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by Wanda Easley

This was my first trip to Honduras with Sharefish, although I had been as an interpreter on three previous medical missions to Honduras.  Chuck Nichols, aka “Pepe,” invited me.  Having seen his enthusiasm for Honduras and the towns of El Carrizo and Santa Marta, I eagerly signed on.  I wanted to see and experience what drove him to learn Spanish, go four times a year, correspond with Beberlyn and Keyli and be so excited about helping two towns far away, farther away in economic development than in geographical distance.  Pepe is my student, and after 30 years of teaching, I can honestly say I’ve rarely seen such motivation to learn.  How many lawyers, or any adults, dedicate their spare time to studying vocabulary and reading novels in a foreign language they’ve just begun to study!

So without the least trepidation, I signed on for another medical mission trip to Honduras.

There was excitement (as well as traffic problems) as soon as we landed in Tegucigalpa around 11:00 a.m.  Zelaya, the ex-president forced to leave the country in his pajamas, was expected to return “any minute.”  I, with native hondureños, ran to the window of the terminal with camera in tow hoping to snap a picture of his disembarking.  Not to happen.  He arrived around 3:00 that afternoon, with his supporters long gone.  Great Latino story! [It was at the airport that this vegetarian had her first McDonald’s hamburger sans burger, and the last fresh lettuce and tomato that I allowed myself to eat while in Honduras (figuring it was safe in the airport and at McDonald’s)].

We left the capital and headed to Choluteca on what was once a US school bus.  Honduras is a beautiful green country, and I loved looking at the spectacular scenery.  One of my favorite memories is of Ashley looking pensively out the window, loose strands of hair blowing in the wind, and taking it all in.  She seemed oblivious to all else as she took in the lush volcanic mountains.  I understood, because I feel the same way every time I ride from the Guatemala City airport to Antigua, where I visit once a year.  Central America is incredibly beautiful.  And I was delighted to find myself there once again, with happy prospects of a medical mission, a real passion of mine.

On that first day, everyone received a letter from Oie.  It was a beautiful letter urging us to just “Let it go,” and let God take care of everything.  He urged us to dismiss any preconceived expectations.  Let Go and Let God is a familiar theme to me as the resounding solution to all our problems from a previous Companions in Christ class.  I felt I “knew the drill.”  Through the years I’ve had the fortune to travel quite a bit in Latin America and love it.  Once as I was leaving for Latin America, I told my husband:  “Listen, if anything should happen to me…”  He interrupted me and said, “I know.  It’s like Br’er Rabbit in the Briar Patch.”   I’m passionate about Spanish, Latin America and interpreting for physicians and nurses.  This was my ninth medical mission.

After arriving at the Hotel La Fuente in Choluteca, I soon jumped in the pool and did several laps.  When I emerged from the pool, the doctors, all sitting poolside, asked if I really felt it was a good idea to swim in that murky, algae-filled water.  Ouch!  Too late, and one month later fortunately still no manifestations of adverse consequences.

The next day was church–twice!  First in El Carrizo and later in Santa Marta.  Such enthusiasm!  The children performed and the congregations sang their hearts out.  They greeted us warmly, thanked us for coming, and we responded in kind.  The faith of these people is real.

Monday morning–time to set up clinic and go to work.  It was my great privilege to work with Chuck’s brother, Van Nichols, a urologist from Wilmington.  We saw headaches, bone aches, stomach aches, and even several urinary tract infections.  Van was great!  He is skilled, intuitive, compassionate, fun and explained everything to me.  I learned so much working with him.  His patients went away completely satisfied and pleased with the attention they got from him.  Well, there was that one guy who needed muchocounseling and, after 45 minutes, we had to encourage him to seek it elsewhere.

We had clinic five days, three days in El Carrizo and two in Santa Marta.  Thepatients came with such a huge array of complaints and problems. How fulfilling it is to be able to help them and for me, personally, to be a small part of the huge contribution of the physicians!  In El Carrizo, Van and I worked in the town clinic and had the help of the resident nurse, Iris.  She was so kind and helpful.  In Santa Marta, Van’s “office” was in the church’s Sunday school building.  We worked alongside Richard Hayes, our resident OB/GYN, separated only by a plastic curtain.  JR Rusher, was our pediatrician and Mike Glover, our orthopedist.  Ashley Brown admirably handled the pharmacy with the help of Richard Ramirez, who doubled with toothbrush distribution.  Tom Rusher took lots of blood pressures and did vision tests. Over the five days we gave medical attention to over one thousand men, women and children in the two villages.

This was a work trip, and so we worked.  But so very memorable are the faces of the people, especially the beautiful children.  Are they poor?  Yes, economically.  But they are wealthy in so many other ways.  In personality, faith, love, laughter and hospitality, they reign supreme.  They welcomed us with open arms and were so grateful for the help and attention we were able to give them.

There are all the little memories.  One is Pepe the Pied Piper being followed by his adoring fans.  He puts the best foot forward of Sharefish, which has enabled so many children to read books, go to school and, now, get medical attention.  Pepe is tireless.  I followed him on the first day in El Carrizo as he visited home after home and treated his “followers” to dried fruit and refrescos from plastic bags.  Iremember Nurse Crystal whipping out her stethoscope to listen to the chest of a little girl who had rashes.  Crystal’s diagnosis was later confirmed by our pediatrician, JR, when the little girl came to the clinic.  I remember having silly giggles in the hotel with my roommates, Crystal and Ashley, both younger than my own children.  I remember the best coffee ever that the hotel staff treated us to in the mornings.  Sugar?  Never at home.  In Honduras, ¡Claro que sí!  The hotel chef gave me a lesson on how to cook black beans.  And back home, I actually did it.  They were the best I’ve ever fixed, thanks to her.   I remember Van’s gift of his own reading glasses to a man who had none.  He was thrilled to be able to see to read.  There are countless stories and faces, each with his or her own story.  I so vividly remember the young mother whose aches and pains turned out to stem primarily from her unhappy marriage.  “My husband hasn’t left me yet,” she divulged as a tear started down her cheek.  How else would a traveler experience such intimacy in a foreign country?  A medical mission is a vehicle for getting to know and help people as they reveal their deepest, most personal concerns to strangers.  The group was caring, congenial and fun.  Did we make a difference?  I don’t know.  I hope so.  One thing is certain:  that they made a difference in our lives.

 

We’re back from our trip. It was one year ago that Oie, Ben and I took our first proto-Sharefish trip to El Carrizo. What a year!

Oie best summed up the feeling of this trip – traction. Things we were just talking (dreaming) about a year ago are starting to happen. Some particulars:

1.     We got the library started in Santa Marta. When we arrived on Saturday a Sunday school classroom had been set aside for the library, the shelves had been built, and four librarians had been appointed who were eager to get started. We made arrangements to meet Sunday afternoon to start working on the books.

a.     We paired off so that team members could work directly with the librarians and set up four different work stations to prepare the books: (i) taping the backs and edges of the paperback books, (ii) marking the inventory number of each book and the identity of the library on the title page and last page of each book, (iii) filling out the name of the author and book on the check-out cards, and (iv) pasting the checkout card sleeve in the back of each book. We worked until late afternoon on Sunday and then finished up the following morning.

b.    Next, we met with the library committee to explain the process of checking out books and keeping up with them using a simple card filing system. The librarians then established the rules for the library – who could check out books (members of the community – had to be at least 15 if not accompanied by a parent), the number that could be checked out at any one time (only one), how long before the book was due (3 days for children books, five days for junior and adult books – can be renewed if no one is waiting on the book). The librarians made the rules – they asked us for a few suggestions, but for the most part they debated among themselves and established what they believed would work best. It was clear that they took ownership of the responsibility for running the library. (One thing they told us that they had decided to do was to go to each house in the community to explain the rules to every person — they had already been getting questions about when the library would be open and how it would work.)

c.     Next we took the librarians to a bookstore in Choluteca so that they could use the surplus funds to purchase any materials they wanted for the library. This turned out to be a key step for several reasons: (i) it gave them the opportunity to put their imprint on the library – they not only got books, but they bought a couple of maps as well, (ii) it let them appreciate how much books cost, and they spent a long time selecting the books and other materials to fit within their budget (they saved some of the money to buy an encyclopedia that was not available in the store where we were shopping), (iii) it gave us the opportunity to watch how careful they were in making their selections and spending their money. I think this is a component that we should try to incorporate in all of our projects. When possible, instead of us just doing the project or buying everything for the project, we should try to find ways of putting some of the budgeting and buying responsibility on our Honduran friends.

d.    We scheduled the next afternoon (Tuesday) to talk with the librarians about the Mother Read materials. When we arrived, the librarians had already inventoried, completely prepared, sorted and shelved all of the books that they had purchased. We did some rudimentary training, but this is the area that we will need to focus on in future trips so that can help them better utilize these resources. However, I am confident that those books are already being used.

2.     Glenn met with the Pastor Monday morning to participate in the sponsorship distributions. That went very well. The Pastor was well organized and arranged for the parents to meet him at the Baptist Association building. He called each family up one by one to receive their money and sign a receipt. The list matched up with the people and there were no duplicates, etc. The pastor had already obtained report cards for the sponsored children in elementary school, and have Glenn copies. The one girl who is in University did not have a report card yet, so Pastor got a letter from the registrar of the University confirming that she was attending so that he could verify her qualification to receive the money. Report cards have not been issued in Colegio either, but the Pastor is working to get something from their teacher (as an aside, we talked with a lot of the students in Colegio, and know that they are attending and liking school). In short the Pastor has taken very seriously his responsibility to account for all of the money and to enforce the eligibility rules. Glenn was very pleased with everything he saw.

3.     We had planned to meet with the teachers on Tuesday, but in true Honduras fashion they were on a one-day strike. We have learned that an agenda in Honduras is at best at best an expression of hope and more often just a joke. We met with the teachers briefly late Tuesday afternoon in the rain to give them their computers and supplies. We did not give them the money to repair the El Carrizo school roof because that had already been fixed. We will discuss how best to work with the schools and teachers at our next Board meeting.

It has been an incredible year, thanks to the hard work of so many. Now that we have traction, it will be exciting to see what we can accomplish this next year.

Posted by Pepe

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Here’s what Chuck “Pepe” Nichols, chairman of the Sharefish board of directors, reported about our recent trip:

Oie, Hayden, Carlitos, Glenn and I had a good trip to El Carrizo and Santa Marta. As usual, some of the things we had planned did not work out but other things took their place. Each trip gives us a little more insight into how the cultural rhythms in Honduras differ from our own, and help us appreciate how to better match our efforts with these rhythms. Here is a summary (probably too long) of some of the things that were (and were not) accomplished on the trip, and a few other observations:

1.     We were not able to meet with the Secretary of State of Honduras. However, thanks to Hayden’s efforts at leaving the communications lines open, we did receive a call from the Secretary of State’s office the day before we left for Honduras – it came in on Oie’s phone in Spanish asking for “Haydie Hay.” We tried to make the connection during our trip, but could not complete the circle. Nonetheless, there is still some level of communication and it is possible that there may be an opportunity to do this in the future.

2.     We continued the planning for the medical trip. With Ricardo’s guidance, we are going to be working with a different physician in Honduras. Ricardo felt that the doctor we had been talking to was perhaps not the best fit for our needs. He had someone else who he felt could help us see more patients for less funds. We have not met the new doctor, but we have confidence in Ricardo’s recommendations. Ricardo has been on other medical trips with this doctor, including a trip that was to take place immediately after our trip. We have already sent funds for medicines through Mercy & Grace, and Ricardo says that the list is sufficient for us to see up to 2,000 patients.

3.     As part of the medical trip planning, we provided materials for the refurbishing of the governmental medical clinic in El Carrizo – known as “Centro.” During my trip in January the nurse advised that a company had agreed to repair Centro, so we were prepared find the work completed and to spend our budgeted amount on furniture and equipment. Instead, the nurse told us that the company kept saying that they would be there “next Monday” to do the work, but next Monday never arrived with any supplies or workers. When Ricardo looked over the contractor’s list, it did not even appear to cover the work most needed – the roof and the ceiling. We decided to go back to Plan A and provide the materials for the main structural repairs if the community would provide the labor. The nurse put us in touch with Pastor Olmond of the Pentacostal church in Colonia. Pastor Olmond lives across the street from the school in El Carrizo, and is a mason by trade – the same mason who organized the pouring of the concrete for the school in Colonia. His church had volunteered to do the work if the clinic could get the supplies. So, with the Pastor’s help, we got a new list of supplies and made arrangements for them to be delivered the next day. Pastor Olmond was there and checked them off, and I got a message from the nurse’s daughter (a facebook friend) the following week that the work had begun. When we return with the medical trip in late May, Centro will have a new roof, a new ceiling, a new coat of paint, and a door on the bathroom. It will also have 20 new sturdy plastic chairs that we purchased with the leftover funds in the budgeted amount so that the patients will have a place to sit in the waiting area. It may also have some additional furniture and equipment provided by funds raised by the community.

4.     The school system in Honduras is currently in a mess. There was no elementary school the days we were there because of teacher strikes. Interestingly, there was Colegio in Palenque, but I’m not sure why. In any event, there is an ongoing struggle between the government and the teachers’ unions over a variety of issues, some economic and others political. School was supposed to resume the Monday after our trip, but the news reports have been mixed. This is something we need to monitor, and I hope that our medical trip will provide us the opportunity to find out more. There is some possibility that there will be no meaningful school this year in Honduras, and if so, we will need to discuss what effect that has on our sponsorship program.

5.     The new teacher in Colonia made a special trip out from Choluteca to meet with us at the school. He is one of the persons who is encouraging us to put a library there. We explained that, if we do a library there, it will be a community library with a community board of directors, and not a school library controlled by the government. There were two parents there who (I believe) clearly understood and endorsed this, and they are supposed to be identifying their board so that we can continue the discussions in May.

6.     We had several discussions about upgrading the library in the Baptist church in El Carrizo and putting in a new library in the school in Colonia. I hope to continue those discussions during the May medical trip, with the plan of implementing these projects during our September trip. We are already stockpiling some books for these projects.

7.     The day before we left on our trip we discovered that the school supplies that were supposed to be delivered to Ricardo in the Mercy & Grace container had still not arrived. They are in Tennessee. We were very disappointed because we wanted to deliver these to the schools as part of our support for the teachers. We purchased and carried down with us some school supplies as a stop-gap measure. With the schools closed, however, it turned out not to be too big an issue. It does highlight, however, the difficulties we still face in being able to get stuff to Honduras, other than by “Sherpa-ing” it ourselves on the airplanes.

8.     One thing that was disturbing was the continued deterioration of the desks and other furniture in the school in Colonia. (We could not go in the school in El Carrizo, so I don’t know if this is as much a problem there.) This is a situation that I believe we should spend more time considering. The challenges of teaching and learning in those schools are significant. The unbelievably poor condition of the desks, chairs and other furniture exacerbates the problems.

9.     As we were doing some of our wandering around (“pasear” en español”) we noticed a group of about 15 or 16 colegio students gathered at the intersection of the main dirt road where it branches off to go into El Carrizo. We knew a number of these students (many being sponsored by Sharefish) so we stopped to talk a little. We were somewhat curious because it was only about 10:00 in the morning and colegio does not start until the afternoon. It turns out that the students had gotten there a couple of hours before the bus arrives so that they could try to hitch a ride to Palenque instead of having to pay for the bus. So, every day, these kids get ready for school 2 to 2 ½ hours early and stand in the 98+ heat for the chance of hitching a ride standing up in the back of somebody’s pick-up truck for the 50 minute drive on the rough dirt road to Palenque in order to save the 10 limpira one-way bus fare – a total of 50 cents. To us, that seems crazy. To them, the 50 cents saved is significant, and worth the effort and discomfort required to save it. Of course, this time they didn’t have to wait. They got a ride with us.

There is so much more I could write, but I suspect that you are tired of reading. I may have already lost you at this point. I certainly don’t have much patience with long email messages. So I will end by saying that I continue to believe that some of the most important work we are doing right now is continuing to visit, talk, listen, and observe. We need to continue to strengthen our relationships in the communities and to become more attuned to their cultural rhythms. I believe that this will enable us to become better partners with the communities as we do our work there.

 

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