Americans

Small world – there’s a church group from Woodstock, VT (a great little town frequented by Dartmouth students) here at the moment, rebuilding two houses and helping out in other ways. They’ve done great work with the houses. They’ll most likely finish today, before heading back to the States tomorrow (it’s been a week-long trip).

It’s wonderful to see service groups come to help out. It’s quite amusing, too, if I envision them from the point of view of the locals: 18 “gringos” with backpacks (locals try to avoid carrying things because muggings are so common) full of trail mix and diet sodas (no one drinks diet here), whipping out their cameras to take a picture of every little child that stops to stare (kids LOVE Americans and they LOVE getting their picture taken), repeatedly rubbing their hands with some sort of liquid (anti-bacterial hand-wash – I’m guilty of this, too), and just causing a general ruckus (can’t really be helped – there’s so many of them and they flock together!).

I’ve noticed that Americans (myself included) really like to make suggestions. We see how people live here and say, “if they changed this, it would be better; if they changed that, it would be easier”. Sometimes, we make suggestions without really understanding the situation first. Yes, the women should be educated about how damaging their cook-stoves are since there is no ventilation (one American suggested this to me after seeing how the walls of the house was stained with black smoke. I’ve read that because of the lack of ventilation, many people in Honduras have asthma and other chronic respiratory problems, and many children are particularly susceptible to pneumonia.), but even with education and even if they already know about the damaging effects, they have no other choice. It costs money to build a chimney. People here just don’t have that kind of money. (Statistics show that the average Honduran – many are unemployed – lives on about $700/year. I asked Suzy if she thought this was accurate and she said definitely in the rural areas. Here in Tegucigalpa, it’s probably more like $150/month – $1800/year – if the person is employed. This money is not a lot and it usually has to support a large family.) But even worse than making suggestions without understanding the situation is ONLY making suggestions and not doing anything about it. Action and follow-up are so important. For example, if we notice the damaging effects of the cook-stoves and make the suggestion to find an alternative, then we should try and find a solution that works and subsequently follow-up to make sure the solution is being implemented. The International Humanitarian Foundation (IHF), started by two Dartmouth students and (I think) a Harvard student (a chapter exists at Dartmouth), did some great work in India, fixing up cook-stoves over there. I would love to see such a program get started down here. (Yes, I will follow my own preachings and look into this to try and turn words into action…)

People mean well with their suggestions, and I am always excited by people’s desires to help others. Americans have a lot of heart. Just look at the Peace Corps and Ameri Corps volunteers, the many non-profit organizations, the countless church short-term and long-term service groups, and the individuals who volunteer regularly.

If there’s one thing I know for sure about this place, I know that I will be coming back in the years to come. I’ve already formed relationships and attachments that I want to continue (especially with the children here – I’d love to see them finish their schooling and achieve the dreams they have!). I am anxious to come back once I have a definite skillset to offer. As much as I’d like to help, I don’t have much to offer right now. Sure, I go to the clinic and do what I can, but I am not a doctor yet and what they really need are more qualified doctors (and more money for resources – since I don’t have an income, I can’t offer this, either!). I am learning more than I am contributing, and I am so grateful for the opportunity to learn, but I feel unsatisfied because I want to be able to contribute more…