Saturday, August 25, 2012

Let´s put a stop to violence

CRWRC held a two-day seminar earlier this week on the topic of Family Violence here in Tegucigalpa.  They invited representatives from all five community development partner agencies as well as several members from various Christian Reformed Churches around the country.  We all came together for lunch on Monday at the Christian High School run by MCM (Christian Stewardship Ministries) in order to start off the seminar with a time of fellowship, worship, and prayer for the task at hand. 

The Association for a More Justice Society (ASJ) provided the training facilitators for this event as they are working tirelessly in search of justice and healing for the victims of all types of violence – especially rape and murder.  We heard from one of their psychologists about the importance of respect, shared responsibility and fair treatment within the family, between spouses, parents and children, and siblings, because the absence of such things is also a form of violence against the integrity of the family and not what God intended for His children.   We played a lot of interactive games that allowed us to dialogue in small groups about these issues.  The psychologist also went on to alert us to signs of child sexual abuse and how to respond in a way that encourages the child to speak out without experiencing even more trauma. 
The second day ASJ sent a few members of their “Project Rescue” team; a lawyer that represents victims of violence and two staff members that psychological support.  Together they educated us on the four categories of violence that they use to identify abusive situations within the family.  Violence can be physical, psychological, sexual and/or patrimonial (relating to the family´s resources and livelihood).   I could tell that these categorizations and their examples really challenged some of the participants to broaden their definition of violence.   We came to see that anything that constitutes a lack of respect for any member of the family is vicious blow and prevents the family from functioning as a team. 

Once we had defined violence, ASJ gave us a crash course on how to respond using “Emotional First Aid”, as they call it.   The five-step process begins with the initial psychological contact with the victim by encouraging them to express their feelings in a safe and supportive environment.  Next is to analyze the various dimensions of the problem which leads to the third step of searching for possible solutions for the immediate priorities, such as personal safety, and longer term tasks like reporting the crime and legal proceedings.  The fourth step calls us to react and realize concrete actions in accordance with the previous phases.  Finally, we should follow up with the case and verify its progress ensuring that the victim is safe and resolute in proceeding with the decided course of action.
 

In the end, we learned a lot about a great many forms of violence and how to react to them with compassion, empathy and wisdom.  After hearing about only a fraction of the cases they deal with in “Project Rescue” I also realized how much faith and courage it takes to confront these horrific and often dangerous situations.  ASJ´s mission describes a call to be brave Christians in the pursuit of justice and they are totally right.  I think that without the key ingredients of bravery and faith their handy “5-step Emotional First Aid” just won´t cut it.  All in all, I thank God for all the people working for justice and restoration here in Honduras and for the privilege of hearing their stories and learning from them.  I hope that all of us participants took home some valuable tools so we can help put a stop to violence in our own communities. 

Friday, August 17, 2012

Gender Issues in Transformational Development

Last month CRWRC hosted a two-day seminar on gender issues related to community development projects.  Representatives from all five partner agencies attended; from Diaconía Nacional, Alfalit, Christian Stewardship Ministries, Association for a More Just Society, and Harvest.


Together we learned how to identify possible gender barriers and how to overcome them while planning community development initiatives.  We worked through various case studies from around the world that detailed how an excellent project can ultimately fail to impact their target audience due to cultural practices and gender norms. 

The seminar, led by CRWRC veteran Robert Wood, outlined how to extract and analyze gender issues in 4 categories; Roles and Responsibilities, Access and Control of Resources, Power and Decision-making, & Needs and Priorities.  This seminar offered valuable tools for investigating and planning for new initiatives that will hopefully result in achieving more development goals and using our increasingly limited resources more efficiently. 


Next week CRWRC will be hosting another inter-agency training seminar on a related topic: Good Treatment within the Family/Domestic Violence.  I look forward to learning more about this very serious  issue that is unfortunately all too common in many Honduran households. 

Monday, August 6, 2012

Olympia Team Shows their Continued Support for Los Charcos

Only a few short days after the departure of the Inglewood team we had the privilege of hosting the team from Olympia, Washington for the 5th time in the community of Los Charcos.  Olympia CRC may not send the biggest teams – ranging from 3 to 7 people – but they have certainly been faithful in their commitment to Los Charcos. 

Over the years the church has kept in contact with the community by exchanging photos, letters and cards.  Undeterred by their limited economic resources Olympia has always committed to some type of construction project per year.  In the past they´ve done everything from pouring cement floors, constructing latrines and building pilas for washing and water storage.  This year the eager Olympians took on a big challenge in pledging to construct an addition on the local Christian Reformed Church to be used as a Sunday School classroom.  Armed with their largest team yet (7 participants) and a lot of prayer and financial support, they were ultimately able to achieve their goal. 
Unfortunately I was unable to join this team when they came last year as I was recovering from my appendectomy.  That was really too bad because they are a great group of people and they even accepted me as one of their own – despite being Canadian!  
Olympia prefers to stay with host families rather than altogether in the church or schoolhouse.  It was amazing to see how close they´ve become to the families that host them every year.  One of the challenges, however, in using host families is of course the language barrier.   We solved that problem by hiring three wonderful ladies from Tegucigalpa, Dilia, Miriam and Karla, to help us as translators.  The three of them and myself ended up rotating through the host families at dinner time so that the team members could chat with the family in the evenings. 
In terms of the work project, every day was different as the addition involved a variety of tasks.  The first day was spent digging the perimeter of the foundation and stacking an endless pile of blocks.  The next day involved hauling rocks and mixing cement to lay the foundation.  We spent another day hauling lumber on our shoulders down from the mountain to the church – a task that was a lot harder than it sounds!  The team also shovelled and carried buckets of dirt from a nearby field to level the floor while others mixed water, sand and cement for the masons as they began to lay the bricks.  It was hot and the work was hard but the team remained in good spirits.  It was very interesting to see the construction from the very beginning but it was also sad to have to leave before it was finished.  But, in the end, we were all proud of the progress we accomplished!

Friday, August 3, 2012

New Partnership in the Works with La Avispa and Inglewood CRC

I had the privilege of joining Inglewood CRC´s work team in La Avispa this past month.  The five team members arrived in Tegucigalpa pretty tired after flying all night but were definitely eager to meet the people of La Avispa.  Their goal was to spend their ten days in Honduras helping 10 families pour cement floors in their homes – a task some found daunting.  Marina, Coby, Rose, Tracy and Sim were also commissioned by the church council to get to know the community and report back.   Inglewood is interested in developing a long-term relationship with La Avispa like New West CRC and Coyolar or West End CRC and El Naranjo. 

There are quite a few people out there with very strong opinions about short-term mission trips for a variety of reasons.  One argument states that they benefit the “giver” more than the “receiver” as the project is too short to have any real impact on the community.  As an alternative, CRWRC-Honduras has been encouraging church-community partnerships with a commitment of at least 5 years.  The church signs a memorandum of understanding with CRWRC and the local partner agency (Diaconía Nacional for example) setting out definite terms for how many times a work team will visit, what are the needs and priorities in the community, what projects can be achieved together, how often will communication be exchanged, etc.  The goal is not to have a single 10-day life-changing experience for a handful of church members – the goal is to build a meaningful relationship between two groups of people from different cultures but the same body of Christ. 

Some people may characterize this type of partnership as rich people helping poor people.  The truth is that both communities possess a richness that the other lacks.  A rural Honduran community can teach us a lot about faith in the face of extreme adversity, compassion and care for one´s neighbour, and the profound joy and humility that comes with total dependence on God´s providence. 
Many times North American team members struggle with the urge to give money, articles of clothing, their sleeping bag, or work gloves to the people in the community.  As CRWRC representatives we have to remind people they don´t need to give material gifts – they are the gift!  Building floors, pilas for water storage and latrines will help meet the basic needs of the community but what they will remember most is that a special group of people travelled hundreds of kilometers sacrificing work and time with their families in order to work alongside this community in its development.  It is honouring to know that someone would rather swing a pickaxe or mix cement with a shovel for a few days under the hot Honduran sun than do anything else with their precious vacation. 

Well, I can say that after being with the Inglewood team and getting to know the people of La Avispa, these two will make an excellent partnership.  “La Avispa” may literally mean “the wasp” but the inhabitants are quite the opposite of such a menacing namesake.  They were so welcoming and eager to work with all of us.  The team stayed with host families and enjoyed typical home cooked meals with plenty of fresh fruits and handmade tortillas. 

Together we worked on 10 floor projects and got to know the families, play with their children and learn of the community´s tragic history.  We walked through the relief housing constructed following Hurricane Mitch and then the terrible landslide in August of 2008 for the households that lost everything.  It was amazing to hear how the people in the community and outside organizations banded together to provide housing for those unfortunate families – even if they are quite small houses for a family of 5 or more. 

The people of La Avispa were also very eager to share information about the local economy and agriculture in the area.  Due to its elevation, La Avispa is ideal for harvesting quality coffee beans and many families have plantations up in the mountains surrounding the village.  We visited one of the lower plantantions but there wasn´t much activity as the harvest doesn´t begin until late November.  The bean fields, on the other hand, were incredibly busy as the farmers scrambled to plant the last bit so the sprouts can grow strong before the rainy season can drown the seedlings.  Planting beans is hard work from 5am to 2pm with only a pointed rod and a whole sac of seeds to sow.  Workers from outside of La Avispa  are hired to help during the short planting season.  The other main crop in the area is corn which was planted already in May and should be ready to collect in late August or September. 

All in all, the Inglewood CRC – La Avispa trip was a success and hopefully an indication of 5 more years of fellowship as we work together towards the development  of La Avispa, spiritual growth and service at Inglewood and, above all, honouring our Lord and building His kingdom on earth.

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

King´s Water Project 2012 - Gracias A Dios! (Thanks be to God!)

So you might say that the King´s Honduras Water Project is all wrapped up for this year but the project won´t be totally complete until the people of Gracias a Dios have water in their homes.  After three weeks of hard labour by 14 King´s students mixing cement and digging trenches, I can definitely say that the water project is well on its way.   According to the team of masons in charge of the project, they estimate another month and a half to complete the tank, dam and lay the rest of the piping.  It looks like smooth sailing from here on out but we´re all praying that no complications pop up along the way. 

So, May 2nd I met up with the team as they arrived at the Tegucigalpa airport.  The next day we head out to Olanchito (10 hours away by bus) to meet up with the Alfalit staff for orientation.  After a day of intense preparation and a lot of good questions about the social, political and environmental issues in Honduras, the team finally made their way up the mountain range to the isolated community of Gracias a Dios. 

This little village of 35 homes and about 150 inhabitants was formed about 4 years ago when the government endowed the land to a cooperative of poor landless farmers from around the country.  While it will be years before the community pays back the 4,000,000 lempira loan but they are so grateful to have their own land on which to cultivate and raise their families.   It´s no wonder they named the community Gracias a Dios – Thanks be to God!  This community was blessed last year with a team from the United States to build a new school and they were overwhelmed with gratitude when they found out earlier this year that CRWRC and King´s were interested in doing a water project with them. 

The Gracias a Dios water system consists of a dam at the top of the mountain stream, about 1.5kms of tubing to the distribution tank and then various branches of tubing to each of the 35 homes.  The 14 youth from the King´s University worked side by side with the locals digging about 1.3kms of the conduction line, prepared the site for the dam and laid the two-foot foundation for the tank.   This made for a lot of hard work – especially when you have to hike for an hour uphill just to get started working at the dam site! 

Besides all that hard work under a hot sun, we did have some good times!  We went for walks around the community to get to know more families and how they live.  We attended church services throughout the week at both the Baptist and Catholic churches.  We played games with the kids, hiked to some amazing caves, learned to make tortillas, took in a tour of a local´s onion field and some of us even learned to play chess and several fun-filled variations on Chinese checkers. 

We had planned an excursion to El Coyolar to check on last year´s King´s water project with Alfalit.  We were all so excited to see what the finished product might look like in Gracias a Dios and also to swim in the nearby waterfall.  However, it turns out this team had terrible luck when it came to transportation and one thing after another led to an inevitable change of plans and we went to a river in Olanchito instead.  Elizabeth and Melissa noted this hilarious series of events with an entry in their Honduras joke book – coming soon to a store near you:

                Q:  Why did 14 Canadian students cram into a tiny van drive 2.5 hrs into rural Honduras in 35°C weather and then turn around before reaching their destination?

                A:  To see a Honduran geyser explode from the van´s engine in the front seat!

All in all, May was an eventful month that may people will never forget.  The 14 students went home with rewarding experiences, amazing friendships and a well-developed understanding of the challenges and triumphs of transformational development in Honduras.  Ana and I were impressed with their valuable comments and insightful concerns during the CRWRC debriefing at the end of the trip.  They are all now equipped to be ambassadors for Honduras and the work of CRWRC around the world. 

And although these students might feel that they received much more they gave but I know that the people of Gracias a Dios will be remembering them fondly for the next 10, 15 and even 20 years from now.  It means so much to them to know that students from so far away sacrificed their time and energy to fundraise for materials, travel to Honduras and work alongside them in their all but forgotten little village.  I hope everyone on the team will go home and tell all of their sponsors and prayer partners of the profound love, gratitude and hard work of the people of Gracias a Dios.  The 2012 King´s Honduras Water Project is just another example of how King´s students are blessed richly to be a blessing to others. 

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Bonus Trip for Calvin College Spanish Majors AND Water in El Encinal!

Last month I was surprised by an invitation to join a group of Calvin College students.  Lety, my supervisor in Diaconía´s credit program, planned a trip to El Guanábano, San Pedro de Catacamas to visit the rural credit union and the construction of a new well in one of the neighbourhoods.  These dozen Spanish Majors are currently doing their required semester abroad here in Honduras.  They are taking a full course load, practicing their Spanish and taking in a whole new cultural experience.  Joanne Verbeek of the Association for a more Just Society (AJS) in Tegucigalpa was leading this group in their bonus trip to Olancho.  Her goal was to give these students the opportunity to see how people live in another part of Honduras and to see how other CRWRC partner agencies are working towards community development. 


We got up early that Saturday morning and clambered into a little bus and made the 45 min trip to El Guanábano.  We met with many community leaders in the local Christian Reformed Church.  The Calvin students eagerly engaged the community members as they heard a bit of the history and struggles living in rural Olancho.  They weren´t afraid to ask some excellent questions which showed an appreciation for the work of transformational development and also demonstrated their well-developed Spanish skills.  We discussed everything from the San Pedro de Catacamas water project and its challenges, to the family garden program from Diaconía, to the rural credit union in Guanábano. 

On our way out of the community we ventured a little off the beaten path up to a remote neighbourhood called El Encinal.  This poor area of El Guanábano is located on the top of a hill and dotted with small and sagging little houses.  Matt DeKam, the previous CRWRC volunteer with Diaconía, had a soft spot for the people of El Encinal and advocated for funding for water storage pilas in 2010.  They were so happy to have these new pilas but the last couple of years have been a struggle to fill them as they have to haul water from a well almost 3km away.  However, things are looking up in El Encinal as the Carpenteros and Friends from Ontario have sponsored the construction of their very own well!  We stopped by with the Calvin students to check on its progress and some of the girls even rappelled down to get a sense of how deep they´ve already dug.  They were all very impressed with the all the hard work required to excavate that well with just a pick axe, shovel and bucket.  


Last week Isaí, Arturo and I went for another visit to the well in El Encinal.  We were so happy to hear that after months of digging under a beating sun, after hauling thousands of buckets full of mud, sand and rock, and after reaching an impressive depth of more than 17 metres… THEY HAVE FOUND WATER!!!  They have just grazed the main water vein and will have to continue digging a little further before installing the pump and tubing.  However, the winter rainy season has already begun so they won´t be able to excavate while the well walls are so soft.  The residents of El Encinal will have to wait until next March to restart the digging but the good news is that they have water – even if it is with a bucket and pulley system.  You can just imagine how ecstatic they are knowing that their pilas will always have water from now on!



Tuesday, May 1, 2012

From Olancho to Olanchito: Exchange with Alfalit

As a CRWRC volunteer I have a set of Service and Learning Objectives for the year.  Even though my placement is with Diaconía Nacional CRWRC wants me to get to know their other four partner agencies working actively different areas of development all over the Honduras.  Diaconía is the only one in Olancho but CRWRC also works with the Association for a More Just Society and MCM in Tegucigalpa, Harvest in Choluteca, and Alfalit in Olanchito, Yoro. 

This month Irene and Ana planned a trip to visit Alfalit and invited Isaí and I to join them.  This partner agency is involved in water projects, credit unions and latrine/pila/floor construction – similar to Diaconía however they also focus on literacy training in rural communities.  Isaí was really excited to see how other institutions form and monitor their credit unions and I was anxious to visit the community that will receive the 2012 King´s Water Project team in May. 

Although Olanchito is a meager 242km north of Catacamas taking the direct route we spent more than 12 hours driving each way.  We had to detour south to Tegucigalpa, then northwest to San Pedro Sula, and double back going east along the coast through Tela and La Ceiba to reach Olanchito.  The direct route would have been shorter but is just dirt, gravel and dust as you wind up, down and around the hills.  It also happens to be the same road where we rolled the black Diaconía truck in January  and to top it off we´ve heard report that there are bandits assaulting travellers at isolated point along the way – yikes!  All in all, we took the long way but were able to enjoy a lot more scenery and discuss every topic under the sun with Ana and Irene. 

We were able to visit three very interesting communities during our exchange of experiences with Alfalit.  Upon arriving in the city of Olanchito, we just dropped our bags off at the motel and made our way to the community of San Francisco.  We met with various leaders of the local credit union and visited two micro-enterprises, a fish farm and chicken coop, both of which started up with help from Alfalit. 

The next day we got up earlier to journey up the mountain to Gracias a Dios (which means Thanks to God) and we really did thank God for keeping us safe on some of those precarious cliffs.   Next week the students from King´s University will be joining this community in the construction of a long awaited potable water system.  This is a very poor and isolated community but they are eager to work hard alongside their Canadian visitors. They had lots of questions for me about what the students will be like, what they will eat and how are they going to communicate. 

Later in the afternoon we climbed a second mountain to the village of Buena Vista (which means Good View) and once again the community lived up to its name.  There was a wonderful breeze blowing as we sat under a tree and took in the breathtaking landscape below.  We met with the community leaders involved with completing the water project funded by the Carpenteros.  They had been held up for a couple of weeks as the remaining pipes were delivered to the town at the foot of the mountain and there was no transportation available to haul it up.  Thankfully they resolved the issue during our meeting and very soon will complete their water project. 

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Semana Santa (Holy Week)

The week leading up to Easter is called Semana Santa (Spanish for Holy Week) and it feels like Christmas break but in April!   The excitement for Semana Santa builds and builds in the weeks leading up to the holiday.  Schools and the government have the whole week off while most businesses wait until Wednesday at noon to let their employees enjoy their vacations.  Many people take the whole week off to take advantage of the many beautiful beaches in Honduras.  Thousands flock to the coasts in the north and south as well as the three Caribbean Bay Islands.  April and May are two of the hottest months of the year in this climate so everyone switches to shorts and bathing suits to deal with the incredible heat. 

There seems to be some growing concerns about Semana Santa and how its celebrations have evolved over the years.  This Holy Week is essentially a time to celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ but more and more Semana Santa has converted itself into Semana Sangana – a week of excessive eating, drinking and parties.  It seems like the original purpose and meaning of Semana Santa has been swallowed up by a kind of Spring Break Gone Wild whirlwind of activity. 
Last year´s service and baptisms at El Boquerón. 
However, there are still many people that celebrate the death and resurrection of Christ during their Easter break.  Many churches hold special services leading up to Resurrection Sunday including a service dedicated solely to the “7 Palabras” which are the last seven words or speeches Jesus made before his death.  In Santa María del Real they continue the tradition of uniting all the churches to have one big service and baptisms at the Boquerón River.  Besides going to church, people also take the opportunity to spend time with their families.  Those who can´t afford to go to the coast make day trips to a local stream or river to splash around, have fun, and eat a tonne of watermelon!

Isaí and I were fortunate enough to travel to Utila, one of the Bay Islands, during Semana Santa.  Isaí lived there for two years before coming to work with Diaconía.  Isaí worked in a hardware store owned by his cousin, Richard, who was anxious to have us over to stay in his home.  It was incredible to meet more of Isaí´s family and as a bonus we didn´t have to pay the premium for a hotel during the busiest week of the year.    Most of the people in Utila speak English as well as Spanish and the culture there is pretty distinct from the mainland.  Once you´re in the Bay Islands (Utila, Roatan, Guanaja & Cayos Cochinos) you hardly feel like you´re in Honduras anymore! 
In the end, we ended up spending more than 20 hours driving to and from the coast but it was all worth it.  We really enjoyed our few days in Utila and I liked meeting some of Isaí´s family and old friends.  It was tough getting back into the office routine but by now we´ve adjusted.  It´s funny how avoiding your email for 5 days leads to 10 busy days recovering from the backlog of work!   

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

El Coyolar - New West CRC Partnership in Full Swing

Although I enjoy working in all of our partner communities, I have to admit that I have a soft spot for the village of El Coyolar.  My sister, Julie, spent a month there in 2010 working on the water project with the King´s University team so she knows what I´m talking about.  I´ve been fortunate enough to have been working in Coyolar with three teams over the last 16 months and with each visit I fall even more in love with the dynamic and welcoming people who live there. 

It also seems like the members of New Westminster CRC in Burnaby, BC are equally enamoured with El Coyolar too.  Their congregation is in the process of forming a long-term partnership with Coyolar through CRWRC and Diaconía Nacional.  Last year they sent a team of New West youth in March and then an adult team in November.  They must have given a pretty impressive report about their experiences because the youth team was back again a few weeks ago full of vigor to work again and it sounds like a number of adults are eager to make another trip in November! 

I was fortunate to have spent 5 days this March with the young people of New West in Coyolar.  During their week in the community they were able to undertake over 15 construction projects including some long awaited latrines, cement floors, and pilas for water storage and washing.  For some of these youth it is their second or third time serving in Honduras and they´re on their way to becoming experts in cement mixing and excavating. 

One of the great things about the partnership between New West and Coyolar is that they are truly developing a relationship.  They are getting to know more about each other, praying for each other´s needs and realizing the gifts they can mutually offer.  At the end of their week many youth remarked that although they haven´t acquired any great Spanish skills they still feel like they really connected to the people of the village.  They often played games together, sang songs, arm wrestled and played soccer even without a translator to organize the event – they refused to let language be a barrier! 

Now that the young people are back at school in Burnaby and the people of Coyolar are back to their routine one might think that the relationship is all but forgotten.  This is not the case with Coyolar and New West, that´s for sure!  Throughout the year they exchange letters including updates on the hopes, health and happiness in the community and the congregation.  In February, with the funds leftover from the November serve team,  Arturo and I went shopping for school supplies for all 18 children in Coyolar just as they were about to begin a new year of classes.  All the school children from grades 1 through 6 expressed their gratitude for the gift. 

This community partnership isn´t just about a group of youth building latrines for a week in the hot sun – this partnership is about investing in a brighter future and the building the kingdom of God on earth.  I am eager to see what the next 5 years have in store of New West CRC and El Coyolar.  I hope to have the continued privilege of joining CRWRC and Diaconía in this process of transformational development for Coyolar and also providing a cross cultural and edifying experience for New West´s youth and adults. 

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Henry Bosch Back in Honduras!

So it seems Honduras has a special place in Henry´s heart considering he takes advantage of about every opportunity to come and visit!  In the past he has led 3 work teams for water projects and housing construction following Hurricane Mitch.  Last year he and his wife, Susan, trekked all over rural Honduras evaluating previous water projects.  This time Henry left Susan in Edmonton (although I´m sure she would have loved to come too) but brought along Don & Eleanor Prokuda from the board of the Northern Alberta Deaconal Conference (NADC).  NADC coordinates the funding and promotion of the annual Honduras Water Project with the King´s University and over 30 supporting churches throughout Alberta. 
I was especially excited to join Henry in his 3-day visit to La Avispa.  My home church of Inglewood CRC is considering a long-term partnership with a community in Honduras and as Henry is on the coordinating committee he opted to check out La Avispa as one of the possibilities suggested by CRWRC.  Along with the Prokudas, Ana Joya from CRWRC Honduras, and Arturo from Diaconía, we explored the various neighbourhoods of La Avispa in order to get to know the people of this remote village.  We held meetings with members of the Christian Reformed Church to discern their spiritual strengths and aspirations and the next day with all the leaders in the community regarding the physical needs and ongoing projects in La Avispa.  We were very well received and the people of La Avispa were eager to share their history especially in the aftermath of Hurricane Mitch and again in 2008 with a severe landslide. 
On March 2nd we all traveled to El Chapernal to celebrate the inauguration of the recently completed water project.  The whole community put a lot of effort in to the decorations, program and fest afterwards.   The community leaders took turns presenting certificates of recognition for each of the projects contributors including Diaconía Nacional, CRWRC, NADC, the King´s University, the mayor of San Francisco de la Paz, the National Water and Sanitation Department (SANAA), among others.   The school children also contributed to the festivities by performing folk dances and dramas. 
The ceremony was concluded with an elderly woman from the village filling a clay jar from the newly installed tap, placing the jar on her head and smashing it on the ground.  This is a tradition for water project inaugurations and symbolizes the hard work that women endure hauling water to their houses and that never again will they have to place a jug on their head since the water project has been successfully completed.  I can hardly imagine having to carry water on my head – even worse to go uphill or in the mud and rain or under a scorching sun!  But to think that this elderly woman from El Chapernal must have done just that her whole life and only recently received running water in her house. 
All in all, I think Henry, Don and Eleanor all had a great time in La Avispa, El Chapernal and in Honduras in general.  We met a lot of great people, heard some amazing stories and shared delicious meals together.  I´ve come to realize that Hondurans are a noble, hardworking and hospitable people.  The people of Chapernal were incredibly gracious and appreciative in their thanks to God for the tremendous gift of clean, cool water.  And the people of La Avispa were generous, sincere and excited to know more about their brothers and sisters in Christ at Inglewood CRC.  It is always a privilege for me to share in these experiences; it reminds me of why God placed the desire to volunteer in my heart. 
Henry Bosch followed by Eleanor and Don Prokuda
 taking in the sights of La Avispa
P.S. I am also thankful for good health during and after Henry´s visit.  The last time he came I ended up in the hospital minus one appendix! 

Monday, April 2, 2012

Sunday School Seminars


A major factor in Diaconía Nacional´s success with community development is its emphasis on training.  The Spanish word for training is “Capacitación” so it´s no wonder the focus is on capacity building.  The goal isn´t always to teach something new but rather to have participants realize they already have the capacity to do something and haven´t utilized their potential yet. 

Within the credit program we organize training seminars on everything from piñata and jewelry making to self-esteem, household management and domestic violence.  Some of the training objectives for the community transformation program usually revolve around promoting good, strong leadership in the village.  A lot of energy is focused on motivating the locals to take initiative and work towards improving the quality of life in their community. 

Developing lasting leadership in a community generally starts from within the church so Diaconía has a separate program for Reformed Ecclesiastical Training (RET).  RET recently received a $10,000 grant from CRWM (Christian Reformed World Missions) to conduct a yearlong training course for Sunday School teachers in Christian Reformed churches around Olancho. 

I traveled with Arturo, Olancho´s RET and Community Transformation Coordinator, to Mangulile (a community about 4hrs from Catacamas) to assist with this teaching initiative.  The emphasis of the Sunday School programs here go beyond telling Bible stories to little kids and making crafts while their parents are upstairs listening to the sermon.    Here Sunday school is for everyone! 

Many CRC members in Honduras have joined the church later in their lives as opposed to having heard the classic Bible stories and parables that others grew up with.  The congregation breaks up into small groups based on age in order to learn, discuss and discover more intimately what God desires for our lives.  It is an excellent opportunity for all church members to study the Bible and discern what it means to be a Christian within the church community and outside in their daily interactions.   After all, baptism in the CRC church requires a commitment from the congregation to nurture and instruct that child, youth or adult in the faith through every stage of their life. 

The seminars for Sunday school teachers is aimed at equipping church leaders to identify and address the spiritual, emotional and physical needs of their students to encourage them on the Christian path.   We have a lot of people interested in developing these skills and utilizing them in their home communities.  It is really encouraging to see these individuals learning and sharing together.  I am excited to see what we can accomplish together over this year.