My final days!!!

Greetings from Honduras!!!

As I wrap up my time here in Honduras, I've realized there is still a lot of work to be done!  Tonight I'm conducting my final focus group/celebration, tomorrow I will head to Tegucigalpa and Friday I start my journey home.  Whew...  I am sad to go but relieved to come home at the same time.  This was hard work!!!  Well, I guess there was a little play thrown in there too. :)

Over the past couple of days I've been working with Miguel on transcribing the recorded session from last Saturday's focus group meeting.   We FINALLY finished it today! Whew!  Hopefully the meeting tonight won't last as long...that way I can transcribe the recorded session, translate it and have it ready to go for coding in the U.S.  But, as with everything in Honduras.....it is hurry up and wait, hurry up and wait.   :)  The transcribing portion of this project takes the longest, and I am so lucky to have awesome translators to work with.  I wouldn't have been able to do this without the help and support of Miguel (from Engineers Without Borders-S&T) and Jennifer (from Primero Agua http://www.primeroagua.org/).  They have both been incredible, and I owe any success I have with this project to them.  Really, they have been so patient/willing to translate anything this gringa can ask for.  So, if you are reading this....Thank you so very much.    

I asked Janice (from Washington Overseas Mission http://www.wix.com/saraheve11/wom) to pick up a chocolate for us to eat during the final focus group meeting tonight!!!  YAY!  The cake is so cute...and from what I've heard, is quite yummy!  I'm excited to see the participant photos tonight and to hear their stories/plans to make the community better.  It will be a very humbling way to wrap up the trip.

During my two weeks here, I made connections with two incredible organizations-Washington Overseas Mission and Primero Agua.  When I return in January, I plan to work with one of the two organizations on implementing a health education curriculum for the teachers to use here in the schools.  I hope to come here and hold a training for the teachers and watch them as they progress with this awesome, yet sustainable, public health movement.  It is going to be great! 

I'll try to post a blog either tonight or tomorrow after the session.  If I can't get it in, I promise to update you all on everything when I get back to the states....sorry to be so short, but we are all sharing the internet!!!  

Hasta Luego!!!!

SheWhoTravelsForJustice

We had a few days off...this one will be short.

Before I can talk about my awesome days off, I wanted to let you all know that I had my first focus group with the participants and it went so well!  They were really speaking freely and openly about the issues they have within the community in regards to health.  Many of them photographed issues they found within the school.  For instance, there is a school that houses 600 students that has no water coming in or out of the school.  This means that there are no bathroom facilities, faucets or drinking fountains.  As you can see, this is a very big issue because the kids have no other place to use the restroom or get water to drink.  Thus, any hand washing education the students receive is basically not applicable to them when they are at school.  :(  The good news is, the participants have really enjoyed doing this project, and many of them said that because of the project they want to be involved in the change!  :)

So....now onto the days off.  Over the past three days I have had the experience to really explore Honduras and see the country.  First, I went dancing at Lando's Chicken Express to dance.  This was HILARIOUS!!!  This place is part chicken restaurant during the day and dance hall at night!  They played a ton of fun music and we danced/had a wonderful time.  I had to ride in the back of the truck on the way to and from the dance hall, but it was fun!!!  We sang Lion King at the top of our lungs on the way home....Oiye, Gringos..... Yesterday I went to the beach for the day and swam, ate and drank at an all inclusive!!!  The place we went to is called Tela Mar, and it was beautiful.  The water was warm, the food was yummy (for once) and I got to work on my tan!!!!  I thought the beach would have been the creme de la creme of this whole trip, but I was SOOOO wrong.  Today was the best day off I've had in a very long time....I got to literally swim through a waterfall..... Yes, that is right....swim/climb through it!  IT. WAS. SO. AWESOME.....  We also got to jump off cliffs into the water below.  For those who can see my facebook pictures, they are up!!!  Check it out!  I have had so much fun over the past few days that it is hard to remember the type of work I did last week and will do the remaining few days I am here.

Sorry that this is so short, but we are all sharing internet and I've gotta run! :)

Until next time...Hasta Luego!

SheWhoTravelsForJustice

Update!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The past couple of days have been really tiring and the heat has begun to take its toll on us gringos.  Since my last update, we’ve done so much!  First, we’ve continued our research by doing the informal interviews in the village.  Basically, we’ve broken up into two groups. Each group visits 4 houses in the various barrios (neighborhoods) to conduct interviews.  Through this process I’ve been able to really identify many public health misconceptions within the village.  First, many of the people tell us that they think the calcium in the water is causing outbreaks of kidney and gal stones.  Second, they think that drinking non-potable water doesn’t cause the diarrhea and vomiting, rather, it is caused by the dirt the kids are putting in their mouth.  While the concerns with dirt may be true, we all know that the water likely plays a pretty significant role in diarrhea and vomiting.  Lastly, they have told us that refrigerating their water will kill any bacteria and parasites the water may have.  This is obviously incorrect.  Refrigeration may slow the progression/growth of bacteria and parasites however it doesn’t kill them. 

            I continue to be amazed by the level of poverty here in Honduras.  Before I came here I learned that Honduras was the second poorest country in the world, yet, I didn’t really comprehend how poor it was until I came here and listened to the villagers’ stories.  Yesterday I spoke with a woman who told me that she began to care for a young girl after her parents passed away.  She embarrassingly admitted that she regrets the decision to care for her because she can barely take care of the girl, let alone herself.  She has fears about not having enough food to eat, water to drink and other basic resources you need to survive.  She continued to say that she feels so bad for the young girl living with her because she literally takes care of herself.  She cooks, cleans and goes about her business.  This story was very humbling.  As is everything I’ve done here in Honduras.   We also had the opportunity to visit a small hilltop village called La Bomba.  In this village we met with a woman who had a pretty serious stomach tumor and because of this, she lost her ability to walk.  She was incredibly thin, and didn’t look well.  She had a wheelchair, but the bottom of the chair was broken, leaving it inoperable.  She will be a recipient of one of the free wheelchairs I mentioned in a previous blog.  We talked with her for a while and she told us her story.  She ended with telling us that she must keep believing that God will make her better.

            We also made a trip back to the most dangerous city in the world-San Pedro Sula.  We were on TV!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  This was so cool!!!!  Janice (the woman from Washington Overseas Missions) translated for us as we told viewers about our projects and future work in Honduras!  After we left the TV station, we went to the market and shopped!  This was a cool experience for me because we had Miguel (native Honduran who attends school in the states) barter for us as we made our way through the different vendors.  I picked up some souvies for friends/family and a bag for myself! J 

            Tomorrow we have our first focus group meetings with the PhotoVoice participants! J  I expect to be amazed and awed by the participant pictures and their stories.  I hope to have access to the Internet quickly after so I can update you on how it went.  If not, I promise to post soon! After the focus group we will make our way to Landos Chicken Express…..half chicken store/half dance hall.  This should be interesting…I’ll update you soon! 

Until next time, Hasta Luego!!!!

SheWhoTravelsForJustice. 

Public Health in Action....Honduras style

Yesterday we walked the streets of Santiago, conducting informal interviews with the people in the village.  Through this we learned of many issues they face with access to water, concerns about the costs of water and other health issues they have.  I also learned of many sanitation issues the people have, primarily the lack of hand washing and sewage overflow.  Additionally, many of the people in the village have chickens and dogs that roam around in their homes and yard.  In America, many of the animals are pretty well kept, and rarely do I find chickens walking around inside a home.  Here that is quite normal!  The issue I have with it is they often walk around in their own feces and then walk on the counters, tables and other surface areas used for food preparation. 

An actual bathroom isn’t very common here in Santiago; in fact, many homes have what we call “pit latrines”, or un-lined holes in the ground.  In the maranata (i.e. squatter village) many of these latrines are causing sewage overflow, which leads to many other health concerns.   Additionally, there are rarely sinks in the homes and hand washing isn’t a normal procedure, especially with those who have latrines and a pila.  A pila is a concrete basin that almost looks like a bathtub on one side and a washboard on the other.  The pila is supplied with water every other day and is used for washing clothes, hands and dishes.  Most of the time people will have a bowl they use to dip in the pila and then they’ll use that bowl to wash their hands.  Soap is rarely involved.  The grey water (i.e. dirty water) from the pila typically runs into the street. 

We also had the opportunity to meet with the Public Health nurse at the Centro de Salud (Center for Public Health) and we were surprised by our discussion with her.  She said that waterborne illness isn’t the primary reason she treats patients, rather, the biggest reasons are for flu, vaginal infections and sexually transmitted infections.  Additionally, I learned that the average age for women to have babies is 12.  WOW.  She said that there is a serious need for women’s health education and HIV/STI education too.  This is right up my alley!  I asked whether or not the children have sex education in the schools and she said “Yes, only in high school.”  The issue with that is, many students are getting pregnant earlier than high school, or they don’t make it to high school.  Thus, they are not receiving this education.  Also, considering that young pregnancies are pretty common in the village, it doesn’t appear to be “taboo”.  However, many young mothers may not know how to properly care for the baby, or don’t want it.  This was evident when I was visiting one home and they literally asked me to take their 15-day-old infant with me.  Also, the public health nurse made several comments about diarrhea and vomiting that didn’t make sense.  So, when we asked what training requirements

Brooke, Miguel and I were asked by a local pastor to conduct a public health fair for the village in a local park!  YAY!  This will occur on Sunday, the day after my focus group meeting with the photovoice participants!  So, expect some interesting posts to come through after the weekend.  Right now we are working on a pamphlet to use to distribute to the village.  This pamphlet includes information about Engineers Without Borders (EWB), their collaboration with the Master of Public Health (MPH) program and any misconceptions they have about calcium and chlorination of water.  We also included little health facts on the back leaf of the pamphlet, and of course, the public health pump handle! J

The next couple of days will be quite a learning experience…I hope you follow to see it all unfold!

Hasta Luego!

SheWhoTravelsForJustice

First few days

Hola from Honduras!

These first few days have....how do I put it...Interesting. 

After several hours of traveling, we finally arrived in Pimienta.  We were picked up by Fernando, Dr. Ugarte's (the Mayro and Public Health doctor) son.  The only issues we had with being picked up were the fact that we were picked up on Latin time...meaning, they get around to it when they get around to it.  I am still trying to learn Latin time and it drives me crazy because normally I am bound to a strict schedule. 

When we arrived we went straight to the Municipal to meet Dr. Ugarte.  As we entered into his office I saw a few men building a wheelchair out of plastic outdoor furniture, bike tires and metal.  I found out they were donated by an organization called Free Wheelchair Missions (www.freewheelchairmission.org) and were going to be given to handicap people in the village for free. For those who know me and my family background, you know that I have a soft place in my heart for wheelchair bound people, so this really meant a lot to me.  I encourage you all to check out the site, possibly make a contribution?!?!?

We are sleeping and eating in what they call a Bodega (warehouse).  I like to call it more of a compound.  The interior is secured by brick walls, gates and barbed wire.  We don't get to leave the Bodega unless a local guy, or someone from the municipal (city hall) is with us.  The crime in Central America is so bad, so I appreciate their protection.  Only, we feel a little confined in the evenings.  This morning I woke up and "worked out"....push-ups, jump rope, sprints and climbing stairs....I did it for about 30 minutes and broke a serious sweat.  Here is the kicker....the water in the town wasn't working which meant NO RUNNING WATER....thus, I had to literally shower out of a bucket.  It was interesting. 

Today we walked around the city of Santiago...We ran into an english speaking pastor who asked us what our plans were.  Brooke (one of the engineers) gave a brief description of what we were doing in Santiago and he brought up the issue of water.  We learned that the people in the village are scared of calcium in the water, and fear that the calcium is actually a parasite making them sick.  So, Brooke and I are putting together a presentation on the real issues with water...which is the fecal chloroform and other bacterias...not the calcium.  We will present next Monday at church.  We hope to also ask the village their thoughts chlorinating the water as a method to help save them money from not having to purchase bottled water.  As it is right now, they spend roughly 300 Limpera (~$15-$20) a month for bottled water when chlorination could be as little 50 Limpera a month.  I know $15-$20 a month is no big deal to us, but it is a lot for them.  So, we are going to spend some of our time educating them on these things....and educating them on the fact that it isn't the calcium in the water that is necessarily bad, it is the bacteria!!!

Tonight is the night I hope to start PhotoVoice....but, then again, we are on Latin time.....ugh.  I'll update you and let you know.  As it is right now we are doing a lot of walking around, asking questions and getting a feel for the village.  Tonight we are going to a village fair to mingle and dance (yo quero Bilar!!!!!!  Todo la noche!!!) and on the way I hope to visit with a local squatter village.  If not tonight, then tomorrow.  That will be incredibly humbling. 

Anywho, that is it for now....Keep watching! 

Hasta Luego,

SheWhoTravelsForJustice

Chicago->Houston->San Pedro Sula

Ok folks....Let the show begin!

I am currently sitting in the hotel room looking at the Chicago night sky....dreading that i have to wake up in about 4 hours.  I'm really excited about going tomorrow so I know I will not be able to sleep well.  But I need to sleep!!!!

I've had a wave of emotions sweep through me today as I traveled here to Chicago.  I was both worried and excited!!!!  I am excited about this awesome learning experience....excited about being in a foreign country...excited about traveling.  I am worried about getting sick while I am there....my house, family and friends at home...my animals...my luggage getting lost.  woof.  But, I will say this...the excitement is outweighing the worry!  I'm going to miss Emily while I am gone though.....a lot. :)

Tomorrow, my schedule looks like this:
-5:30am: Chicago to Houston
-9:00am: Houston to San Pedro Sula
-11:00am: Someone picks us up to take us to the bodega
-1:00pm: MUCH NEEDED NAP/Settle in/tour the city......

I better get some sleep, tomorrow will be a long day.  I promise to post as much as I can!  Keep watching....attached are some photos to kick off the next two weeks!  The first one is a picture of me packing....well, trying to pack.  The second one is of me at the airport getting excited to go!  The last one is of some really pretty buildings in Chi-town.

Warning: This post is really random and all over the place!!!!

Ok folks....the time has come, I am officially in freak out mode! Just kidding.  I am mildly stressed about all of the last minute expenses.  And the never ending to-do list.  As it is right now, only 4 cameras (out of 12) have arrived.  I haven't printed my release forms (they are translated however) nor have I coded the cameras.  I still need to meet with a few folks here in the states to make sure I do exactly what I need to do while I am down there.  SHEESH!!! So much to do.  But I keep reassuring myself that it will all come together in the end!

In preparation for the heat and humidity there, I've been trying to spend some time outside in this awful MO heat.  Additionally, I've significantly increased my water consumption to make sure I am adequately hydrated before I go.  I already drink a lot of water as it is, however, the past few days have been pretty rough here in MO.  I can't even imagine what over 100 degrees and 80%+ humidity will feel like in Honduras.  So, I thought it would be best to start the hydrating now!  Besides, when I last met with the Engineers (early June) they said that the locals place bets on what American will have to be put on an IV first due to dehydration.  I definitely do not want to be that girl. :)  Luckily we've paid for clean water in advance, so getting sick from the water shouldn't be an issue.....lets just hope it isn't.

I leave on Thursday to fly to Chicago.  From there, I hope to find a cheap place to stay close to the airport, otherwise I'll be sleeping in a sleeping bag on the floors of Chicago's international airport.  From there I fly to San Pedro Sula and will picked up by a driver and driven to Pimienta.  Pimienta is where we sleep and eat.  The actual work we are doing takes place in Santiago, but the warehouse/bodega we are sleeping in is located in Pimienta.  I don't know much about the terrain in either of these cities, I just know it will be very hot and humid.  

Also, want to know what kind of sucks??? I cannot run the ENTIRE time I am down there.  It really isn't safe for us to just wander around the streets of Pimienta....so, as an alternative to running I will bring a jump rope, yoga mat, resistance bands and a set of perfect push-ups.  I am vowing to myself to at least do 30 minutes of jumping rope, yoga and push-ups a day...However, I'll be walking around the city of Santiago literally from sun up to sun down.  At least it is some cardio!

As far as packing goes, well, I start that tonight!  I bought a 5 pack of white v-neck t-shirts...they are light in color and breathe easy.  Along with that I'll likely pack bermuda shorts (can't wear anything shorter than that), jeans and other lightweight gear.  Be ready for me to come back with the best tan lines known to womankind. :)  In addition to all of my clothing and exercise gear, I plan to bring the strongest bug spray ever invented, malaria meds, tummy meds, instant coffee packets, goldfish, fruit leather, two books, a lock for my locker, travel documents and of course the 12 kodak easy-share cameras!  Am I missing anything???????  Oh, and a water bottle....

I plan on having dinner with some friends the Wednesday before I leave....I can't believe it is literally so close!!!  I am going to miss everyone here...a lot.  I don't really know if I will have any contact to the folks here, but eh....it's just 2 weeks right.  As it is right now they did tell us we will have access to internet at the bodega as well as there is a little internet cafe in Pimienta.  I'm also going to buy a go-phone while I'm down there....if they have them. :)

Well, I hope you enjoyed my useless rambling today! I promise when I get here the posts will be better.  Until then, happy traveling!

Love,

SheWhoTravelsForJustice

One week away!

Ok, so I officially leave for Honudras in one week....  Well, in about an hour or so... :)  I am so nervous you have no idea!  I'm in that stage where you remember all of the things that you should have done about a week ago-EEK.  Of course, I am not even in Missouri right now to handle these  to-do items, sooooo all I can do at this point is just plug away the best I can and trust that no matter what I will do something good while I am there.  It may not be exactly what I planned....but, eh....this is a learning experience remember????

For those who really know me, you can attest to my feelings of nervousness and homesickness.  After all, you've been listening to me talk about these feelings for a while now.  For those who don't know me well, you're probably thinking "wait...she hasn't even left and she's already homesick?"  I wish it were that simple.  You see, for the past couple of months I've been bouncing around from city to city, state to state and even country to country....At the current moment I am at a camp in Colorado Springs with my teen leadership council...two weeks ago I was with the same group, only we were roughing our way through the Ozarks on a wilderness adventure trip...two weeks prior to that I was in Jamaica.... Next up-HONDURAS!  Oh my goodness I can't believe it is already here....

So, things I've done over the past couple of weeks to prepare.....
1) Finished my vaccinations.....First let me tell you about this experience.  My round of vaccinations were simple...I had a typhoid shot.  I felt feverish for about a day after that and then just moved on.  Second round-Hep A, Hep B, Yellow Fever and Tdap.........  The travel nurse (in her sweet patient nurse voice) said "Ok...so, the Hep vaccines are more medicine, but don't hurt as bad as tetanus, so I am going to put those in one arm and the tdap in the other....You will have some sore muscles, but nothing too bad".  YAH RIGHT.  Both of my arms have serious bruises on them still and they hurt down to the bone.  Word to the wise....spread your vaccinations out over a period of several weeks.  Don't wait until the absolute LAST day to get them and do them all.
2) Malaria meds.......Ok folks, lets talk Malaria medication here.  This stuff is seriously crazy.  Ok, so yah it protects me from getting malaria an all but it has some crazy side effects-bad dreams.  This will most likely leave me sleep deprived before my trip and well, that isn't good.  I have had the craziest dreams anyone could imagine.  Most of them being nightmares.... WHAT THE HECK!?!?!?  So, word to the wise on this....don't plan a camp with 19 teenagers the week you start your malaria meds.....you become cranky and tired and they really don't have any sympathy for you.  Even if you show them the bruises on your arms from your vaccinations.
3) Ordered cameras.... I know what you are thinking, and yes, I know that waiting until 10 days prior to departure to order your equipment is a little gutsy, but bare with me here.  I have been a little busy here.  I contacted some folks in the MPH department to assist me with ordering my cameras and she mentioned that they didn't have enough in the certain kind I needed.  Let me back up a little bit....the didn't have enough re-furb cameras on Amazon.com for me to buy at a seriously discounted rate, thus, I will likely have to pay more for brand new cameras that could possibly turn up missing anyways.  Not good....  But, I have faith that they will all arrive ON TIME!!!  If they don't, have no fear...you'll hear about it.
4) Learned the very sad news that one of the students (and a dear friend of mine) will no longer attend the trip....Here is the deal with this, there is really nothing good I can pull from this because I'm super sad they aren't going anymore.  Being that this person was going to be my spanish speaker, I am going to have to have crash course on basic conversational spanish before I go because lets be honest....my spanish is no es bueno (NOT GOOD).

Out of all of these things I can honestly sit here and say that at this very moment I still feel comfortable and confident.  Want to know why?  Because I know that no matter what happens, I'm going to go down there and make a difference in someones life.  Even better, I am going to learn so much while I'm there.  I am going to come back a very humble person because of my experiences.  This is what it is all about folks.....making a DIFFERENCE. :)

To do for next week:
1) Figure out how I am going to get to and from Chicago (departing airport and arrival airport)
2) Pack
3) Print translated release forms and english release forms
4) Develop a training/script because lets be honest....I'm going to need to practice my spanish.  What better way than in a script!?!?
5) Oh.......go to Honduras for two weeks and learn some of the most valuable lessons I'll ever learn.

I CAN DO THIS...I CAN DO THIS....I CAN DO THIS....

I'll bring you along...if and only if you promise to follow this blog while I am away!  I'll update as much as I can.  Feel free to post words of encouragement on the comments section of this blog. :)  I'll need it!

Oh, if you're still wanting to financially support this project, please do so....any fund raised after the trip will go towards my return trip in January for video diary sessions with the locals! :)  Info on how to donate is posted in my initial blog post... I NEED YOUR HELP! :)

Thanks for all who reads this....we are almost to 400 hits! :)

Adios,

SheWhoTravelsForJustice.... :)