didn’t have to do them! We only had time for one full day in Catacamas so we started off with a little tour of the Diaconía office.  Isaí made a valiant effort to give us a little presentation in English about DN’s work in Olancho.  It was great being able to share a bit more about my work here.  Now my family will have a better idea of what/who I’m talking about in my emails and phone calls. 

Next we went to the famous Cuevas de Talgua near Catacamas.  There was a bit of a hike up to the caves up it was totally worth it.  There are actually a lot of great caves in this area but Talgua is the only one that’s developed for visitors.  The rest of the afternoon was spent hanging around in hammocks, sipping cool drinks and eating this awesome hot bean dip with tortillas.   We left at 7am the next morning and instead of taking the bus again, Dilia was nice enough to take us in her truck.  In the end it was a lot of travelling for just one day in Catacamas but I think it was important for my family to see all of it.



I’d like to say that I spent all of last week lounging on the beaches of Roatan but I was sooooo sick.  I went to the clinic at least 5 or 6 times for tests, IV’s and prescriptions and I think my parents spent more on cab fare than my food for a week.  At first the doctors were pretty sure it was classic Dengue Fever or Malaria (both of which are spread by insects) but the blood tests were negative.  After about 5 days of antibiotics things seemed a little better so it must have been a bacterial infection.  I’m not 100% recovered yet but at this point I don’t really care what it was.  All in all, I spent more time in bed than in the sun but it was nice to have family around through it all.  I just hope I wasn’t too much of a bummer to ruin their vacation.  Fortunately I was feeling alright on our last full day in Roatan so I got to go horseback riding as little treat- yay!


So now I have to get back into my Catacamas routine.  Vacation time is over – time to get back to work!  I think I’m only in the office for another week and a half and then there is a work group coming from a CRC church in BC.  I’ll be joining them in El Coyolar as they construct latrines, pilas and concrete floors.  I think Diaconía has a North American work group lined up for each month until July so there’s a lot of work to be done in preparation!