Development, Liberation, & Intentions

I have not been able to keep up to date over the past week or so, but I will attempt to do a rapid catch up before I return home.

Flowers for Mama Gilma

There were some key lessons and reminders that I learned during my week with Casita Copan, and talking with Emily (The Director), Carin (Local Artist, and former director of Arte Accion), and the rest of the students. First of all, good intentions really, really are not enough. This likely won’t be much of a surprise for those of you who know me fairly well, but there are just far too many examples of philanthropic “do-gooders” causing so much more harm than good. Some obvious examples are the gringos who help with the other orphanage in town. A little bit of research, and questioning around the community would prove very quickly that it is operated in an entirely unethical manner, that is hurting the children. The next most obvious example is the plethora of “mission brigades” or short-term mission groups who have built an incredible amount of hospitals and buildings, only to leave with no plan or structure for sustainability. A local Honduras estimate is that of 1500 medical buildings built by foreign groups only 700 of them are actually operating. What a waste! This could be avoided so easily if some simple questions were asked before such projects happened. In other words, asking a specific community what it is they need or prioritize . . . and how they envision those needs being provided in the future by people in their community.
It is also important to question your own motivations and reasons for doing a project. Do they conflict with what is best for the community? A good thing to remember is that we often teach what we need to learn most. (Dr. Gabor Mate)

Perhaps even more problematic is the discourse of “development.” For example in Copan there are three families with power and wealth, and in Honduras 10 families hold virtually all of the political and economic power. If this power structure context is not understood any kind of attempt at economic development is likely to be nullified. The power remains in the hands of few, and equality is temporary at best.

Another thing that Emily talked about at Casita Copan is the trouble with organizations that are dependent on a constant flow of foreign volunteer groups. The process of attachment and separation that many children have to go through creates many relational issues in their future. It is for this reason that foreign groups are not a regular occurrence at Casita Copan, and when people like our group do show up, the schedule doesn’t change. The daily routines remain the same which allows the children to have a certain amount of stability in their life. It was evident that the children understood we were only there temporarily, and although they engaged with us they did not become attached.  

For my own personal faith, it has becoming strikingly clear that any talk of “gospel” or good news separated from liberation of oppression (all kinds) is simply not good news. I cannot offer “freedom” without showing real and active compassion for the poor and oppressed. To be clear, I am not saying that the gospel is simply another form of social revolution (that will never redeem our brokenness), but rather it is simply far too easy to ignore the real economic oppression, structural violence, and emotional coercion that are at play in many people’s lives. A faith that talks about “sin” (or oppression) as only something abstract that we need to be “saved” from by repeating a simple verse has forgotten the message of Jesus. This may sound a bit harsh for some, but this is the same reason religious leaders felt their power threatened by the radical message that the meek shall inherit the Kingdom. “It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom.”  (Matt 19:24)

Ps. If you want consistent updates please check out the students group blog. dam-happenings.blogspot.ca

Casita Copan & Choco Banano

More than a week has gone by since my last post, and as usual time is picking up as the days roll on.  This post will be a half post because that is all I seem to have time for! From Monday to Friday last week I spent with five other students at Casita Copan. (check out their website here) The organization is a local one that was born in Copan just over a year and a half ago in what use to be a traveler’s hostel. I like the idea of a building intended for white privilege being restored into something that provides hope.  The daycare that looks after 26 kids from ages 1-12 for single moms who have to work long hours to survive. The model is awesome because some of the mom’s have been hired on as full-time staff at the daycare, and ultimately the goal is to have mother’s sponsored to raise children in a healthy home. Enough studies have shown that institutional care is one of the most damaging places for a child to be raised, and so Casita Copan strives to provide children with a real home, not another orphanage. In fact, there already is an orphanage in town and it is highly corrupt in ways I don’t have time to explain on here. The hope is someday all of the kids will be able to be removed from that corrupt place.

During the week at Casita Copan our group has been engaging with kids during the morning, as well as helping with a painting renovation. They have decided to turn one of the rooms into a special mother’s room. You can see some of the progress in the pictures below.

Despite this being my third time here I finally tried my first Choco Banano. I was missing out! Only costs 50 cents for a fresh cold banana dipped in fondue and peanuts. Mmm.  

A couple days in

By the end of the week

My abnormally long arms were handy for the sky

Rafael and I built some cool stuff :)

The famous "choco banano"

Technology, Trees, and Plato Tipico

Hello again,

Below are a couple photos from the weekend. The first is a photo of what they call the typical meal here in Honduras. Basically if Mama doesn't have any recipe she wants to make, she can always whip together this meal pretty quickly. The next photo is a view over the town from one of the organizations we are working with, followed by a pool in a local hotel, and the cute new puppy that lives at my house. 

"plato tipico"

The new puppy

Since we arrived on the weekend the students had a couple days to settle and adjust to their new homes. Meg and I spent most of the two days organizing, planning, and revisiting our group budget. So far everything is working out great. The entire group went to a pool on Sunday to cool down a bit, and we had our first group workshop to reflect on what we saw during our travels from San Pedro Sula to Copan Ruinas.

Some really good topics were brought up, including the contrast between our North American completion complex (coloured beige) and the seemingly colourful and spontaneous infrastructure here.  To be a bit clearer, picture a typical subdivision today where the trees are flattened and streets are named after them. Most of the houses are shades of neutral colours, property lines are distinct (often by a fence), and the house is not complete until every room is decorated just right on the inside. Contrast that with houses that seem to be blended in with natural greenery from the start, and often more greenery is planted later, houses that are regularly expanded by a room, or connected to the next house because the extended family lives there, and an overall aesthetic of what we might consider “incomplete.” I understand this response because I myself am a hyper organized person. However I am starting to recognize the beauty that exists in a different set-up.

In the conversation I was also reminded that technology is not neutral (see Jacques Ellul). A simple example is the creation of cars, and the expectation that they will take you from point A to point B. Thus in many places we continue to make cities more car friendly at the expense of other modes of transportation. I don’t intend on expanding on this point here, but it reminded me of a conversation I had with a good friend back home. At what point are we comfortable enough? In other words how much more “efficiency” and luxury is needed before we are satisfied? I have seen very clearly (as many others also have) people without most of the amenities we enjoy at home, and yet living a perfectly content life. Of course it makes sense that we will never be satisfied living inside the current mentality of perpetually striving for “better” with little or no cause, and this strikes me as man’s obsession with being his own god, Babylon style. What could possibly go wrong striving for greater, bigger, faster “things . . .?”

I am starting to regain some of my Spanish although for the most part I get frustrated with how much I have lost. Still, I have been able to do enough translating for the students, so that is a relief. It didn't take long for me to enjoy a Super Jugos fruit smoothie. They are simply the best. Actual fresh fruit that isn't doctored or transported far. In other words the oranges actually look splotchy greenish orange not highlight orange like in our supermarkets. The large fruit smoothie cost me 37Limps, or about $1.80.

We were welcomed by somewhat “cool” weather (I use that term loosely) but it is getting hotter every day. I believe last night it cooled down to 29 degrees. I hope you all enjoy these ramblings, and if you are interested in more you can check out the Huron University blog: http://dam-happenings.blogspot.com/

Hasta pronto

El Primero Día

Hola todos!

The dust has settled after a long 18 hour journey from home to home. The short story is that everything went incredibly smooth. Nothing was delayed, nobody got stuck at a border despite my slightly scandalous looking passport. And for me personally, there was no getting sick! I have officially decided that I do not enjoy plane rides, but this time I tried very hard to remain hydrated and eat healthy food because I did not want to knock myself out with Gravol. . . something about 10 students counting on me to be conscious and explaining to them what is going on inspired that. 

We boarded the Robert Q at Midnight from London and headed to the Detroit airport . . . 3 hours later we sat in the airport . . . 3 hours later we boarded the 6am flight to Miami. . . 3 hours later we sat in the Miami airport . . . and (you guessed it) after 3 more hours we boarded our 2 hour flight to San Pedro Sula. Finally we took a 4 hour trip in a van winding through the mountains before arriving in Copan Ruinas. This last part of the trip took longer than usual because the a lot more traffic is coming across the Guatemalan border than in the past, and the pot holes have become craters. 

I was then received with open arms by my family in Copan, and of course dinner. Mama Gilma is wonderful. 

Of course I couldn't help but contrast my rip off $10 sandwich meal in the Detroit airport with my $2 buffet style meal on the side of the road in Honduras. I thought industrial “progress” was supposed to make things more “efficient” and cheaper? Fail. 

That covers the “hard facts” of the very long first day. 

Pictures of "upstairs"

Also, during the ride through the countryside it is evident that even in the last three years the gap between the rich and poor has increased. The drive paints a clear picture of the wedge that neo-liberal capitalist development places between the peasant class and the urban class. It is also clear that most economic benefits end up in the hands of the elite class here, or multi-national corporations elsewhere. Honduras also has to deal with either absolutely no press, or terrible press, which has hurt the tourism industry a lot. After the political Coup in 2009 the only thing you ever hear about Honduras is violence and political instability. Although some of what is reported is true, much in the stories are omitted, and small parts exaggerated. Sure there are some dangerous places in Honduras, but you just don’t go there, the same way you don’t walk alone in the back alleyways of New York late at night.  All of this negative press surrounding the country means that when people talk about visiting places in Latin America, Honduras is often left out. In reality it is likely the country with the most luscious greenery covering the mountainous landscape. The landscape is beautiful and so are the people.  The only violence people should be worried about is the structural kind that I mentioned at the beginning of this paragraph. 

My blog entries will not be this long in the future, but I have one more story to tell. I met a man on my plane ride to Miami who instead of letting me catch some sleep, decided to impart his 55 years of wisdom on me. I can summarize the two hours as follows: He has worked a job in EVERY industry, and at every job he worked harder than everyone else. He believes that there are 3 kinds of people in the world; those who let things happen to them, those who make things happen, and those who are dead. At the same time he believes in fate (I tried to point out the potential contradiction with no success) and now he is on a non-stop "battle" 80-100 hours a week attempting to eliminate his competition and take his cigar business empire to #1 when he “walks off the field.” After respectfully acknowledging his sage advice I questioned the model that cost him his first marriage (something he considered collateral damage) and clearly his health (he has suffered 4 cardiac arrests). But for him, as long as her gets to finish as #1 and sit on a beach smoking cigars someday, it will be worth it. Are humans not the most bizarre creatures ever?!? 

Enough rambling for now,

Hasta Pronto! 

Here I Go Again

Hello again to those reading this blog. I never thought it would come so soon, but today I fly out of Detroit and will land in San Pedro Sula before travelling West to Copan Ruinas for the third time.

Each time has been a bit different. The first time in 2010 I was a 2nd year university student on a school trip with 9 other students and a professor. Last year I returned by myself in search of a new organization to work with at Huron College, to visit my host family, and learn Spanish. This year I return as the trip co-leader with a college staff member and 10 other students.

I will update this blog as much as I can, and the students will have a group blog as well that I will likely link here as soon as I can. I am very excited to stay with my host family again, and be back in the familiar village of Copan.

Thank-you in advance to those who send love, and prayers, they mean a lot to me. I will see you in three weeks!

Where I am headed