More signs of hope in Honduras

Friday the Dulce Nombre de María parish celebrated the closing of the agriculture project, financed by the Spanish Catholic organization Manos Unidas. I’ve written about this several times before. (Several of the posts can be accessed here.)

The project has been a success, but we are not sure if it will continue. Even though it been only about $2,500 a month, we are waiting to hear from Manos Unidas to hear if they will continue to help finance it.

In early stages the project helped people with tools, fertilizers, and training in improved methods of production of basic grains. It also has helped people learn how to make organic fertilizers and fumigants.

More recently it has included projects of family gardens, as well as the promotion of production of vegetables by organized groups in the community. This helps promote better diet but also generates some funds.

There have also been some efforts in planting trees, both hardwoods and fruit trees.

Agricultural project celebration

Eighteen communities participated in the most recent stage of the project and so it was good to see about 200 come out for the celebration.

It was held in Colonia San José, Dulce Nombre, a small community which was very hard to get to because of a water-soaked road with six inch deep mud at several place. But I got there in the parish truck. (My truck has been in the mechanic’s shop for over a week because of a cracked camshaft.)

There was, of course, a Mass with Padre Efraín, the Dulce Nomrbe pastor, followed by recognition of the communities, songs by the Primos de Occidente of Quebrada Grande and a few cultural events by the young people of the village of Yaruconte.

The two most memorable was a song that Los Primos de Occidente had written on the project, which they promptly named “Huertos familiares/Family gardens”. They sang about “tajadas of plantains and a good salad of fresh vegetables for breakfast.” You can see and listen to it here.

The young people of Yaruconte and several other youth groups had prepared cultural events for their villages. The Yaruconte youth presented an indigenous dance.

   There were also tables of vegetables and fruit that several communities had brought to sell. I bought a few turnips and was given a bag of oranges as I left. 

Looking over the vegetables, I talked with a number of young men who were involved in the project. One was eating a raw carrot, something I seldom see here. He told me he liked carrots. So it appears, at least in one case, the project is helping people diversify their diets.

One event, though, touched me. There is a young man, Toño, from a village who is mentally handicapped. He walked up to the altar and shook Padre Efraín’s hand and then several pastoral workers brought him a chair so that he could sit in front of the altar with them. Instead of marginalizing him because of his differences, he is accepted and welcomed.

The project is important for its results but also for the community organization it promotes. But all this needs to be based on a love of God and neighbor that embraces those who are different. At least in this case, it does.

A water project in San José Quelacasque

The day before I had gone with a group from Caritas of the diocese of Santa Rosa de Copán to San José Quelacasque for the inauguration of their water and sanitation project.

Caritas has worked in San José Quelacasque for four years, first with a Community Management of Reduction of Disasters, project and since January with a water and sanitation project.

It is in many ways, a model project, not just for the latrines, improved piping of water, a system of water meters for houses, but for an improved culture of health which the community has embraced. Thus they hope to conserve their distinction as being the one place in the whole municipality of Gracias where people can drink water from the faucet without worry.

The celebration began with Mass with Padre Loncho, the pastor of the parish of Gracias, Lempira, followed by the blessing of the new water tank. There were songs composed by village members Ester and Joel, as well as several skits from the students. One was particularly funny and appropriate, satirizing a boy sick with diarrhea going to a clinic. There were even pigs rooting around the “clinic” – a true health hazard.

Also, because it was December 6, the feast of Saint Nicholas, San Nicolás showed up and gave out candy. 

After lunch I talked briefly with a representative from the Salvadoran non-governmental organization that has been the conduit for funding. He was impressed with what the people had done and had they had worked together. He noted that the community was poor, relying mostly on the production of basic grains.

If the community continues to be vigilant in its protection and conservation of water and their efforts in maintaining a clean and healthy environment on the community, they will continue to be a model for other communities.

These are small efforts, mostly done with the help of outside agencies but with amazing contributions of the people involved.

These people are the hope for the future of Honduras.

Making a difference

For at least two years, the Spanish Catholic organization Manos Unidas has supported an agricultural project in the parish of Dulce Nombre de María.

The project initially worked in 22 villages to help improve agricultural practices in producing basic grains (corn and beans) as well as to promote family gardens. More recently it has been working in 18 villages mostly in terms of family gardens and reforestation, with both fruit and hardwood trees. They are also working with forming  cajas rurales, a sort of community institution that makes small loans to members. A documentary for television in Spanish can be found here.

The current funding ends in December and it is not yet clear whether Manos Unidas will continue its assistance. We may have a better idea after they do a monitoring visit to several of the communities in the parish.

I spent Monday morning with Mauro, Adán, and Elder (the three técnicos, whom I’ll call fieldworkers), Padre Efraín (the pastor of Dulce Nombre), and the parish secretary (who does a lot of the administrative work for the project).

I had a lot of questions, mostly about where the work had been going well and where there was still need.

The fieldworkers agreed that there were about 12 villages where the groups worked well and where there was still need. One idea would be to continue working with them to strengthen their work.

I also asked them to think of other communities that might profit from the project , that had great needs, but also had people willing to work together in groups to improve their lives, especially through better agricultural production that promotes a more diversified diet. We came up with 15 villages.

One of the fieldworkers remarked that some communities are very hard to work with. They don’t want to take the time to prepare gardens, mostly because they receive a monthly basket from a child-sponsorship group that works in many communities in the parish. He saw this group as promoting dependency.

And so the team would like to work with up to 27 villages in the parish. A big dream, but they are working on a proposal to present to Manos Unidas.

Mauro, Adán, and Gladys working on a new project proposal

I am also thinking about the possibilities of help from  St. Thomas in Ames and the parishes in Shelby County, Iowa, that area in a relationship with the Dulce Nombre parish. It would be good if they could finance another fieldworker so that they can add about 6 more villages. My guess is that this might cost between $17,000 and $20,000 a year – including salary, seeds, transportation, costs for training sessions, and administrative support. I’ll be talking with people about this when I visit Iowa in mid-October.

This is a small effort  that has made some differences.

And it has raised interest. A number of women have told me how much they liked the vegetable seed distribution which helped them diversify their family’s diet as also generate some cash by selling the surplus vegetables.

In addition groups in several communities have asked them if they could participate in an expanded program.

There are problems – but I think this is an area where we can really make a difference in the health and livelihood of the people of the parish of Dulce Nombre.