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.