Brian and Andra Report Week 11 and 12

Week 11

Week 11 was overshadowed by the Midway meeting. This was a very successful and insightful week of preparing and giving our presentation as well as hearing from the successes of our comrades up North. The Midway gave us a chance to reflect on our actions taken and pat ourselves on the backs for our successes, as well as prepare ourselves for the next two months in our communities.

We were graced by the presence of our Head Master Trine from the Institute of International Cooperation and Development Michigan who came down to see Humana People to People Belize’s projects as well as to attend our Midway. This was especially nice to catch up with the news of the states and hear about our friends in Michigan, it’s always a pleasure to be around Trine and she gave us sound advice during our Midway which was a big help to our morale.

During Midway we were reunited with Hyunny and Sunny our dearly beloved teammates. It was good to hear about their successes and troubles and how they live on a day to day basis. We hadn’t seen them since we split to our communities in May but it seemed like it was only yesterday when we were spending all day together working to prepare for our projects we are now in. They seem to be doing a good job in their communities and their work with the women and youth groups was inspiring.



Week 12

This past week since Midway has been very successful, despite both of us struggling with being sick on and off. 4 new gardens were started and 3 were completed. This includes building a fence, building up rows, planting, and discussing and implementing strategies to protect the seeds from the rain.

We also had another Village Action Group Meeting where we taught about how to make organic pesticides, and the importance of composting and mulching. We also talked about the seriousness of malaria. We taught them the symptoms and the best ways to prevent getting mosquito bites i.e. filling puddles, chopping grass, picking up trash etc. Along with this theme we also talked about lemon grass as a mosquito repellent. We gave out plants to each family along with recipes for tea and instructions on how to plant and use it. Later in the week each family that we visited had planted the lemon grass near their house and garden.

This week we also continued our kids club with lessons in geography, making thank you cards to people in their lives that help them, and continuing to learn about good manners and graciousness. In each kids club we always play a good physical game. This week we played sharks and minnows, and a good game of baseball. We also started making signs for the trash drums we placed back in June. We made one that says “Keep the River Clean and Healthy” as an example and will work with the youth and the kids club to design and paint the rest of them next week.

We organized a meeting with the teachers, the principal and the PTA to discuss the idea of having a marathon/open day at the end of August. They were all very excited and on board with the idea and are ready to help us. We talked about having no alcohol and instead promoting nutritious food with the sale of fresh fruits. We also discussed having more games such as three legged races, potato sack races, etc. to create a fun family friendly event. This week we will talk to the Alcalde and Chairman to set up a community meeting so we can get everyone involved. We agreed with the PTA and teachers that this is the best and only way to have a really successful event. Everyone had a lot of ideas and we are looking forward to moving ahead with the plans.

We also mobilized a group of kids to help us plant 40 Moringa trees. We talked with them about how many great things the tree can help with and that it makes us very strong. We have plans to plant more trees and to discuss the uses of Moringa further in the next VAG meeting and in the kids club.

Midway Thoughts and Feelings

This weekend was our midway meeting where we got two days to be reunited with our fellow Parrots Sunny and Hyunny who have been working in the north. We shared what we have been working on, our challenges and accomplishments, and what we will work on for the next two months. It was really great to to get some advice and feedback from everyone. We also had a special treat by having Trine our headmaster down here for the meeting and to visit the projects. She is so level headed and has so much experience that I really appreciated getting to talk to her and to hear her advice insight about what we have been doing.
Things have really been picking the past couple of weeks as we signed up new families and gave them chickens, gave three families new baby pigs, have really been pushing the gardens forward, etc. Now on top of that we are returning to our village with new ideas and motivation. We are ready to kick some serious butt these next two months.

We also got two little baby chicks for ourselves- we named then Trotsky and Emma. We love love love them. They are so cute. We aren't sure what we will do with them when we leave- we know they will be someones dinner but we don't want to think about it. For now we are enjoying the company. They come when we call them and are just so darn cute. And they eat the bugs!!

More to come soon!

Midway Report

1. Who you are and why did you decide to become a poverty fighter?

My name is Brian Winkler. I am 24 from Colorado, USA. I decided to join the Poverty Fighter program because IICD’s curriculum caught my eye more then all the other organizations in which I searched. I found that Humana and IICD genuinely works for education and development in communities all over the world, I was impressed so I joined.

2. Your projects and your achievement during the first 2 months?

Projects/Achievements

-Computer Class for Standard 6 in St. Marks Roman Catholic(R.C.) School

-Helped organize for a community High School graduation party

-Started semi-successful nursery

-Attempted multiple times with minimal success to start a women’s collective

-Wrote a grant for St. Marks RC School. Now we are searching for a donor

-Organized a book drive in which all St. Marks students had the opportunity to receive 3 books each

-Started to fix community latrine. Still in progress

-Helped with school garden and primary students graduation party

-Started a kids club aimed at cultural and community empowerment

-Found 5 new families for Child Aid Toledo and gave 3 of them 10 baby chicks

-Ran numerous Village Action Group meetings

-Distributed 3 female baby pigs under a pass-on loan system to the most motivated families in Otoxha

-Made/Ran a punch board for Otoxha marathon in which we raised a few hundred dollars for the school

-Organized the school library which was in a chaotic state

-Painted the library and Andra composed a mural

-Finished 14 gardens with 6 near completion

3. Statues of the family task list?

Task List Questions and Answers

1. Strengthen the economy of the family. Promote food and nutrition security

1a. The family has a vegetable garden of at least 5x5 meters:

Started. Around 3/4ths of the gardens are finished, not including the new families.

1b. The family has at least 5 fruit trees:

Started. Were in need of new seeds.

1c. The family has a production of chicken, fish or other protein rich food:

Started. The original families received chickens under the Strong Children project. 3 of the 5 new families have received chickens.

2. Health and Hygiene. Keep the environment clean

2a. There is a good system for household waste:

Started. We have discussed and showed some families how to start compost heaps. We will push harder for compost heaps with the families. Also we have encouraged everyone to use and burn in the Humana garbage drums.

2b. The family members have access to and use toilet or latrine and keep it clean and nice:

Started. Some families already have latrines. We are in the process of fixing the community latrine. And we will be searching for funding/materials to build new latrines.

2c. The family has a good system for ise of the gray water:

No start. We have plans for a future gray water workshop.

2d. The family applies to malaria and dengue prevention:

Slow start. Have plans for malaria workshop. Looking for partnerships to receive mosquito nets.

2e. The family participates in community actions:

Started and ongoing with latrines, Open Day/marathon, gardens and garbage clean-up.

2f. The family beautifies their surroundings:

Finished. Otoxha needs no beautifying, literally.

3. Health and Hygiene. Awareness about health and nutrition

3a. The family is TCE compliant:

No Start.

3b. the family members have a high standard of personal hygiene:

Nearly finished. The families have a very high standard of personal hygiene but some families need to use tooth brushes on more occasion.

3c. The family has clean drinking water:

Started and maybe finished. We’ve discussed with families about filtration methods but the families all seem content with the pumped ground water.

3d. The family understands the importance of getting the right nutrition and vitamins and they act accordingly:

Started. All the families who have received seeds we’ve had personal discussions on the nutritional aspects of eating vegetables. We will make a bigger effort with nutritional education in the VAg meetings and Kids Club.

3e. The family members, and especially the children, receive a visit or visit the local health agent or clinic for regular checkups:

Finished. Constant visits by brigades of doctors and the community is always informed about them coming from the churches.

3f. There are no malnourished children in the family:

Started. Children are seemingly healthy but big improvements can be made in their diets especially by eating fruits and vegetables.

4. Pre-School

4a. The family sends their preschool aged children to preschool:

N/A. No preschool in area.

4b. Discuss with the family how they cam support the development of their children:

No Start.

5.Active children and youth

5a. Children of the family participate in the kids club:

Started and continuing . Strong start with lessons in graciousness and of community fraternity.

5b. The youth of the family participate in the youth club:

No Start. We’re in the process of finding a youth leader.

5c. Discuss with the family how to look at their children and why they should take their children seriously:

No Start. Were searching for the best approach to this necessity in life.

6. Children in difficult situations

6a. Identify children in difficult situations:

Started. No obvious signs of serious child abuse except it seems the community accepts mild lashings of the children from their parents.

6b. Find Solution:

No start.

7. Education

7a. The children in school age attend school:

Finished. All primary age children go to school.

7b. Encourage the parents to be able to read, write or that they participate in classes:

Started. Having difficulty mobilizing adults to care about this subject.

7c. Encourage the parents to further educate themselves:

No Start.

7d. Children who are behind in school get support:

Finished. School is out until September. We offered the principal help with this but he never took us up on the offer.

7e. All families have at least 10 good and interesting books on their book shelf:

Started. We held a very successful book drive. Each child was given 3 books, so if 1 family has 1 child at least they have a minimum of 3 interesting books.

8. The family

8a. At least one of the family members participate in the weekly lessons of VAG:

Started. We have had semi-decent family participation in the VAG’s. We have had trouble mobilizing the VAG leader but are quickly finding solutions to this problem.

8b. All children have their birth certificate- or the process to get one has started:

Started. Need more family info on this subject.

8c. The family members have their social security number and nationalty/residence/work permit papers:

No Start.

9. Income generating activities

9a. The family has an income generating activity:

Started. Here are the income generating activities begun we know of- Chicken production, Pig raising, craft/art activities and large scale garden production.

9b. The family understand basic business management:

Started. Failed to catch the interest of families, new attempts will be made.

10. Cooking facilities

10a. Build fire wood saving stove:

Started. We have held a few discussions with interested families, possibility of future stove production.

4. Action weeks results and plans?

Results

Our first action week was placing the Humana drums and cleaning the river with the children. It was extremely successful and the river was free of plastic if not just for a day. The children learned the importance of keeping Otoxha clean. Nearly 80 children and 5 adults participated.

Our second action week involved mobilizing the community to bring wood to families who needed it for their garden. This was a 2 day mobilization with nearly 20 people involved, mostly children and they learned important lessons on why community actions were important.

Plans

Community action involving building latrines.

Community organizing for a big marathon/open day for Humana benefiting St. Marks RC school.

5. Plans and goals for the next two months?

-Finish renovating community latrine

-Continue Kids Club

-Start garden committee/Humana group

-Continue Womens Collective attempts

-Finish gardens

-Start gardens in Dolores

-Organize a movie night

-Build new latrines

-Hold Open Day

6. Challenges and problems and how have you solved them?

-“Here the culture is hard.” Being in the Kekchi/Maya culture had been eye opening but very difficult. Women are especially exploited in labor here and also the women seem particularly jealous of each other, selfish, and lazy when it comes to helping others or themselves with projects we try to implement. We have motivated many women who said “they are to lazy” by saying “no you are strong, help your family and mobilize the kids and your husband to help.” This method works after being emphasized a few times. The men work on the farm on occasion but do minimal work if compared to the woman’s constant barrage of duties, but on occasion they will help with our projects and are more easily approachable then their female partners. I think 5 years here would be sufficient to really make a change in this hard and solidified culture.

- Onorha our VAG leader has been particularly unhelpful in mobilizing the families or even informing the families about meetings. We have been applying more pressure on her as well as finding other motivated individuals who can easily make up for her lack of effort.

-Kekchi the communities language is difficult for us to understand. Naturally this creates a barrier between us and the community. We have learned some expressions but not a sufficient amount to be even a little fluent.

- Lack of privacy. Often we hear people go into our house when were not there, just to look at what we have. Also people will just come to are door and stare at us as if were animals in a zoo. We have dealt with this by just dealing with it and it has gotten better as time goes by.

7. Partnerships that you expect to receive?

-Search for concrete companies and write a letter expressing the need for a partnership between the company-Humana- and community to build much needed latrines.

8. Ideas and plans for the 4^th period

-Make a video about our experiences from the travel period to the end of our project.

-Distribute our final report to interested parties and at places we fundraised.

-Make a virtual scrapbook of our experiences from being a DA in Michigan to the end of our project in Belize.

-Figure out our future!

9. What will you do after the program is over?

-Go home to our beloved families which are dearly missed.

-Promote new One World University/IICD program in Colorado and surrounding states.

-Join TG

Midway Report

Midway Report

Expectations and Reality

Times have been tough here- I think we are really coming to a point where our expectations and the realities of Otoxha and our experiences here are coming to a head. We are really being challenged by the people and their culture. Brian gave you a good look at the men and even a little about the women here and this description really plays a part in our work here. Its so amazing how much they are only worried about themselves, the only time they care about others is when it offers some new gossip to spread around. With the women's collective we finally have one woman, Adela, who is more than motivated to learn and share. She is really the only things that keeps me going. She mobilized one other woman to participate as well but she won't talk directly to us even though she knows english well and is afraid to be seen at our house by other woman in the village. Every day the women ask us where we are going and why, not out of innocent curiosity but out of this jealousy that exists among all of the women. When we are down in town, the women come into our houses to snoop around- we know this because we tie our door shut before we leave so the dogs don't push their way in and when we return our basic square not is replaced by a hammock knot. They also still come and stand at our door and just stare at us, and even if our door is shut stand and peak in through the cracks. Oh, its quite exhausting at times. Its now an almost daily ritual to spend time at night re motivating ourselves and trying to remember why we are here and to keep going strong. We are still getting good work done are having successes with the gardens and we just have to keep focusing on that and moving ahead- its only 2 1/2 more months and we are trying our hardest to make the most impact that we possibly can in such a short time.

The Men of Otoxha/Vent Session

The men of Otoxha are a very, hmmmm a macho bunch. For example the culture certainly is paternalistic and the gender roles are well defined. The men farm and during planting season are constantly busy, out nearly every other day in the early morning to mid-day. You'll see them all with a machete and rubber boots tired from certainly a long walk from their farms which are far from the village. This is because they use slash and burn tactics and don't want their city to become the next ash farm. I would say from some discussions with the men I've had on the whole farming business, in total it takes about 8-9 months of the year. Right now from June to September the men are idle while waiting for harvest.

The other tasks men have consist of fishing and hunting gibnut, playing football(soccer) going to church and on occasion some will go to town to get drunk. Actually it's not a bad deal for them, I would say it's extremely rare not to find a man laying in his hammock while his slave(wife) works. His slave which in Otoxha is a rather miserable bunchworks constantly all day, cooking, cleaning, doing laundry and taking care of the children. The only kicks the slave has is talking about people behind their backs and laughing about someone getting seriously injured or just telling lies about people to create community division (which in Otoxha there is many). After two months the women almost violently refuse to help each other, and when offered an opportunity to benefit the community will possibly yell at you. All the while the man bosses from his swinging throne.

I wish I had a better outlook of the men and women here, I wish I had more time to be here so I could really penetrate their culture and fix some colonial and religious deviations that severely effected them in past history, Of course not all are really that bad, Adella an amazing person, who is motivated and really wants to learn everything we offer is actually not from Otoxha, which doesn't surprise me. And some families once you get them one on one and help them with the garden or other projects and compliment them, really for an instance seem very nice. And after this task they usually ask you "hey can you show me how to do this" or "yea teach me this now" and we say "well why were you saying no to this at the community meeting or saying nothing at all?" It's clear to see they want to benefit themselves to one up their neighbor, which in principal I stand firmly against.

After two months many of our hopes have been crushed. Some still glimmer with a fading light. But at least now we know the people more and aren't blinded by ignorance. Still we are determined to help, knocked down by reality none the less and ready to stand back up.

Week 5-6 Report and Some Comments

These past two weeks we helped the school prepare for a big football marathon/fundraiser. Unfortunately it was cancelled at the last minute because the prize money that was promised by Eden Martinez didn’t come. We continued working on the mural for the library that is now in its final stage needing only a few touch ups and then it will be finished. We are still pushing the gardens and are about half way finished. We have asked the principal Mr. Ac if we can use his truck to get wood from the abandoned lumber yard for the families who need fences. Once this is done many families will be ready to plant. This was also graduation time and we helped Mr. Ac set up for his daughter’s graduation party that was on Saturday. It was quite the party to prepare for. We now have two women who are committed to doing literacy classes, math classes, and computer classes. This is a part of starting the Otoxha Women’s collective where the women can work together to be empowered and independent. We are hoping that a few more women will join but are focusing our attention on those who are motivated to learn. We also began a nursery of orange and lime trees, we were aided by a few local children who took great joy in helping us.

Comments:

Since last reporting our time has been much better spent in the little village of Otoxha. We were reeling from cultural shock for nearly two weeks and now all is settled and better. I think it's a rare thing for people to wake up in the morning and see so many different varieties of baby animals(including humans) walking around making all sorts of noises and wobbling behind their mommies. It's something I am always grateful to see and will cherish it because surely this is one of the few places to have such a joyous experience as this. In the U.S. agro-business has destroyed the humbleness of the small farmer and the lives of the livestock, so they can make a sickening amount of profit while hiring the least amount of Americans possible. Baby animals can be sure to be tortured their whole lives in a pen the size of themselves, but here it is different and even though this last week I experienced the slaughter of 5 grown pigs I was grateful to see them roam free and happy for years before we enjoyed them.

Till next time, Brian

A Crazy Week

On Monday we left Otoxha to attend our biweekly meetings in Bella Vista and had decided to pack our stuff in  hopes of spending the night in the office. We were right smack in the middle of feeling so incredibly homesick and exhausted. We got down to the office and wrote up our report for the two weeks that had passed and waited for everyone else to get there. The meeting was supposed to start at  9 and at around 9:30 we had a feeling something was up. Finally our project leader Pantaleon showed up and it turns out the meeting had been canceled but we never got the message. Anyways Pantaleon agreed that we could stay the night.It was much needed.The next morning we got up and went to the bus stop but as we were approaching we saw the bus we needed drive by without us. This was the last bus that would get us where we needed to be in order to take the next bus up to Otoxha in time. So we had yet another night to be rejuvenated.There really isn't much to do in Bella Vista and this forced us to take naps and read and organize our plans for the rest of the week. Really we just needed a little time to be allowed to grieve. Its hard to be in Otoxha and rest because we always feel like we should be doing something so it was actually nice to be able to sleep and cry free from guilt. Wednesday morning we awoke feeling a thousand times better and ready to get back to work. We had created a new list of things to work on, strategies to try out, etc.We made the bus and took the long journey back up to our village. We arrived and cooked up lunch and cleaned a little. As we finished  eating we heard a car pull up and a man's voice. We were very surprised to find Pantaleon there at our door. He came in and explained that the office had called him and told him that our Visas expired that day. We were surprised and went to find our passports to check as we were almost positive we had until the 10th of June. It turns out he was right- it said 01, not 10. We had literally been there for no more then an hour and we were packing up our stuff to leave again. We didn't have time to make it all the way to PG in time so he called and made an agreement with the imigration officer. Once again we went to the office in Bella Vista to stay the night so we could back to PG in the morning and get our visas extended. The next morning our checks were supposed to be delivered early so that we pay the extension fee. However, the person who was supposed to bring them had car troubles and then the person that signs the checks was gone, and so on. Needless to say we didn't get the checks until after 11 and therefor didn't make it to PG until 1:30. Once we were there and arrived at the immigration office we had to sit and wait for the officer to arrive. Even immigration moves in Belize time. We didn't finish the whole process until almost 3, long after the bus to Otoxha left. So, once again, we took the bus back to Bella Vista to spend yet another night in the office. The next morning we woke up early and took the bus back to PG. We decided to wait until 2 to take the school bus instead of 12 for the regular bus so we get all of our supplies and stuff taken care in hopes of not having to come back down for  our regular Monday trip. We got our food and water and some things we needed for the project and took the bus to the dump where we would find the school bus. We sat and waited but saw no school buses driving by. This is very unusual compared to the constant flow of them that we normally see. We finally asked someone and it turns out that yesterday was a half day. We couldn't believe it. We had no other choice but to make our way back to Bella Vista again. So here we are 6 days later, in PG waiting for the bus once again. This time we will be sure to make it there plenty early. We left Otoxha at the beginning of the week feeling rundown, low on energy motivation and are now returning eager to get back to our village and back to work! What a crazy week indeed.

A few Reports of Belice

St. Marks RC School
Since we began our project St. Marks Roman Catholic Primary School (SMRC) has been a prime focus of our attention. The school has 3 teachers in which one of the teachers is the principal Mr. Ac, he also is our neighbor and most trusted companion in Otoxha. There are 80 students in 6 Standards or in the U.S. called grades. The ages of the children are anywhere from 4 to 14.
In SMRC you find a very unique situation as the only government funding is the teachers salaries, and the Catholic Church only provides for chalk and furniture, all other expenses depend on the teachers salaries or their dependency on charity. The reason I believe the government only provides for salaries is due to the fact that in the Toledo District of Belize the Maya have communal land. This means Maya communities don’t pay taxes on the land they live on or their farms, they are thought of as Maya not Belizean land. Naturally I understand why funding from the government is very limited here in Maya Toledo but the educational situation of these communities is very tricky and can be costly for the teachers.
Another hamper on educational and socio-economic development of Maya Toledo is the cost of high school which as I said above gets very minimal funding from the government. The cost is $300 BZ a year or $150 US, which for families that mainly consist of subsistence farming is a very unrealistic cost for them to pay. So often youth which should be attending High School are home or on the farms working to help their families, instead of gaining an education which surely is the key to growth.
This is why Andra and I have taken it upon ourselves to focus on the development of SMRC and its youth. So far we have organized and painted the library; as long as it’s kept organized this will ensure easier access to subject based research in the school. We have also began writing and researching possible grants for SMRC including reaching our hands out to other NGO’s who’s specific purpose is educational development, this includes looking for scholarships for high school. Already we are organizing an end of the year party (or in Belize, marathon) which will include raffles and other games that will help fundraise for the 2011/12 school year.
We have a lot to work on still but I believe we are committed to seeing the children of Otoxha succeed in the future for their sakes and for the Kekchi Mayas sake.

The Progress of the Families Gardens
Currently well into the 4th week of being in our project area and 2 weeks into starting the gardens the families have completed 4 gardens and 5 are in progress. I believe this work has been the most difficult for us as we always struggle with the families to move them into action.
Our philosophy is that it is their garden therefore their whole family should build it. We came to this conclusion solidly when we found they equated NGO volunteers to givers. “Give me this!” “Build it there.” “When will you come to make my garden.” It was clear to us they have had many weak minded individuals in there community before. With this reality we faced, forcefully we have pushed the families to action, slapping down their pleas of “I’m to weak” or” I’m to lazy,” and reinforcing their successes with “now you see you are strong and you did do it yourself!!!” Of course once we have seen that the family has taken the initiative we go over and help with the manual labor for short periods of time.
Since we asked Humana to supply us with more tools we have a system where up to 4 families have tools at one time, so even the thought of building all the families gardens is nearly impossible plus the fact that we’d never do that. So far only 3 families didn’t build their gardens after having tools for more then 3-4 days. We are sure to check on families everyday or every other day and when our self-empowerment techniques don’t work, and examples and advice go unheeded then we take the tools. Of course we haven’t given up on the family because they didn’t build the garden, but at the same time we must not build or “give” the families anything, just as were told not to with children so it applies to all peoples all ages everywhere.
I think this “giving” or “charity” non-sense overshadows the real need for development which stands in contrast to charity. As I believe charity can hamper creativity and create dependency, without realizing or dealing with the real social issues which created this dependency in the first place. Not to say I don’t appreciate philanthropy but I think the honest groups and people in this field should carefully examine and discuss the best way to move people from dependency to development

Personal Feelings
I think these past two weeks have been the hardest on me since I started my adventure in Michigan in October. Andra and I have been feeling the culture shock and the initial excitement or “honey moon” stage is over. I miss my home in Colorado and I really miss my family, every night we talk about our families and how much we love each others families and the funny quarks we all inherited from them. I think if I could see them one time I could move on from it because it’s only a matter of months before we are united with our 2 families or our now one bigger family. I know that’s probably not possible and that this is only a faze but one with which we both have agonizingly been suffering with, which hasn’t been helped by our demanding drive to make change. I hope they are all well, I really miss their faces and their laughs.
All my love for my One Big Family
Brian

Report from Belize!

We have been in Belize for three weeks now, almost four. We are starting to get in the groove of things and finding a bit of routine in our schedules. The challenges of living in this lifestyle are different then I thought they would be- I thought I would be dealing with the bug issue constantly but, although we have our fair share of mosquito bites and dead cockroaches and spiders, its actually not as big of a deal as I thought. Instead what is challenging is the heat. I knew it was going to be hot here, really hot, but I never expected it to hinder our daily activities as much as it does. For three hours in middle of the day the heat is so incredibly intense, its hard for anyone to do anything. People sort of hide away in their cool houses or a shady spot outside and wait. Luckily we have the nice cool river to go in but as soon as you get out, without using a towel or anything, you are instantly dry and within minutes you begin to sweat again. Its crazy how many places on your body you can sweat from. When its really bad I sweat from everywhere- mt arms, my face, even my legs. Its a very interesting experience.
Another challenge is the food. Because there is no electricity we are very limited in the foods we can eat and sometimes it is hard to work all day and still have the energy to cook three meals and clean up after them, especially when it comes to dinner. We have started being very creative though. We have about 4 main ingredients and 4 kinds of spices and its really funny to see all the different things we can make with them. Every once in a while our neighbors bring us delicious foods and its really a special treat. They are good cooks! Always, tortillas are involved. The vegetables and fruits are rare though- we buy some in PG when we come down every couple of weeks and they can last 2 maybe 3 days before going bad and thats it. Sometimes a truck drives by and they have bananas and pineapple so we get a little fruit in then but we are really craving the produce!!
Other than that we are starting to hit that time when everything stops being as new and exciting and our bodies are having to really cope with the fact that this is for 4 months. We are still pushing through, knowing that is a natural and inevitable stage. Having a lot of work to do helps to get through it.
Right now we are working with the families to support them in building their gardens, helping the women start a collective, and are planning a summer program for the kids when school ends. The biggest work we are doing is empowerment. The problem is that "white" people come up there all of the time and just give them stuff in the form of "aid". But we are about development. With everything we do Brian and I consider- what happens when we leave? Where does this go in 4 months? We don't want to give them things or do things for them and then at the end of the 4 months leave and have them be back where they started. Instead we want to teach them and empower them so they can do it themselves. The same goes for the gardens. We explained to the families that we wouldn't be building the gardens for them- its their garden, not ours. We provide tools, seeds, help finding wood for fences, and support. Still, every time we seem them on the street or when we go to deliver the tools the first thing they ask is "so when are you going to build my garden for me? when are you going to build my fence for me?" Although it has been frustrating, we have had our first success. We have one woman who is a part of a big family. She really wanted the garden but was also waiting for us to build it for her. Everyday we went up there and checked on her, helped her a little but really pushed her to convince her family to help her. She kept telling us "Im not strong enough, I am weak" and I looked at her and said "you are strong".Her family members were reluctant to build the garden because of the work but Brian and I started digging and then went and handed the tools to the other family members and said, "here you try" and then started explaining that gardens took work and care but that if they all worked together they could have this beautiful garden that they wanted and enjoy the delicious vegetables from it. We told them we would give them 2 more days with the tools and then we had to give them to another family and when we returned we were amazed. The woman came out of her house and proudly showed this beautifully made garden. She was smiling and she explained that she got her whole family to help and showed me her sore muscles. It was amazing! It was one of the best moments we have had. At first we really struggled with wondering if she was going to do it or if we should just go up and do it so that she would for sure have a garden but in the end we believed in her ability to do it and we just had to get her to believe too.

This happens with the Women's Collective too- when i first brought up the idea to them of starting a women's collective the women didn't want to do it because other white people have come up and said that they would sell their bags for them and then never did. Or did and it was a shady business deal. After I explained that that wasn't what I was presenting- that I wanted them to learn to read and write and to do math and use computers and create a collective where they worked together to make things, learn new things, and sell things-together, and that I wasn't going to buy their things or sell their things or make deals with them or for them. Once they heard this, they were upset that I wasn't another white person that was going to give them a deal. Its much easier to just make the bags that they know how to make and then wait for someone to come and say they will sell them. many times people come and say make 50 bags and i will sell them so they work hard to make them and then the person never comes back. And they have themselves as their own competition.
At first only one woman signed up but as the week continued more and more women came by saying that they were interested, so we have our first class this week-boy do we have our work cut out for us!

We are still loving the people and the village and are excited to keep working hard. More to Come!

Andra

Otoxha Womens Collective Communique #1

Right now I'm in Punta Gorda sending communiques to the world to send help but not charity to Otoxha. Currently we are working to begin a womens collective, the women of Otoxha have truly amazing art crafts they make and a wide variety of it as well, but it's nearly impossible to sell in the Toledo district of Belize. Of course we have pushed them to begin the collective and we are implementing classes to aid them but they will be fully self sufficient by the time we are gone. If you or anyone you know has advice or is interested in helping email unionmade@hotmail.com.

Also new pictures of us in Belize!

Otoxha

I arrived to my new home Otoxha(pronunciation Autosha) on my birthday, May 5th. The village is inhabited by all Kekchi maya. At first it was a bit awkward but that is what we expected. And of course the children were the most interested in what a couple of whiteys were doing in their village. Often they would just and still do stand outside the door and stare, but by this point we are playing games with them and they constantly are yelling our names in the morning as they go to school.

The next day we got settled in, and Panteleon(Humana Toledo Project Leader) , Lola(IICD team leader) and Marcos(Humana Toledo Area Leader) helped us make it feel like more of a home by creating some shelves and wall barriers for privacy. Our home is a thatched house and the walls are wood which has cracks so anyone can see through (the children do all the time), it is beautiful and already I am very attached to it. The house has no electricity or water, just as we wanted it!

About 50 meters to the north is a windy river also called Otoxha which in Kekchi means Oto(windy) xha(river). It is a clear and beautiful river, it is where the locals and us come to do laundry and bathe. For me it has always been hard to bathe everyday I never liked it and thought it unnecessary to waste so much water, even if people are not dirty they still do, but here I do everyday, for me it feels like true freedom to bathe in this fashion, free, naked and in a river haha.

On the 7th of May we held our first community meeting. Wow it was awkward, all the families showed up and it was all the women with some of their children. After we explained who we were we awkwardly tried to push them to ask questions but not one did, eventually the Principal Mr. Ac helped us out and some expressed some feelings. This was a bit discouraging but it also motivated us to to conduct the interviews.

We started that Saturday with the interviews and ended yesterday Monday with them. This was a good experience and it really helped us build rapport with the families. Most importantly it gave us a better idea of what they need and what we can try to do. Overall the main needs were a garden, latrine, wood stove and literacy. Surprisingly few expressed concern about needing money even though probably less then 10% of families had anyone with a job.

Also what we found is that nearly all the women make beautiful art crafts. It reminded me of all the Maya in Chiapas trying to sell us their products, they all said it was made by them, I didn't fully believe them but now I realize how wrong I was. Because of this begenning a women's collective will be a priority while we live here and many women have expressed their excitement for this idea. The problem is that many of the women can't read or write and also that their math skills are minimal which will be essential for book keeping. The plus side is they have us to assist them with all that and also with getting connected to businesses so their not begging uninterested tourists on the streets. I think this is more then a possibility and to develop a community you must have orgaized empowered women to do so. Of course we will approach this carefully and thoughtfully.

We made it to Belize!!!

Finally, we are here in Belize! We have moved in to the beautiful village of Otoxha and are settling into our little hut home next to Otoxha river. The only word I can really use to describe it is Magical. Truly Magical. The beauty that lies within the incredible landscape and the animals and the people and the peace throughout the village is indescribable.
When we first arrived I was a little confused. We came to fight poverty and to do development projects but the way the people of Otoxha are living is really beautiful. Of course we still have some ideas of what we can work hard on these next four months but it really makes you question the word development. For example, one could walk in to Otoxha and see that they are living without electricity and think, this needs to be developed! But is that really development? We all know, or should know by now, that our resources are not endless and in fact the end is coming much quicker then most people care to admit. So is putting ugly electricity lines through a beautiful jungle so that the people can become dependent on it just in time for it to run out really developing the village? I think not. Development should be something that is used as an improvement that makes your life more susatinable and less dependent on resources or commodities that aren't necessary. In fact, I really think Brian and I have a lot more to learn about development then the people of Otoxha. Soon we will all have to start learning how to live without a car (or 2) for every person, without electricity for every little thing. Here they have chickens and pigs and horses and the animals just run around eating and living. Most families have no jobs or the ones that do work as farmers. Their lives are really not dependent on money. They have community land that people can use to farm but it is not their land, it is everyone's. They cook all of their own food they build their own houses and furniture. The first day we arrived there was a broken down old fridgerator and within minutes the women pulled of the door and turned it in to a table and turned the rest in to storage containers and places to put food for the animals.
The biggest things Brian and I will be able to give these people will be empowerment, support, and love. We want to help them boost the sustainable, natural, and beautiful life they already have.  Don't read this and think, well what in the world are you doing there then?? Brian and I still work every night organizing our ideas about what we can bring to Otoxha. Working to strengthen the women's group, promote their beatiful art work and weaving, make sure all the families have gardens and know how to cook with lots of vegetables, teach about malaria prevention and how to protect themselves from HIV/AIDS, help build a system for garbage; we want to encourage and help the adults learn how to read and write so that they can understand their world, inquire, explore.
We have so many ideas and only 4 months to be here! It already feels so short. We have a lot of work ahead of us- both in what we give and in what we can learn. I am so excited to finally be here.
More to come soon!

The People Working the Streets

Last night in San Cristobal de Las casas, the capitol of Chiapas state, something happened which made me think deep about the situation of the peoples working the streets. The people of the streets are those who walk around all day and night asking you to buy this or that, lowering their prices while they stare at you with a look of desperation for you to buy their goods. These people are the Maya by a vast majority as I can see. A people who, since the conquistadors, have lived in abject poverty. A people ignored by the passerby and a people not given anything resembling a helping hand.

Last night as I was drinking coffee with Andra and a horrible thing happened. A human was ignored as being so. This was around 9 or 10pm when an older lady came to our table to ask us to purchase her goods. Andra politely said no thanks and she moved on to the next table. Now at this table there were three Spanish speakers, probably Mexican, enjoying good conversation and coffee. The old lady came to the table and asked if they'd like anything but she was left with no answer. After standing there for a few seconds the people`s conversation continued and they seemed to not notice the poor lady and she left. This may not seem so bad to many people but then again so many of us lack a consiousness or an understanding for other`s situations when we`re living a secure and sometimes glutenous lifestyle. To me this is unacceptable. To deny someone as being human is a crime and rigorous humanity courses and reeducation are necessary for these sick sick three people.

Actually it's true that while your walking and eating these humans working the streets can get a bit annoying and it gets stressful having to continually say no to woman after woman, little child after little child. Maybe you think "get out!" "leave me alone!" but I can assure you this isn't their dream job. I can confidently tell you a seven year old kid doesn't want to be going from person to person begging them to buy their little figurines. This is not a job which provides one with much dignity but given the situation of many Maya throughout Mexico and Central America they do this as survival to eat, to live.

From what I've heard there is much racism in Mexico against the Maya and from things I've read the perceptions of these indegenous people are that they are lazy. I don't think working all day and night selling petty items counts as being lazy- I thinks it's getting by. This reminds me of pathetic excuses of why so many African Americans are still in deep poverty in the U.S. The most popular excuse from racists being that they are too lazy and overuse the dehumanizing welfare system which actually circulates communities through the cycle of poverty, instead of creating development such as decent jobs with decent pay and decent schools with decent training for university and vocational schools. But this would require a restructuring of the neo liberal system of inhuman economics. This would be revolution.

I hope the people of the world in every country when faced with a child or an old lady asking them to purchase their goods, remember this wasn't just of their own doing. For one, how could a child choose this destiny.

What can we do for these people in abject poverty? In my opinion we must as conciouss individuals patiently explain to the people that the people working the streets are human and not yours to look down upon. We must organize those downtrodden to be empowered. And all of humanity must invest in the lives of one and all, through development. Already here in the state of Chiapas and the capitol San Cristobal the Zapatistas are working on this task, but it will require a shift in the concioussness of humanity to accomplish it here in Chiapas and in the world. I say with them, the Zapatistas, to the neo liberals: ¡Ya Basta!

My Thoughts About the Investigation

Brian has been doing a great job at filling you all in about all of the places we have been. It has been a really amazing three weeks and now we are approaching the end of this part of the adventure. Its been a really interesting time so far, with a lot of experiences that really make you reflect on the world and your place in it.

One of the biggest themes for me has been my identity as a United States citizen, travelling throughout Central America. During the past year especially, I have become more and more educated about the US´s involvement in other countries and the tactics they use to manipulate and exploit U.S. citizens and the people all over the world for resources and money. This happens so much throughout Central America. As I learned more and more about this it became much harder for me to be proud of where I come from- of course I don´t mean my family or friends. there are so many amazing people in my life and throughout the US, it is the corporations and the politics that protect them that give us a bad name.
When I was in highschool I travelled to Argentina and I always felt really proud when people would ask me where I was from and I felt it was an honor to be able to have the USA as my reply. I was from this amazing country where everyone was equal and free, where we all had the best of everything because our government was for us and by us which meant that they took care of us. I was proud to be a part of the biggest and best democracy.As time has gone on and I have become more aware of the reality of our country, I have realized these beliefs are false when put into practice.
During our time in Michigan, we spent a lot of time in Benton Harbor and Detroit and I could see first hand the contradictions of my old beliefs. Here we are in the richest most powerful country where certain individuals make billions of dollars and we have whole cities of people living without running water, without heat in the bitter cold of the winter months, without access to food and education. They are living in a third world life within a first world country. These experiences really shook me, and continue to do so. I, a person living in the US my entire life, couldn´t really comprehend the reality of these peoples lives until I saw them for myself so its no surprise that when I speak to people from other countries they have the same false perceptions as I did.
I also learned a lot through books and documentaries about the US´s dirty deeds when dealing with the Central American countries- economic hitmen, coups, "wars on drugs", and so so so many more. Now I am travelling in these countries seeing the effects of my country´s actions first hand, and it is devastating.Of course I am not blaming all of the poverty in the entire world or even in all of latin america on the US. there are many factors that play into every situation, and nothing is black and white. However, the more I learn the more I realize that the part the US plays in maintaining poverty throughout these countries is a huge one. I have talked to people from every country we have visited and discussed a variety of subjects but when it comes to their opportunities, to rights as human beings- US involvement is mentioned every time, without an exception. I have heard people say that they used to hate anyone from the US, some that still do. I have talked to people who are fighting to have a simple but good life where they can work to feed their families, provide their children with basic education and security and who are torn down because things like NAFTA and corporations with their maquiladoras exploiting the people and the land for a little more profit.
Now, I know for some who read this it may be hard to swallow- it was for me as well because what I am saying from my experiences contradicts everything we are taught to believe about our country and when you have believed something for your entire life it is really hard to suddenly hear that it isnt true. But this is the reality. We must see the truth and aknowledge it for what it is so that we can do something about it.
Now when people ask me where I am from I dred having to to tell them. I either feel shame because I know they are equally disgusted, or I feel guilt because they are so impressed, because they still believe the lies we are told even though they are living the consequences of them every day. I want to be able to be proud again. I want to show the world that we as the real people of the United States are people who love all people, who believe in equality for all. That we are a group of people that want to be united with all of the people of the world and that we are willing to fight side by side until that equality exists. That we will no longer sit down and be represented by the decisions and actions of those in power and allow them to continue to steal, murder, lie and do nothing about it. We have this fight in our history, in our blood. We have done so, many times in the past and its time we bring it back. This is the USA that we can all be proud of.

Food of Central America

The food of Central America so far is relatively the same in each country. Although each country seems to claim a traditional specific to their coutry food they seem to be very similar to their Central American counterpart.Nearly every traditional meal features: rice, beans and cabbage. There is a lot of pollo(chicken) dishes and carne(beef), I would say these are the most common. Of course there are always tortillas around used in many many meals. At many restaurants in the city it's not uncommon to stumble upon hamburgers, pizza, pasta and especially Chinese food which you can even find in less populated areas, sometimes.

Aside from the normal meals the street food features a lot of variety as well. I would say the most common is fruit, usually mango, papaya, banana or plantain and on occasion you'll find fresh coconut and pineapple (be sure to ask if its been washed. Also on the street you'll find U.S. classics like hot dog, I haven't tried one yet but they look good and it seems most vendors have added Latin American spice to them. Also only sonce I've arrived in San Cristobal de las casa, Mexico have I found churros which are delicious but apparently exclusively Mexican. In every city or little town there are ice cream vendors usually selling Eskimo products, ice cream is a nice break on a hot day, also there are many vendors who sell none eskimo ice cream but usually its a mix between pure sugar, ice and a little actual ice cream.

Since we've arrived many meals have been home cooked, this requires going to the local food market. This task on certain days can be incredibly stressful but on others a lot of fun when it's more laid back and you can shop with ease. Here you can find everything! All kinds of vegetables especially, all homegrown of course and fresh, many different variety of fruits, some fruits are a little to ripe and the wasps lurk on every corner of a juicy mango. The meat at the markets always makes me cringe a little. Often there are flies all around it and most likely if you get there around 2pm it has been laying out all day, so I usually stay away. If you want really fresh meat you can buy a rooster, all you have to do is take it home and ring its neck, I still haven't done this but probably should learn, after all I eat chicken so therefore I should learn to kill and prepare it. You can find fish only in some areas that obviously are near a ready supply. Still we have yet to buy meat at the markets. Also in the market or more common in a little shop you can buy fresh tortillas steaming hot for really cheap this is a great accompiniment to a home cooked meal everytime.

Overall I would say you can eat super nutritious or if you go eat out everyday you might gain one or two. I would say throughout our investigation I've been between the two more or less evenly. The food has been delicious except for a few instances and I've only had diarreah for a week(I think this is fairly normal).