The Latest News

We’ve been really busy since the New Year and the next couple of months look to continue the trend.  Here is a bit of what we’ve been up to:

La Fragosa:

One of the unique aspects of our work here is the involvement of local government (in all things) and the rather unobstructed access we have to the mayors.  Maybe small towns in the US still have this feel but it is literally a foreign concept to us.  For example, in order to advance in the La Fragosa project, we needed to fix the water line that runs to the school.  The community also needed to build the platforms that will hold the tanks of the Combined Treatment Unit (CTU).  Early on in the planning phase we described the project to the mayor and he assured us that anything we needed he would help out with.  So we decided to put him to the test and ask him to pay for the materials for both the water line repair and the platforms.  Lo and behold he stuck to his word and wrote a check to the community to cover the costs!

Two weeks ago, Celso and the town council leader came down to get the check and we all went to buy the materials.  The stars aligned and we were able to buy everything in Trinidad and even Juan was available to drive the materials and the men back up to Fragosa.  Last week the community made the necessary repairs and built the platforms, paving the way for the next phase of the project: installation.  This week the ADEC team will be driving up from Marcala, transporting the ceramic filters which are ready for delivery and also providing technical assistance in the construction of the CTU.  Things are moving right along and should all go as planned we will have a full update with pictures at the end of the week.

Water Filters:

At the end of October we translated for a medical brigade that happened to bring a large quantity of water filters to donate to the communities we visited.  One of the doctors also left a number of filters with David and I to distribute in the Trinidad area.  We put our PCV thinking caps on and came up with a plan: invite the local Red Cross health promoters to apply for a filter, to be installed in the school of the given community, with the stipulation that they must also conduct a lesson with the students on hygiene and basic sanitation.

We have met a couple of times with the promoters to explain the filters and the project and also to distribute a simple application.  By having the promoters fill out the application we hope they will feel a higher sense of accountability, instead of just dropping the filter off with the community.  The promoters are currently gathering the necessary information and we hope to distribute the filters to them this week.  So far one promoter has delivered the filter and conducted the lesson with her community’s school and we hope to get the details (and some photos) from her soon.

H18 Training:

As we mentioned, H18 will be arriving in Honduras this week!  In March, we will be going to Teguc to speak to the training class about MARV – the Married Volunteers support group.

At the end of March we will be traveling to El Paraíso (Wat/San FBT site) to facilitate a few sessions of the Wat/San training.  We will present together on small potable water projects (i.e. La Fragosa) and David will be presenting other technical sessions as well.

News from the casita:

We are still enjoying our hot showers and don’t know how we survived nearly a year without them!  Speaking of a year – February 24, 2011 marks our 1 year “anniversary” in Honduras!

Recently the wiring in the kitchen light bulb became disconnected and we were left cooking in the dark.  We called good ol’ Tito, no less than six times, and each time he assured us he was on his way right over.  After being stood up four times over the course of two weeks, David finally worked up the nerve to try and fix the bulb himself.  Surely you can understand that he was a bit weary to put his faith in the breaker box but in the end it was a quick (and shock free) fix that cost us less than $1.

On the downside: Leona has been missing for over a month and we have lost most of our hope that she will come back.  Although her namesake, the infamous Leon, was once missing for a year so a small amount of hope still remains.  We may try to adopt another cat mainly to help us control the cockroach population.  However, the offer of US citizenship only applies to Leona, so don’t worry in-laws.

In Leona’s absence we have taken a liking to a bright green grasshopper that lives on our bedroom ceiling.  Mr. Green Legs has spent the past few weeks eating the tiny gnats that congregate around our light bulb.  Sometimes he ventures down the walls a bit but he generally prefers the ceiling.  On a whim I swirled Leona’s laser light around him on the wall and he immediately tried to pounce it! However, I was afraid that I might burn his tiny little retinas so I stopped.

Word is the unbearable heat will be returning shortly with April as the hottest month of the year and likely no more rains until at best May.  Goodbye “winter”!