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| ASI-Jutiapa mini-group works with "Negocios con Amigos" Business Teaching Team |
Welcome to Michaels Mission Musings: Environmental Edition.
Tooday I want to discuss two topics that I learned of during
our “Río de Agua Viva” team this past June.
Both are quite possibly two new areas of outreach for AHMEN teams. The first is a story about a guy, whom I will
refer to as Carlos for his safety, who lives in a community just starting up
outside of Jutiapa. The second area I
want to introduce to you is about a community we all know and love that needs a
very specific bit of attention. Even
though I just started my new job at Franklin County High School my work with
AHMEN continues! So without any more
introduction, let me urge you to incorporate the two following stories into
your mission plans for next year.
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| Carlos and Child |
The first thing I notice about Carlos is his gelled hair,
tall stature, and big smile. The second
thing I notice is his willingness to engage anyone in conversation. When we first met him on the March “Negocioscon Amigos” team, we thought Carlos may not have been cut out for the ASI
workshops. We thought he might have been
attending the quarterly classes just to socialize. After thinking about it, however, I realized
that “coming to socialize” is but one of many reasons individuals without many
social outlets attend ASI! After
visiting Carlos’ home town I realized why he thirsts for interaction.
Carlos lives in a town completely different from but near
Jutiapa. The town is known as Salado Lis Lis. It is a community that was formed
after the 2009 coup as a result of the land reform movement. Farmers who had sold their land to large-scale
banana and palm planters at bottom dollar decades earlier, not knowing that
their land would be used to reap m(b)illions in profits, decided to retake
their land. Violence ensued. Many farmers and protesters were murdered by the
military and government police, but so as to limit continued killing, some
planters negotiated tiny plots of land for the protesters to inhabit as a trade
for an end to the violence. Carlos' community is one of those plots of land. It
is completely isolated and barren save for palm trees and banana plants. A local cooperative has come together to
build chicken coops, plant mangroves to help purify the water coming in from the
sea, and organizing with long-term well-being for the few dozen families living
there as its goal. Carlos told me that the up-hill battle of starting from
scratch was too much and that he planned to leave for the United States as soon
as possible. However, joining the ASI workshop changed his mind. He said that he
had no idea how organization, structure, and friendship could boost his mood
and motivation. He was certainly a different person from when I met him the
previous March. Master Gardener and
water purification expert Dr. George Wong Chong of the Río de Agua Viva team
also picked up on a changed Carlos from the first day we met him. Now Carlos
and Dr. Wong Chong plan to set up garden plots in Salado Lis Lis next year!
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| George taking soil samples for next year's community gardening team |
The second story I have for you today is a bit less glorious
… in fact it’s a bit gross. In the towns
of Cusuna, Punta Piedra, and Ciriboya that we know and love, there is a
problem. It is a problem with an “ick”
factor for us gringos, but it is also a problem with far-reaching consequences
for our friends in these villages. I’m
going to go ahead and tell you that the problem is … No, I can’t even type
it. Who would join an outreach team
after reading what I must share with you? ?
Well maybe, just maybe, there is a group of volunteers out there perfect
for this project. What is the project
you ask? What is the problem??
RATS!!
There, I said it. My
favorite places in the whole entire world have a rat problem. It is a problem for me because I was raised
by a mother who despised rodents. It is
a problem for the local Garifuna population also because the rats are
contributing to the deterioration of public health. Not only is the rat infestation causing
general sickness, but they are also getting into the food families so
desperately require to battle hunger and malnourishment. One Garifuna woman actually told me that the
rats have learned to take the lids off of pots and pans to eat food while it is
being prepared. This woman and her
commadres are asking for help with the rodent issue, and they don’t want us to
simply send a container full of traps.
They want a comprehensive, multi-lateral plan to push the rats and mice
back into the jungle. They know that rodents
are food for snakes, and when snakes don’t have food they might go after
humans. They know keeping the balance of
nature is important; they also know that something must be done to rid the
community of the disease and damage rodents are wreaking around these towns.
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| The said WHAT about the pots?? |
So, I want to ask for your help. Are you interested in joining an AHMEN community
gardening/composting team to Honduras next year? Are you interested in putting together a
rodent awareness and prevention program to deliver in Honduras next year? Who do you know who might also be valuable on
these teams? If you don’t want to
volunteer, and don’t know anyone who might, would you consider joining a
sponsorship for the AHMEN-SIFAT Initiative so that we can train local leaders
to address the problems themselves?
Contact me for more info on joining a team, planning a team, and/or
donating to ASI today!
Together, we are the difference.
Dr. Ben Copelan returned from Honduras this June excited to help continue the progress of teams that had worked with the Los Laureles jewelry school. He has contacted a shop owner in Sacramento about featuring some of their products.
