Africa and Back

Nimesharudi kwangu. Since last talking to you, I have had a two week trip to Kenya. A group in Kenya (Bethany International) is setting up an integrated agriculture training centre in Garissa. They asked if I could come over and give them some ideas and advice both in the layout of the school and in the preparation of curricula.

Garissa is near the Tana River (the largest in Kenya) and features a population of traditionally pastoralist people groups. The Somalis have moved into the area even more since the troubles began there twenty years ago. Money from the diasporas (Somalis living abroad in Europe and North America) and from Somali economic activities on the high seas (read piracy) has fuelled property buying and building in Garissa, Nairobi and other parts of Kenya. Influxes of Somali refugees has doubled the population and made the Garissa area more powerful politically as well. The Somalis have become a major player in politics and economics in the past few years.

Conservative Islam has also moved into the area. The call to prayer and sundry recitations were a prominent audio background throughout the day and night. When we lived in north eastern Kenya twenty years ago, Islam was present but the women did not wear the full covering they do now. The vast majority of the Somali women now cover themselves with a full veil (called a ‘ninja’ by the local population – including the women themselves) when in public. There are still forays into ‘fashion’ with decorated and embroidered coverings and very intricate henna designs on feet and hands.

I was able to see some new parts of Kenya on a trip from Garissa to Mombassa. That bus trip featured some off road stretches and took about eleven hours for the 450 some kilometres. A road is being built but may take a few more years to accomplish. Surprisingly, I saw two new animal species this trip, despite not having time for a game drive. The caracal and galago were both new and delightful finds.

It was lovely to reacquaint myself with various Kenya dishes. Well cooked traditional food is good in any culture and, with so many various cultures in Kenya, there are many types of food to sample. Irio, nyama choma, camel stew, Somali rice, Swahili pizza, mandazis, chai, ugali and samosas were all part of the menu ... and very well enjoyed.

My Swahili was rusty but I managed fairly well, especially in understanding what was going on. Kenyan Swahili is not as polished as Tanzanian Swahili so my grammar was noticeably better on several occasions. That stood me in good stead when I would forget a word or, worse, throw in the correct Spanish word.  I found myself thanking the clerks here in Honduras in Swahili this morning. Sigh.

In the course of looking for supplies and equipment, we saw a new development in Kenya. Finally, two companies have developed small greenhouses and shade cloth units for small landholders. These are affordable for lower middle class farmers and repay themselves in less than one year. With simple drip irrigation systems, they are also very easy on water. The banks have realized their potential and are lending money for them as well. Now, to try and get them here in Honduras. The cost of a >1000 sq. ft. greenhouse with equipment is less than $1500.00 USD. With the vagaries of climate change, this is a huge step in food security.

When we toured one of the companies’ show house, I asked the girl showing us around when she was setting up her own greenhouse (that was partly to see if she was actually sold on the idea or not – if it isn’t good enough for the employees then we should take a closer look ... right?). She told me, “next month it goes up”. She already had plans to build a second one and within two years she was going to be working on her own and earning more than she could as a ‘tour guide’.

One greenhouse is enough to provide a family with a very moderate income and two would provide a living of choice. One person can take care of two greenhouses without trouble.

We also saw several new pieces of equipment developed for small farmers and businessmen. A new maize grinder (built in Kenya and much sturdier than Indian/Chinese models), a hand cranked rock crusher (beats the man sitting with a hammer to make gravel), a water pump (100 litres/minute) that can work with one hand and the Jompy stove (a fantastic new unit to heat water and cook at the same time over charcoal or open flame) were all new items.

One of the focal points of our time in Garissa was seeking to find ways to utilize a new tree in the area, Prosopis juliaflora. This tree was introduced about twenty years ago and has spread rapidly. The good news is that it is keeping areas covered with trees despite the pressures of increased population. The bad news is that it does spread quickly. However, it has been my experience (speaking humbly of course) that trees are very easy to catch so complaints about the spread of such a species are not too credible.

The tree fixes nitrogen, provides good charcoal, is easily worked for furniture (can be glued together to make laminated boards) and carvings, has high protein leaves and pods (the pods can be ground and the flour incorporated into porridges and chapattis) and flowers prolifically. It also can be harvested repeatedly and will come back from the roots or trunk (coppices readily). There is some concern that a 100% diet of the leaves or pods may cause problems ... but a 100% diet of anything is a problem generally speaking.

We did find a place where they are making charcoal briquettes using charcoal dust and clay. They can make the charcoal dust from any carbon source, including leaves. This opens the potential for utilizing this tree in even more ways. As we talked with people about seeing this tree as a resource instead of a problem, it was wonderful to see their excitement. In an area of Kenya that is desperate for economic building ideas, this tree offers a great opportunity.

There are many ideas that can be transferred to Honduras and I look forward to working on that in the coming months. Now, adventures over for a few months, it will be back to the school work here.

TTYL

bb

Natasha teaching in Santa Cruz. Students include Samuel (in pink - taking his second grade - 9 - this year and moving out of gang life), Julia (single mother of 5 children), Francisco (his father is a labourer on a chicken farm), Vilma (far right - mother of two children) and Enrique (his mother makes a living by selling snacks to people on buses - he is also in second grade - 9 - even though he must care for his younger siblings much of the time). Makes it seem pretty worthwhile, doesn't it?

English Lessons

Natasha, our Canadian Intern Student, has been teaching English to our students. She has travelled out to various villages and held three day seminars. The students are excited about learning this way and it has been a wonderful way of telling the whole village about our school. Natasha has been fantastic about taking public transport and spending time visiting with the students and their families.

This week she is holding seminars in Santa Cruz.

The Ministry of Education is having trouble paying the teachers. Consequently, there is no school. They are contemplating shutting the schools for the rest of the year and simply giving everyone a pass. This has been done before but truly does nothing good for the students. It makes our approach so much more valuable. Students receive the whole curriculum, regardless of what happens.

TTYL
BB

Catching Up

Wow. It has been a month since I wrote. However, the number of readers writing to let me know that they missed the blog ... well, much like hearing good things about Obama on CNN.

On Tuesday, Muanuel, Chepe and I visited our most remote school in Las Delicias. When the road is not all that good, a seventeen kilometre trip can seem much longer. We drove through gorgeous valleys and constant vistas of verdant mountains and hazy horizons. Truly spectacular.

The village is on the edge of a forest reserve and at a higher altitude so the air was clear and fresh. Our host, the man who is working hard to provide this education opportunity to his village met us as we drove up to his house. We were invited inside and, after seeing the computers and so forth, sat down and visited.

This is the first Honduran home that I have been in which had books. It was incredible to see two small bookshelves filled with reading material for children, adults and reference. Obviously, we have a very good family to work with here.

After some time, the man invited us to see his garden area. He has several innovative things happening there. He is planting lablab (I think that is the name – he wasn’t sure) beans as a ground cover and green manure. He is also planting rows of Madriado, a nitrogen fixing tree which will fertilize the alleys between and provide a trellis for black pepper vines. It was so very exciting to see some of these practical, low cost ways of improving income potential being implemented.

On the return trip, I had Manuel take his first driving lesson. He was sweating profusely by the end of the journey. He did well although getting that foot to move between brake and accelerator was a challenge. No crunches though so all was well.

That afternoon, we drove to another location with some papaya seedlings. I drove too close to a projecting stone and it sliced my front tire. What a bang. I was so sure I had destroyed the truck. Phew. Only a tire. We were happy that it wasn’t raining, muddy and a busy road (well ... track). The spare was in good shape but lacking in air. There was enough to limp to the nearest tire place and get it filled. What a relief to make it there safely and without further damage.

Yesterday morning I replaced the two front tires. Had to double check that small things like the valve caps were replaced and my two old tires also in the truck. Sigh. I do hate little fiddles.

We are hoping to have another graduation in November and the list of potential grandaunts is being drawn up. That will be exciting to see some more progress being made.

Our Canadian intern, Natasha, has been doing a stellar job teaching English in various village locations. This week she is experiencing the other side of life in a foreign country. A bad meal on Sunday night did a number on her digestive system.

One of the seductive things in another country is to arrive at a nice location (in this case a tourist type lodge at the top of a mountain park road) and see something familiar on the menu. After a number of weeks of ‘local’ food, the temptation is to order a hamburger. However, all too often, that is the very thing which is prepared poorly. That is not a surprise. We all stumble when trying to cook something from another culture. I have been disappointed (or, as in Natasha’s case, negatively affected – politically correct statement there) on a number of occasions when I had hoped for a touch of ‘home’ and, instead, received a touch of something else.

On the brighter side. Friday I was given a lesson in cooking one type of Honduran soup. As I have mentioned before, soups here are fantastic. A friend showed me how to make seafood soup. It turned out to be fairly easy and I made my own batch on Monday. Everyone who tried it was impressed so I must have gotten the main points of the lesson. It has some nice spices and coconut milk along with a variety of vegetables so it is hard to go wrong with that.

The staff here at the school is making great strides at adding complementary material to the curriculum and creating forms so that we can begin registering and reporting on line. I sometimes feel a bit unnecessary as they forge ahead. It is so exciting to see them gain confidence and creativity.

The last thing to talk about. While in Canada, I received three Rapid Washers. These are a plunger type unit which washes clothes in a bucket. It washes much more thoroughly, quickly and with much less soap and water than by hand. It still is manual labour but much less. This week we had a demonstration/trial run with some clothes of mine. Then staff took them home to give them a work out. The reports so far are quite good. Julia, used it to whiten some of my things and it was amazing. I had thought some stuff was beyond help but it brought new life to those clothes. Hurrah. Since it is ‘mechanical’ maybe it can be cross gender as well. Hmmm – don’t get your hopes up too high.

TTYL
bb

Delivery Systems

A few short notes.

Last night, at about 9:00 p.m., Edelberto, one of our staff, phoned me and asked for help. He needed to get into the office and use the internet. I left my keys hanging in the lock of my door and kept preparing for bed.

When I arrived at the office this morning, at 7:00 a.m., Edel was still at work. Evidently, the line to apply for University online is only open for three days. Consequently, all applications have to be made during that window. Thousands of people are trying to get into the university at the same time. So, Edel was up all night applying for himself and others. He is on the last friend right now. He will head to my house to sleep for a couple of hours and then come back to work.

Carolina, another worker, delivered her first baby yesterday. Ramon, her husband, phoned us the news. Evidently, he will not see the baby or mother until today. The doctor simply came into the waiting room with a list of names and read them aloud along with information of boy or girl. The fathers were simply relegated to waiting. We will find out later today how heavy the baby was and what its name will be. Yesterday was the day of the patron saint St. Miguel. We discussed what the feminine form of Miguel might be but will wait to find out.

Yesterday, Julia told me that she had been watching the Sunday evening mass on television and had noticed that I had lost weight. So, my TV audience is watching and aware. So refreshing to know. Our Canadian intern, Natasha has made many friends in town and is often waving to one or another as we walk or drive through El Centro. However, I told her she still does not have a TV audience ... so there.

We have two student interns here to work on their computer skills. We have them making some forms for us right now. They are having to learn that it is much harder to make forms than it first appears. Their eyes have not been trained to see small mistakes and differences and so their idea of “same” is not like mine. I warned them at the beginning that it would be hard and that my eyes were different than theirs. But, they really didn’t believe me. Sigh. In our culture, we have so many puzzles that train our eyes to see minute differences. As we went over the third attempt they began to realize what I meant. Thank goodness for computers where you can save, correct, copy and so forth. Changes are so much easier. Hopefully, we will have a completed form ready today.

We dug up some grasses that have been growing in the compound. From a start of about ten small slips planted earlier this year, we have about two hundred or so slips ready for planting in Santa Rita. Today they will be planted to mark the corners of the permanent beds we have made. We can always move them later if we find a more profitable plant to put there. This grass has some medicinal value but not sure if it is enough to exploit on any scale. Still, it is beautiful and grows quickly.

TTYL
BB

Hurricane Warnings

Friday afternoon was filled with activity as we prepared for the onslaught of Hurricane Matthew. I stocked up on healthy cold food items like Corn Flakes and Sardines and bought several novena candles (these are in glass containers and burn for long periods of time) for long periods without electricity (and, a little prayer might always be in order).

In the evening, the rain started and we were braced for the predicted 10-12 inches. It rained most of the night but, about six the rain stopped and by seven it was sunny. Evidently, the storm got stalled on the tip of Honduras and Nicaragua and did nothing more than spit at us.

The power was out for most of Saturday so I did get to enjoy Corn Flakes and powdered milk for breakfast. Power outages are going to be a part of the next few days it seems. If the people controlling the dam let too much water out, downstream will be a disaster area (rivers are overflowing already). If they let the water build up too much, the head gets too much (going by rumours here) and the generators have to be shut off. So ... know where your matches are at all times.

By ten, we realized that sun was the order of the day so we packed up two students, Natashs, the student intern and two barrels of fresh water and headed for Tela (the beach). Having a vehicle makes for many different options. This was the girls’ second trip to the beach in their lifetime (100 km away).

In Tela we found a beach and headed into the waves. Matthew had made the waves a bit more interesting but, as Tela is part of a large bay, the waves are never truly more than lots of fun. We spent an hour being pushed around by the ocean before heading into town.

On our way home, we stopped at a movie theatre to watch a movie. The movie the girls chose was billed as a 3D movie featuring some sorts of Kung Fu type adventures. Sadly, it didn’t live up to even those meagre expectations. However, for the girls, it was exciting. A movie, pizza and a beach ... all in one day.

This week, I have been made aware, again, of how fear is a part of living here in Honduras. A conversation with a friend (as we waited out a downpour) reminded me of that. This young man told me of the time he was riding a bus and a robber had come on the bus and shot the person sitting beside him. Manuel told me of coming out of his house last week only to see a man with a gun robbing another person on a bicycle. Manuel ducked back in time before the robber noticed him. A third friend told us of her experience being robbed when downtown with her two children. So many of my friends have such experiences and it continually colours their lives ... rather understandably.

One of the rather disappointing features of mission work is that, very often, the people who are first attracted to conversion and leadership positions in new churches are those who are marginalized in their own society. As they gain power in these new positions, they, very often, copy the leadership examples of both missionaries and the society around them. They become accustomed to using their positions to gain benefits for themselves and their families.

Very often, it is children of these first ‘believers’ who get opportunities for education and travel. They become accustomed to a life of benefits and, in fact, feel that they are entitled to these benefits. Often, as well, they are not committed to the principles of the religious community to which they belong and to which their fathers lead.

I have run across such families in Africa and here in Honduras. This past week we have had the misfortune of encountering one such family. For two generations, they have made a very good living from “enabling” Christian aid projects and programs. In the process, they have acquired land, houses and private education. They have not acquired the status in their society that they would like but they do control the church in which they continue to be part of.

In the process of completing one of our projects, we have had to confront several members of this family because their holdings and businesses were neighbouring or affecting our work. The fact that we sought to be transparent in our dealings and expected the same from them was very threatening to them. Now we get to deal with their threats and animosity.

It is a new experience for me to live with that type of threat. Although minor in comparison to that of my friends (at least I hope so) it nevertheless, makes me appreciate how much it makes you look at things in a different light. Hopefully, we can distance ourselves from these folks and assure them that we are not a threat to their way of life. Time will tell. It is frustrating to have people seeking to destroy something that only seeks to benefit their country and the poor people around them.

Time to run. We are meeting with a group of women who are trying to do some agriculture work to earn some more money for their families. It is exciting to see their enthusiasm. I hope we can direct that enthusiasm to something profitable and useful in the long term.

TTYL

BB

Keeping It Together

The last weeks have been busy and full of activity. I think that some things are being accomplished but sometimes it is hard to tell.

The most exciting thing for us has been the arrival of Natasha, a student intern from British Columbia. She is here for three months and we are so grateful to have someone willing to settle in and give a hand. She is going to provide three day English seminars in various villages and satellite centres. This will give the students their English component, give the school some needed advertisement and give Natasha a chance to see village life in Honduras.

We have given Santiago the responsibility of making sure that Natasha arrives at the villages safely and that classes go in an orderly fashion. His status is going to shoot off the charts. There was certainly no hesitation in his accepting that job.

We have had a number of students coming in for registration the last week and that is lifting spirits. Today, possibly, we have some people coming from La Ceiba to pick up the course material and start some students on the program there. That is truly a satellite centre. We may never even see the students.

We are looking at a graduation in six weeks so need to get everyone started on projects. It has been an uphill battle (which I am currently still losing) to advance the idea that projects could be started while students are studying the course work rather than waiting until everything else is finished. Two things at once seem too overwhelming at this point. Sigh.

A women’s group is working hard on a piece of property we have. I am eager to work with them but, so far, they are simply getting organized and cleaning out the fish pond.

At the agriculture project in Santa Rita we have planted the fruit trees, the passion fruit plants, lots of ground cover and cuttings of chaya and so forth. Last week, Muncho, my manager remembered me talking about a living fence in May. He also remembered us talking about the idea of using small cuttings of trees rather than the traditional Honduran cuttings which are two to three metres long. The electrical company had come along and lopped off the tops of trees in our area under their lines. Consequently, there were tonnes of smaller cutting sized branches available. Muncho put everyone to work and they planted over 600 cuttings along several fence lines. I was so pleased to see the initiative and I am very excited to see how they will grow and fill in. I had never thought to use that particular species of tree and so this is extremely pleasing.

Today we are going to find, I hope, some arrowroot seedlings to plant in beds that we have laid out. Again, beyond my expectation, we have 36 beds laid out and all with square corners and straight edges. That is truly incredible. I will post some pictures when they get passed on to me.

All of this takes time and so the days have flown by.

TTYL
bb