Santa Bárbara, is the capital of the department of Santa
Bárbara. I went to accompany a meeting of an environmental group there which
the Democracy and Participation Project of Caritas is helping.
The group is called Movimiento Más – Movimiento
Ambientalista Santabarbarense: the Santa Barbara Environmental Movement.
Santa Barbara has available a large number of concessions
for mines (gold, antinomy, and more) as well as for use of rivers, and for damming
of rivers. In addition, the Honduras Congress is near to passing a new mining
law – which many consider worse than the current law.
This group is trying to reverse these trends and so they
discussed issues of mining, climatic change, and use of water resources. In
particular they are concerned about several proposed dams which would displace
several communities and their lands and, in one case, a Lenca archeological
site.
The president of the association had her two children with
her. I was impressed by the commitment of the children. The eight-year old had
raised 5,000 lempira ($250) for a school in Los Rigores, El Aguán, a community
that has been displaced with its buildings destroyed several times. The
struggle continues even among the young.
Before the meeting began, Simon took me to see a group
working with disabled - Abriendo Puertas - Opening Doors. The director Reynaldo, who helped found the group in
2002, is himself blind. The association was founded by Catholic Church members
but is now an independent government-recognized association, though Reynaldo
considers it as an apostolate. Rosa, who lost one leg, is the president of the
association and accompanied my visit.
Reynaldo and Rosa are full of life, with hope in the face of
massive difficulties. Their “disabilities” do not keep them back. Their energy
and work are impressive.
The association works in seven municipalities, dealing with
a problem that is difficult in the US. Imagine how hard it is to be blind,
lacking a limb, with other physical or mental disabilities in a poor country
like Honduras.
The group functions with volunteers. They have a small
office and space for a classroom for children – which they rent at a reduced
cost from the Catholic Church.
They have about 35 children where they offer early-child
stimulation as well as several therapies, including speech therapy. They offer
also occupational therapy for older young people. But according to a recent
census there are 400 children with disabilities in the municipality of Santa
Barbara and 7,290, between 6 and 12 years old, in the 28 municipalities of the
department of Santa Bárbara.
They also have a workshop for printing t-shirt designs but
face a lot of competition – and also don’t have an embroidery machine. They had
a carpentry workshop but they lack a place to set it up.
They have recently obtained some land and hope to begin.
They hope to build there, having a five stage plan. The first stage alone will cost
about $200,000.
I went back in the afternoon and watched as two volunteers
(one was the daughter of Rosa) work with a little girl with Downs syndrome who
was accompanied by her father. Their work impressed me – as well as the
presence of a father with his daughter.
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| Part of the classroom used by Abriendo Puertas |
Here is a place with vision. They have asked for some
government assistance, including one teacher who was promise. But…
There two groups are those who offer signs of life and hope,
though the efforts are small. They face great odds, but still struggle forward.
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