Ya me voy

This is Alissa, reporting one last time from the OYE office as I finish my time as a volunteer here in Honduras. My two months in Honduras have flown by and in a few hours I'll be flying away.

Yesterday was the day of my despedidas (going away parties). The first was with my knitting group in Los Laureles. They talked with Erin about how the knitting project will continue once I leave (Yes, they are going to continue my project!) and then we commenced the celebration with cake. There were about 30 people there -- pretty much everyone who had come at one time or another to the knitting classes. Many of the kids gave me hand made cards that were incredibly sweet and which I will treasure. They asked me not to forget them, and I assured them that it would be impossible to forget them and the time we spent together. Finally, we presented the manta that we made my attaching squares knitted by the group. It is not hanging on the wall in the room where we worked as a group memory. It has been such a special experience for me there teaching something I love and developing relationships with the students in the process. And I am so thrilled that the project will be continuing under the supervision of Erin at OYE and Amparo, the teacher at the center in Los Laureles.

My next despedida was with my friends for dinner at Las Tejas, the same restaurant where we celebrated my arrival eight weeks ago. It was a really nice, relaxed evening in which I could enjoy the company of the group of friends I have made here who I will very much miss when I return home. We discussed how much improved my Spanish is after my two months here and how I hope to return but don't know when. While I don't know what opportunities will present themselves in the future for me to return to Honduras, but I know what whatever happens this will remain a special place for me.

It would seem appropriate now for me to write elegantly about the lessons I have learned and the experiences that have impacted me while I'm here. However, it shall have to wait. Whether that is a good or bad thing I'll leave you to decide. :) I must head out to the airport in a few minutes, and besides that, I think I'm still pondering and processing the overall experience and how it is impacting my life. What I can say decisively is that it has been an incredible experience here in Honduras and one I am so glad to have had.

Natalie and Lisa´s thoughts on the office project

So far, we have painted many things white. These things include huge boards, small boards, medium size boards, small desks and large desks. In addition to painting them white we have also given them an attractive charcoal grey trim. Ohhh but we almost forgot one of our fav passtimes...SANDING the edges of some of the large rather oddly shaped boards. As well as painting an assortment of boards, we also got to show off our creative skills when helping to complete the office mural of a scenic landscape. We painted a mountain....which will be covered by shelving units...which we also painted. So basically we have helped create a small wall in the office... yayyy us.

Now you may be asking yourself why??? Well the office of OYE is undergoing some small changes that in the long run will help create an environment condusive to youth empowerment and education. The goal of the office project is to create a space that is comfortable and friendly, where kids in the scholarship program can have access to computers and have a place to do their homework. The new office will also be home to some of OYE´s projects such as the youth newspaper who´s first official meeting will be in the office 23 july, 2008 (tomorrow). The office will be a place where the newspaper can meet and publish their work. Hopefully the new and improved office will be a more pleasant and inspirational environment where children, volunteers and employees will benefit from its improved appearance.

Playa, brisa y ....

Por Sandra Erika Gómez O.

El pasado sábado 28 de Junio, en medio de una visita maravillosa a El Progreso, de un grupo de personas de Dumbarton United Methodist Church, tuvimos un día de playa, brisa y mar, que marcó la fin

alización de la primera fase del programa de capacitación para el liderazgo de los jóvenes de OYE. Con un grupo nutrido de 60 personas y en un bus que en ocasiones parecía que volaba, nos fuimos para Tela, a un rincón conocido como Miramar. En este sitio pasamos todo el día y pudimos todos disfrutar de este escenario de blanca arena, mar cristalino y largas caminatas, juegos y risa en el que nuestros becados y becadas se divirtieron de lo lindo, y en el que nuestros visitantes pudieron hablar y conocer más de cerca la realidad de los jóvenes progreseños. En el registro del día, unas cuantas fotografías que nos ayudarán a recordar esta excursión como un día en la vida de OYE inigualable.

 

Knitting in Los Laureles

Greetings! It's Alissa again, and I'm here to share more about the work I'm doing here at OYE. Besides working in the Nutrition Center, I am also teaching knitting to children and youth in Los Laureles at the Centro de Investigacion Escolar -- an study center in the old COPPROME building.

The classes started three weeks ago and have progressed amazingly! Last Friday, I let some of the students take their knitting home with them rather than me taking it and bringing it back the next time. Thus, when I arrived for my class on Wednesday morning I had no idea what I would find... To my great surprise, the first three students to walk in (two girls and a boy) all had made significant progress on their projects. They had knit at home until they ran out of yarn! I am soooo impressed by how well they, and all the others, are progressing. In only two or three weeks of classes, many of them have completely mastered the basics of knitting. In addition, new students continue arriving to each class wanting to learn. So far, there have been a total of 30 students who have come to learn. The largest group I have had at any one class is twelve, which is kind of hectic but definitely still fun.

 

Besides the great knitting progress that is going on in Los Laureles (the name of the neighborhood where I hold my classes), I am also enjoying getting to know the students. Today was a smaller group, only 7 students, so after getting the new girls started there was plenty of time to chat with everyone and get to know them better (and in the process practice my Spanish more). We talked about families, and one girl reported that she has 32 aunts and uncles and 100 cousins! We talked about favorite holidays, and I learned that most families make tamales for Christmas. We talked about school and what subjects everyone prefers. All in all, it was a wonderful morning of knitting and deepening connections with the students.

Mornings in the Nutrition Center

Greetings! My name is Alissa and I am the newest OYE volunteer. I am from Kansas and attend American University in Washington, D.C. I arrived last week and will be here until the end of July. While I am here, I will be working Mondays through Fridays for a few hours in the morning and a few hours in the afternoon in a number of different locations. Today I want to write about the Nutrition Center where I am currently working in the mornings.

The Nutrition Center is a place where they take in severely malnourished children and help them to recuperate. The children are usually there for three to six months, although it varies for each child. It is only a program of recuperation, so after the children are better they go home to their families. While they are in the center, their caretakers (usually mothers) must come periodically to see them and also to learn how better to take care of them so that they do not fall into malnutrition again immediately upon returning home. Also, the children come back periodically after they have completed the program for check-ups.

On a regular day at the center, I arrive with Reto around 9:00. For the first hour we just play with the children. There are about 25 kids there, so there is never a shortage of kids to give attention to. Most of the kids are 4 or younger, but there are a couple of special cases who are older. They are all adorable and a joy to play with. After playing, they eat lunch, so my job is feed some of the ones who need help. Then they all go to the bathroom and have a bath before taking a nap. Usually Reto and I stay for awhile longer after they go to sleep and chat with the women who work there before we head back home for lunch.

The truly difficult part about the work of this center is that it is not permanent. While the lives of children are being saved as they are nourished in body and in spirit at the Nutrition Center, they ultimately must leave -- either back to a life of poverty or to an orphanage -- and there is no guarantee that they will remain healthy and happy.

Yesterday I went with a group from the Nutrition Center to visit the homes of some children who were there in the past. The homes were in two communities outside of El Progreso -- Flores de mayo and Siete de abril. In both places, we saw houses constructed out of corrugated tin and in some cases cardboard. The poverty there was truly astonishing, although I am told there are places outside of Tegucigalpa that are even worse. The hardest part for me, however, was when I returned to the Nutrition Center after the visits. I looked at a serious-faced little boy I am getting to know at the center and I pictured him as one of the children in one of those communities. I imagined him standing sadly at the door, not recognizing the people who had loved him for many months at the center, just staring blankly at the people visiting as some of the children had done yesterday. For me, returning to the center after visiting these communities emphasized the faith one must have for this type of work. In the end, we must send the children back to their homes and have faith that our work is not in vain and that the love we give them at the Nutrition Center will positively impact their lives.

Our job is to plant seeds. After that, it is not up to us. We must plant so that others may water and that eventually the seeds will grow. I love this idea, and think it is very important to remind us that while what we do here is not everything, it is something.