Dave Snell's Perspective
Terry thought it would be interesting to get Dave Snell's perspective particularly because he was one of the first to visit back in 1985. Here's what he has to say:
My first impression having arrived here at La Buena Fe is just how much all of the vegetation has grown up around all of the buildings because it was pretty open when I was here before. The houses weren’t there at the roadway. The village near La Buena Fe is much bigger and more prosperous. There are new schools and the hydro line had just gone up months before I was there. There is certainly a lot more traffic on the highway than what there was then.
Sunday, when we went out to Conception, the road was paved!! That was a real shock to go up there to a paved road. Henrique spoiled it all by bringing us back on the gravel road.
Certainly the level of poverty is not what it was on my first trip back in 1985. A lot more people are living in either Adobe or concrete houses. Most people were living in stick houses with thatched roofs. There was certainly no hydro up in the villages in the mountains. There’s a lot more roads in the hills than what I remember. There are a lot more schools as well.
Alfonzo has that concrete house up on the hill now. He wasn’t living in anything near that when we saw him the first time. I don’t think it was even an adobe house. To me, seeing him today, he is one of the more prosperous men in the town. Not having seen the rest of the men, but that would be my take. His land around his property has a lot more growth on it than what it had then.
As we were driving along the roads, the corn fields and the coffee growers, everything is just much more prosperous. Before there would be a stock of corn every two feet in the fields and they were considerably smaller than the fields we were looking at today.
The one thing that I haven’t noticed is the bees. The first time we were down here, quite a number of the homes had honey bees. They would have a hollowed limb by their house and that is where they got their honey from. We got to actually watch them process the honey.
Dave Snell
Honduras January 7th
Our focus today was on housing. We took the time to travel around and see some of the homes and schools that PRR has built.
Those of us who were feeling adventurous, hopped into the back of a truck and took the tour with the wind blowing through our hair. There was nothing blocking our view of the mountains and valleys.
One home that we stopped at was particularly tragic. This shack had been built out of mud and is dangerous in this area, because the walls provide a place for a disease carrying bug to dwell. This bug, called a chagas, is about an inch and a half long and bites you in your sleep and sucks blood. The family is actually a candidate for a new hom ethat will be funded in party by PRR. These homes are to be constructed by mud blocks that the family makes themselves. PRR will help with building the concrete floor, a tin roof, and put concrete over the mud walls in order to seal them. The family has already started to build their blocks, but is having difficulty getting them made because the father has two broken legs and cannot walk. The mother stays up all night killing the chagas that are already filled with the blood of her three children. She cannot take them to the medical clinic to even get them tested for this disease. Even while this family is struggling so hard to live their life, they are still trying to plan for their future. Some of the group members were suggesting that the community should step in and help them form their blocks because it was an extreme situation. If you could have seen the look on the woman's face though, when she said no, that this was something she had to do for herself. It was going to be her home. Amazing.
Cindy's Perspective
Cindy's Perspective on our experiences so far:
I found the amount of information that I heard today overwhelming at times. I was really fascinated by Pablo and his work and what they’re doing with the agricultural side. There is genius in using the farmer’s as their own scientist. To be able to teach farmer’s who in many cases are not literate to follow a scientific method of developing their own food source for their own micro climate is just genius. I’m not sure how else to describe it. The buy in that’s needed to get people on board to do that kind of thing. As he was explaining with the beans, it’s a very painstaking, detail oriented process. To have a group of people that dedicated to a long term project is really amazing.
What also struck me was the simplicity and the common sense ideas of the silos. The simple solution to a very big problem. The silos mean that the beans and the corn can be sold at a time when the price is better in order to maintain an income for the family throughout the year and they’re then not losing 30% of their crop or having rodents in their house that carries disease. There is no mold this way, it’s just a very simple, powerful solution.
When Marina and Claudia were talking this afternoon, I felt really helpless. Claudia was sitting there and she’s ill and her daughter is ill and thousands of people are ill through no fault of their own. To take on a corporation like that requires so much tenacity and so much courage and they have no resources. People in that situation never have resources. It’s one of the huge injustices in the world. The lead in the environment is going to persist forever unless it’s cleaned up. How will that clean up be forced onto the big business? They don’t want to do it. It’s going to be very costly for them. Caught in that squeeze between Claudia and her family.
Tonight we went to church. I was humbled by the dedication of the pastor from Tegucigalpa. He had to drive for hours to get here for just one family to worship. They were very gracious to us. I was struck again by the familiarity of the community of Christ, even in a language that I can’t understand.
January 6th
La Buena Fe January 6th
January 6th
The next morning, roosters greeted us as we woke, alarming us of the morning. Other birds chirped softly and cheerfully in the background which made it a little less annoying. We had a relaxing morning, half of that may have been the fact that most of us did not have our checked luggage, so our choice of outfits was somewhat limited. We took our leisurely stroll over to the Casa Blanca (white house) for our breakfast. The breakfast was wonderful. There was porridge with milk and cinnamon, pancakes with honey (or maple syrup was also available) and fresh fruit. They roast the coffee bean after it has already been sweetened, so there was no need to add sugar to your morning coffee.
After breakfast, we took a tour of the project here at La Buena Fe. We had a chance to walk around the grounds and see all of the organic farming that is being done here. They have been able to actually cross pollinate bean seeds in order to make them resistant to drought and other hazards. All of the farming is purely organic, no chemicals are being used. We walked to the compost piles and dug through the beautiful black dirt that the worms are making out of the stalks from the beans.
We had the opportunity to share lunch with two women from El Salvador that shared with us after lunch about their project in El Salvador focusing on education and heard of a new problem that they are currently facing: lead poisoning. It’s a tragic story about a battery factory that was dumping their waste into the water and it has now penetrated basically everything in the community. Children are dying, people and cows are mutilated, and the treatment for lead poisoning will cost each person $2500, which is just an impossible amount of money for the people in El Salvador.
In the afternoon, we took a walk through the town. Walking down the path, we were greeted by the local people who all came to the doorways and windows to look at the bunch of white people walking through town. Children would giggle as they spoke their bits of English that they knew. Several curious individuals followed us along the way as we walked. We paused to take pictures of the dense foliage on the mountainsides.
New sounds were all around us. Animals are all around us, goats, cows, horses, chickens, dogs, cats, lizards. There is a heavy undertone of crickets playing in the background at night.
After dinner, we all had the opportunity to cram into the ambulance. Yes, that’s right, we had 10 people packed in an ambulance on the way to church. No one was injured, we simply were using the ambulance as a means of transportation. The members at the church were waiting for us when we arrived. I think that we overpopulated the local people that were there, but they seemed excited to have us there. We were without a translator at this part, so we got by with the little Spanish that we had. We started off the service by sharing in music. We sang “This Little Light of Mine” in English and then the congregation shared in a song in Spanish. The minister was from Tegucigalpa and had traveled to this small church for the first time. He was wonderful at engaging the congregation and was very energetic in his message. It was obvious that he had a lot of experience in being a minister and giving powerful messages. They took up an offering, which I think was more money than they may have gotten all year long, even though some of us were being much more modest than what we would put in the offering plate at home. They sang another song in Spanish and then I attempted to lead what I know to be the words to Santo, Santo, Santo. Fortunately, it appeared anyway, that what I was saying was close enough to the actual Spanish words, that they were able to pick up on the song.
Cramming back into the ambulance was even more interesting this time, because we picked up an extra passenger, the minister. Also picture, in your mind a windshield that is completely fogged up and no defroster functioning. So Terry had to wipe away a clear spot on the windshield with a Kleenex. The roads here are not what I would call paved for the most part either. I don’t think anyone hit their head on the roof when we went over bumps, but it wouldn’t have surprised me. All in all, we made it back safely and dropped of the minister who was spending the night at La Buena Fe.
I can’t get over how much I feel at home here in this place. It’s strange to be in a foreign place where nothing seems foreign to you. Except maybe throwing the toilet paper in the waste basket. That still seems a little awkward to me.
Erin Clark
Another Perspective
January 6th
I will be posting both my own viewpoint and a short perspective from another person on the trip with us.
Today´s perspective is brought to you by Barb M:
It was good to meet Henrique and know about what they’re doing. You can put a face to the project, you can see their concerns and their dedication. You see how proud they are of their accomplishments. I think all of us should become activists for the causes that we believe in, justice. I just recently joined Amnesty International, so I feel like I’m doing something globally. We need to be thinking of our own communities as well as other parts of the world.
La Buena Fe, Honduras January 5th
Dear Friends:
My name is Erin and I am writing to you from our Discovery Expedition to Honduras.
Upon arriving at La Buena Fe, Honduras we were shown to the building in which we’d be staying. It was originally a medical clinic and has 4 separate rooms with a couple of beds in each one. As we settled into our rooms and divvied up the best beds, the sound of the birds in the trees greeted us, as if saying “Welcome back to this place called home.”
After settling in, our first task was to be fed. Stepping outside, we realized that twilight had vanished from the skies. As we walked along the stone path, overgrown by the lush grass, we were reminded of the cornerstone that connects us, because in the background, slow and steady, came a familiar hymn being sung in Spanish, “How Great Thou Art” enveloping us and blessing our journey. The only thing lighting our way was the dim glow of the fireflies nestled into the blades of grass.
We were led to a small white house, quaint and welcoming with the porch light on and dogs to greet us at the steps with their tails wagging feverishly. The aroma of what lie ahead wafted through the doorway. A wondrous spread of scrambled eggs and mashed beans with sour cream and fresh, home made tortillas had been prepared for our feast. Fresh fruits were also available and fried plantains were tasted by many for the first time.
We passed the time after our meal by telling stories and sharing in laughter around the table. Many of us gathered together to play cards before heading off to bed. It had been a long day for all of us, having to wake early in the wee hours of the morning to catch our flights.
Erin Clark
World Accord
