Highlights

Hey friends!

It’s been a while since I have blogged but I am going to try to get back into keeping everyone up to date.

The last month or so has been challenging as I have tried to find may way through the many challenges resulting from the “coup d’état” that occurred in the last week of June. President Mel Zelaya was evicted from Honduras by the Congress and Supreme Court for attempting to hold a survey regarding changes to the constitution over explicit court orders that such a survey was illegal under the constitution. Although some people spend time trying to find fault in the whole mess, to me what is most important at this point is finding a workable solution. Many, many problems have resulted from Zelaya’s deportation. The teacher’s union which grew to incredible strength under Zelaya continues to support him. Most participants in rallies and marches have been teachers or other leaders in the education system. There have also been many strike days which has resulted in missed school days. I can say confidently that the children in my municipality have had more days without school than with school in the last two months. Also, the change in government has left many municipalities without funding as well as many projects. For example, the construction and paving of the dirt road to my site has stopped. Also as NGO’s have left Honduras and many other nations have cut off funding, many social projects are temporarily stopped or canceled. What this means in the Volunteer community is that for many weeks, many of our projects or job were affected and are just recently seeing a return to a small bit of normalcy. I would really need pages and pages to describe well the political situation, the diverse opinions of my Honduran friends and neighbors, and the feelings of uncertainly and frustration that we have all felt in the last months. I am sorry I can’t do real justice to the topic, but it seems really overwhelming a goal.
Instead, let me say that I am both safe and happy in Honduras. I am trying to continue with my work as best as I can while drawing on the positivity and strength of other volunteers as a relief from work related frustrations.

Highlights since my last post include:

An amazing trip home! I spent twelve short days home in Albuquerque and included a short jaunt to Arizona. I had just enough time to catch up with family and some friends. I feel like the whole thing went so fast, I wish I could do it all again at a slower pace. I loved seeing my grandparents and it was the first time I had seen my brother in over a year. He is now a good deal taller than I am but still not quite as good looking. My grandparents are in good health and it was nice to be able to sit and chat as well as eat some famous humpty dumpty eggs. I would have loved to see more friends but the trip to Arizona was so short and I was kind of overwhelmed at the prospect of having to say hi and goodbye all over again. So, if I didn’t get a chance to see you it doesn’t mean you aren’t in my thoughts and prayers.

Cayos Cuchinos! After a tough couple of weeks transitioning back into Honduras from the US of A, we had a great Municipal Development (and the otros) reunion on the North Coast. We spent a great few days together and I always feel recharged and ready to take all the world after such events. We also went to Cayos Cuchinos a group of islands off the coast with crystal clear water and an elusive dolphin and turtle population. We all went home pretty sun burnt but I have amazing pics posted on both facebook and my picassa account.

YO MEREZCO Graduation: After more than five months, I have wrapped up my Yo Merezco Class. Yo Merezco is a program designed by Honduran Health Volunteers to teach young girls abstinence to prevent juvenile pregranancies and the resulting social problems. Additionally, we discussed the cost of raising a child, gender, menstruation, anatomy, and self esteem. It was a really difficult class as many of the girls have low level critical thinking skills and a lot of embarrassment about discussing these personal topics. I was really proud of the girls who completed the course and had consistent attendance as we met outside of normal class time and they were not required to be there. I received funding from the Christian Children’s Fund which I believe is changing its name to just “The Children’s Fund” to hold a nice graduation. We invited all their parents as well as local community leaders and each girl received a diploma and after, we celebrated with tacos and cake. It was a great time had by all and I was left with the feeling that if at least one of those girls feels a greater self-worth and chooses not to have sex or waits until they are ready to take on the responsibilities of their actions, than I have made a small difference during my service.

I have posted pictures of my trip home, the graduation, and the trip to Cayos on the web and I would be happy to have everyone check them out! Also, the new blog goal is a short entry once a week discussing something relevant to my Peace Corps experience, event, thought, book I have read, whatever. So, check back in and leave me a comment so that I don’t feel like I am writing for myself.



Live life abundantly!

Brenna