Musings on the Road to Monjaras - by Haley

Today I had the privilege of traveling with Dr. Javier, Don Wil, Lexi, and three fellow interns to deliver food and visit patients in the villages of Monjaras and Cedeno, on the Pacific coast. We spent some good time in "El Jefe," our Toyota Land Cruiser, (since it's 1 hour one way to Choluteca, and from there on to the villages), during which I had the opportunity to think. Here are some of my musings:

One thing I've noticed about Honduras is that this is a very relaxed society. They work very hard, of course, but they also spend lots of time just sitting and waiting contentedly for things. When you visit the medical clinic, or a bus stop, or when you're riding somewhere with Honduras, you will notice that they don't fill all their waiting time with talking. Often they will simply sit quietly. I enjoy this. It provides plenty of good thinking time.

During some of my own thinking time here in Honduras, I have thought about how the families here could earn more money. (Maybe they could get some more laying hens and sell the eggs at the market. Maybe they could plant more corn. Maybe they could join a co-op and export the coconuts that grow in their yard to the U.S. Maybe they could weave hats and baskets out of palm fronds and sell them. Maybe a bunch of people could get together and start a mosquito net factory. Maybe they could turn that building on the beach into a hotel, and create a website to attract Americans/Britons/French/Australians/Canadians/Germans who want an adventurous, exotic vacation. Maybe...) And then I wonder why, when they have so much rich time to think, that so many here haven't acted on ideas like these, and are still living in poor conditions. (By the way, when I speak of the poor in Honduras, I'm not referring to the general standard of living here. What really bothers me are those families who can't even afford enough food, or clothing, or healthy living conditions.)

I must conclude that they don't think of these things because they haven't had the education to teach them to think of these things. They simply have never had anyone teach them to look for opportunities to do something, to create something, to fill a need in their society. They haven't been told that they can do something that provides value to others, and do it well, and earn good money for it. That when they work hard at something, and do something with integrity and excellence, God blesses them. If they do come up with ideas for a new business, maybe they don't have the resources because they haven't learned the principle of putting money in a bank and watching it earn interest. When we visit patients and see all of the kids who are at home, instead of at school, I wish that we could sit the kids down, teach them how to read, and then leave each family with a kid-friendly encyclopedia, or textbooks, or even fiction books. Something to teach them. And to teach them how to think. I think that education like this would be a huge step in helping the people of Honduras.

Que Dios le bendiga.

Haley