MathWorks El Hogar Work Team

A few parting thoughts

2009-05-31T18:22:00.000-07:00

The week at El Hogar was certainly a life changing one for me. I'm hoping to go back in a year or two to see how the children have grown.

Our team did an excellent job of fund raising. Thank you for all of your support. Through the generosity of our friends, family, and coworkers, our team was able to make a $17,000 donation to El Hogar. Even with this, donations are always needed.

Finally, here's a picture I took at El Picacho National Park of a lizard overlooking Tegucigalpa:

The Final Two Days (part 3 - the final day)

2009-05-13T18:48:00.001-07:00

The final day at El Hogar, the day came too soon (and so did the morning considering how late we were up). We got up in the morning to have our final cups of coffee (and hoping that maybe the coffee pot wouldn't clog today). We got up early so we could make sure we had enough time to clean and finish packing before we left for the home visit. How is it the one day we need brooms is the one day all week the boys weren't out sweeping at 5:30 in the morning. Like other things this week, cleaning up was a good team effort.

Once done cleaning we got to have our final breakfast of pancakes, honey and fruit (I think that was our going away present :-). While cleaning Lori and MarkB went up to the market to pick up a few things for the home visit. It was so thoughtful, Lori picked up flowers for Marvin to give his mom for Mother's Day.

We finally got on the road to the with Marvin to see him mom and 2 sisters. His home is only a few minutes away, but it seems that the close proximity doesn't make the separation any easier. When we got to the home Marvin went in first to make sure they were ready for us. We didn't get to see Marvin give his mom, Christina, the flowers but later in our visit she thanked the group for the flowers. Her eyes welled with tears as she said how much she appreciated the gesture. I bet that Marvin giving his mom flowers was a nice moment for them both. Thanks so much for giving that to them Lori.

Christina is 42 years old, but she looked like she was coming up on 70. She has recently quit her job because it was no longer safe to leave her 2 little girls at home. Her youngest daughter will most likely be at El Hogar next year, but her older daughter is just too old, so they are trying to find something else for her. In the meantime Christina is making some tortillas for El Hogar to make a few dollars. It is amazing how out of their way Claudia and Raul will go in order to help the children and their families.

It was hard to see the conditions in which this family lived. The space was small and dank, but Christina still seemed to have pride in her space. She was amazingly open and gracious letting us into her home.

The one thing I saw which I did not expect was her love and pride for her son. Over the week we had heard many stories about parents not wanting their children, discarding their children and being cruel to their children. On this day we were with a loving mother just trying to do right by her children. She handed over her son so that he could have a better existance. I wonder if Christina knows what a strong person she is. I can't imagine how hard it was seeing Marvin for only a few minutes. When she hugged him she didn't look like she wanted to let go. For me seeing that was so much harder than the living quarters.

Once we got back to El Hogar we had our final good-bye presentation with the children. This is the moment I had been dreading all week - our final moments with the children. When we got back they were all sitting and waiting for us.

Jose Adan sang two songs for us and the children sang along. He is really talented! He seems like a shy young man - who knew he had this amazing voice inside him. Raul mentioned that Jose Adan will be participating in a contest in the upcoming weeks. I hope he does well and we get to hear about it.

The children then tried to recite all our names and then had a chance to get up and say something to us. The children were so sweet thanking us for coming, for playing, for caring and for the ice cream! Some of the children spoke in Spanish and Raul translated and some did their best to speak in English. No matter the language, the words were so great to hear.

After a few of the children made their statements our group got to make our own. Several people expressed thoughts I think most of us were having. The group was rounded out with Diane and Lori. Diane's words were amazing and had me almost as choked up as she was. I really wanted to tell the children how much the week had been to me and how they have impacted me in ways they may not understand. They are amazing little human beings and I hope they know that.

The children then gave us these sweet cards they made themselves and then we got hugs good-bye from everyone. Once Raul told the children it was time to say good-bye my little buddy Ramone bee lined to me and was my first hug. He put his arms around me and just held on. I told Ramone that he was a handsome boy (thanks to help from MarkT) and he just looked up at with a big smile. I looked at him and said Si? And he nodded yes with a big toothy grin and hugged me tighter. I am getting teary eyed just thinking about it.

Claudia and Raul found out about Ramone when he still had a cleft palate. El Hogar doesn't normally take children like Ramone, but they were able to find a doctor that would come to Honduras and do the surgery for free. Ramone didn't come to El Hogar until after his surgery 4 months ago.

Becaust the surgery and the change to his face is still pretty new he still doesn't speak much. It is amazing how you can feel such a connection with a child when you have barely spoken to each other. I think Ramone is amazing. For a child that only a few months ago used to hide his mouth and stay away from people as he was an outcast - he has one of the biggest, sweestest smiles. He still needs more surgeries and Raul and Claudia are still trying to get that worked out. I am so happy El Hogar was able to give Ramone this opportunity and I am so happy I got to meet him because of it.

After lots of hugs and a final tickle session with Roques Sevilla we had to load up the van. Thankfully there were no clouds threatening to rain down on our bags.

Christopher came down to watch us load up the van and leave. It was so hard seeing him sitting on the wall as we drove away. Christopher being the newest, I wonder how the groups coming and going impacts him. People coming and going must still be so new to him. This is a little boy that didn't seem to say alot over the week, but was warming up the last few days. It was great to see him stand up and say thank you and good-bye. Christopher's mom died of cancer and his sister just couldn't take care of him any more. They are experiencing some behavioral issues with Christopher as he is expressing anger over his mother's death. He looks like such a sweet boy and hope they are able to help him heal.

Thankfully we made it to the airport, got checked in and paid to get out of Honduras without issue. It was hard to say good-bye to Raul and everything he represents.

Thankfully taking off from Toncatin airport is less interesting than the landing. We did have a slightly scary moment as we were getting closer to Miami. The plane seemed to be speeding up and we hit some turbulance that had us all flying and some of our belongings flying out of our seats. Even after that scary dip it seem to take the plane a few minutes (or what felt like a few minutes) to settle. The rest of the flight was fine, but gotta say that was the scariest moment on a plane I have every had (well, airline food not included). The flight to Boston had a little more turbulance, but it was expected and tolerable.

It was great to see my parents as soon as I got through customs. I was originally going to take Logan Express, but it was so great to have them there. It was so nice to see the group getting picked up by loved ones. Of course I tried not to think about how much they know about all of us - 'What happens in Honduras... Goes on the blog' ;-)

While I missed the children already, I was home and it felt good. I can't wait to tell people about what an amazing trip this was and how thrilled I am to have gone. Next stop seeing my Maggie!

The Final Two Days (part 2 - the ice cream party)

2009-05-13T17:32:00.001-07:00

After Valle the group stopped at the supermarket to pick up 4 gallons of ice cream for an ice cream party. We didn't make it in time for dinner, but the group served the ice cream to the boys in the auditorium while they watched t.v. The children's response to ice cream is pretty universal - you show them ice cream and their eyes just light up. They were all antsy in their seats until it was their turn to line up for a cup full.

Rachel, MarkB and Lori preparing for the mad ice cream rush

Lori and MarkB scooping ice cream for Melvin and the boys.

Jose Adan, Alexis, Christopher and the boys.

Watching t.v. while eating ice cream.

Stuart, Jen and Jaime scooping away before the ice cream got too soupy and the boys got restless.

Don't these boys look happy!

My buddy Ramone enjoying his ice cream.

Roques Sevilla taking his eyes off his ice cream for a quick picture. Is he a cutie or what?

And of course we need a picture of Wilmer...

Next we were off to the girls dorms to give ice cream to the Niña’s. The girls approach to the ice cream was more refined as they sat and slowly ate their ice cream

Not sure what is sweeter the ice cream or the smile it brought.

Diane reading a post ice cream story while the group listened in :-)

While in the girl's dorm we got to see the doors Rachel painted - Nicely done Rachel!

After the ice cream party the group took Raul and his daughter out to dinner. We went to a restaraunt called Los Cebollines which is a small Mexican chain that is also in El Salvador, Guatamala and Costa Rice.

We had amazing salsa made at the table. The key seemed to be the roasted tomato. Or maybe it is just that it wasn't beans ;-)

It was a great end to a great day. But of course reality was setting in that 24 hours from then we would be home (or almost home). Only one more chance to see the children before we leave :-(. For all the joking we have done about showers, plumbing and of course beans, I wasn't ready to leave yet.

The Final Two Days (part 1)

2009-05-13T16:18:00.000-07:00

I have been wanting to write about the final 2 days in Honduras and how it felt to be home, but sadly life has already gotten back into its normal rhythm (well sort of, more on that later).

As others have mentioned the last days in Honduras were jammed packed with sight seeing, shopping and fun! Between checking out La Pacacho National Park, visiting MathWorker Julie Rodriguez's family home, lunch and shopping at Valle de Angeles, an ice cream party with the kids and ending the day taking Raul and his daughter out to dinner.

Here are some of my favorite pictures of the day:

La Pacacho National Park. Walking through the park was a nice change of pace. The park was full of pretty flowers, stonewalls, the replica of a Mayan Temple, amazing views and of course Jesus larger than life.

Here is the group on the steps of the Mayan Temple replica

Here is one of many amazing views. From such a distance you can see the beyond the poverty towards beauty of Honduras.

Mark waiting for the Continental flight to land. It is almost as cool to watch from a distance as it was being on the plane.

The ladies enjoying the flowers as we checkout the view

Here is me with the big guy in the background

Julie Rogriguez was amazingly thoughtful and allowed us the opportunity to see the home where she grew up. We got a tour of the groups that were absolutely beautiful. We got to walk through the woods and see coffee plants and bamboo and saw her mom's garden that had pineapples, carrots, bananas and so much more.

The day was so beautiful and this area was so serene I wouldn't have given to take a siesta in one of these hammocks.

To the left is a coffee plant and to the right is where the coffee beans are cleaned. You can see what the beans look like before roasting.

Here is the group taking a quick walk on the trail behind the house. Thankfully no one got lost in the woods :-)

Here is a pineapple plant - isn't it cute!!!

When we left Julie's family home we headed to Valle for lunch and shopping. We started off lunch with a bean dip and chips. Even though we had a lot of beans this week, the dip was really good. The dip seemed like it may have had some cheese in it that made it all gooey. It was REALLY good. Some of us then split pizzas and had local beers and wines. The pizza was a really nice change of pace.

After eating we did some shopping. People went looking for soccer shirts, cigars, coffee and myself a hammock. In about 30 minutes time we did our part to help stimulate the Honduran economy.

On one hand it was hard being away from El Hogar and the children for the day, especially with this being our last full day in Honduras. But it was great to have a different view of the country. One thing I keep seeing is that amidst sadness and poverty there is a lot of beauty and joy. I have been seeing it in the children all week and now I am seeing it in the country as a whole. For such a poverty stricken country, they do have some riches.

Greatest hits

2009-05-12T20:18:00.000-07:00

It is always weird blogging from home after the trip ends. As many of you have reminded me, this blog "went dark" on Thursday of our trip. That's because Friday was pretty much wall-to-wall. We went from activity to activity, from the aforementioned trip to Pachaco, our trip to Valle de Angeles, to the ice cream party.

Most of us didn't lay our heads down until after 11pm.

Saturday was a travel day. The kids gave us an amazing send-off, where there was not a dry eye in the house, but there was no time to get to a computer.

Rather than try and pontificate about our experience, I thought I would let pictures tell some of our story. Below are some of the best shots that capture part of our experience.

A place called home

2009-05-12T19:49:00.000-07:00

Since I've been going to El Hogar, one of the most important and transforming events of the trips has been the visits to where the kids come from. Claudia Castro, the director of the elementary school, operates as a social worker for the families of the children. She makes periodic visits to the homes and neighborhoods from where she's rescued these kids and works to salvage the whole family system. Often, we are honored to be invited on these visits.

To be honest, home visits have become more and more difficult for work teams. As a large group of fair skinned gringoes, we do stick out like the proverbial sore thumb. As the economy and infrastructure in Honduras has recently deteriorated, taking us into these sketchy neighborhoods has become less and less safe.

So, our hosts have found it necessary to take us to homes that are near El Hogar and accessible so we can get off the street quickly.

One of these homes that of our friend Marvin. His mother and two sisters live only five minutes from El Hogar.

They share there dwelling with another woman with a daughter and together they make ends meet making tortillas to sell. They earn about 800 Lempiras ($40) a month. Their rent is about 600 Lempiras.

The home is a single shack mostly taken up by a bed where they all sleep together. The entire structure is about 8x8, nevertheless it is one of the "nicest" homes I have visited in my trips Honduras.

Though is it small, with cardboard walls and a roof held on by rock thrown on the top, it has a floor, and some electricity. The whole group of dwelling has a hose which allows them to a flush toilet and hopes of cleaning themselves.

As we have driven through the city, we have looked over whole neighborhoods - thousands and thousands of dwellings, just covered with homes which are probably not as nice as this one. It is intolerable. The toll it takes on children alone is incalculable. For any of us reading or writing this blog, living in such conditions would be outrageous.

I have to go back to El Hogar and realize that hundreds of lives are being saved and transformed. But I can never quite be at peace thinking of those we who are left behind.

Ditto!

2009-05-12T10:50:00.000-07:00

Diane says it all below. I couldn't capture it nearly as beautiful as she did. The trip will have a lasting affect in our hearts. Our team was great, the children were beautiful, and for one week a group of people joined together to make a part of the world a little better, a little happier. Thanks to all our family and friends for their support and kind words, to The MathWorks for boosting everyones contributions, to Jason for preparing us and leading such a wonderful team, and Liz for finding this beautiful place in Central America that is truly a Home of Love and Hope. Volveremos de nuevo El Hogar de Amor y Esperanza.
Lori

Closing out the incredible week at in Honduras

2009-05-12T10:41:00.000-07:00

Our Friday...

Friday we traveled through the city and went up to the National Park. This is a view from the top of the mountain where an enormous status of Jesus stood.

This is a replica of the Mayan temple that they are maintaining at the top of this enormous mountain. The park was beautiful yet it looks out over the city and all the poverty. Why is the money going to the park and not the people and their living conditions?

Above is is a video from the top of the mountain that looks over the city...

Above is a close up of some of the views... Check out the SINGLE runway at the airport....

A street video from the road now - trash...and all the congested "homes?"

We went to a market area to shop for some souveniors and those that know Lori know that shopping HAD to be included somewhere in the trip. We had a whole 1/2 hour! Power shop anyone?? Friday included a lot of driving and a lot of overwhelming (the word of the week) sights. But when we returned to El Hogar we came bearing ice cream for the kids -who of course rarely get treats like this. You can bet that each child liked those cups of ice cream clean.

We shared the Stow Independent with the kids (for the picture you Stow residents will have to WAIT to see - it's awesome). Jose is looking at Lori's husband Mike and son Joey in an ice hockey team photo...

Saturday ...our last day...
We began our day with a visit to Marvin's "home". As part of a volunteer week, teams go to an actual home where one of the students lived. The purpose is to experience 1st hand the environment which some of these kids came from. The visit we did to Marvin's home was actually not considered among the worse examples...his mother Christina had "access" to running water and had electricity in her shack....

This is Marvin who is probably 12. This is a 1 "room" shack that fit a double mattress and some walking room.

Marvin's 42 year old mother Christina cried with love as she doesn't see Marvin very often and yet knew she couldn't take care of him. Women when they are able to work are allowed to bring their daughters with them (so they can learn the trades of housekeeping and cooking) but boys are not allowed - which is why many are on the streets, in gangs or dying.....Christina was so happy as Lori bought flowers for Marvin to give to his mother for Mother's Day and candy for his sisters. I wonder if she'd ever received flowers before?

This is the "yard" for his sisters. Note the "bridge" that crosses from the shack over to the roof of another building. Unsecured and about 10 feet off the dirt ground where laundry hangs to dry...

This very unfriendly watch dog protects them from theft.

View down to the ground from the shack.....

On our way out Lori and each gave Christina the equivalent of $20.oo each..That paid for 1 1/2 months of rent for Christina and her girls. RENT for the shack...and maybe some food. As she reached out to both of us with powerful hugs, tears, her blessings and thanks, the emotions from mother to mother were enough to break our hearts as they have never been broken before.

The girls waved goodbye to us as we crawled back into our air conditioned and comfortable van... We headed back to El Hogar to pack up, clean up and say goodbye to the kids before heading to the airport...

Jose sang 2 songs to the team as part of the"farewell" to us. All the children sat in the court yard and presented us with cards. A few of the kids volunteered to stand and speak to us. Their words were translated into English with the words "Thank you for coming to El Hogar. Thank you for playing with us. Have a safe journey home and God Bless you."

Lori and I stepped forward when we were asked to speak. With a huge knot in my throat and my hand in Lori's, I struggled to choke out the words to the children...

"Lori and I came to El Hogar as friends. We are the only 2 mothers in our group of 11. Tomorrow is Mother's Day and please know that you will all in be our hearts". I padded by heart and wiped the stream of tears that ran down my face. We were indundated with hugs from the children one by one. All recieved big motherly hugs and a wet, teary kiss on the head. Our Mother's Day will forever be broader in meaning for Lori and I. We spent our Mother's Day with our families back in Stow. But our lives are forever changed and

El Hogar....

we will be back.....

Thank you all for following our journey and for helping with your donations. Our team raised nearly $10,000 which is 100% matched by The Mathworks company - so $20,000 total! It's the most any team has ever raised and we are all so proud of that. The money will go so far and is so necessary for a wonderful program that is funding entirely by donations and will save the lives of many. Adios until next time! Diane xo

How can it be Thursday ALREADY??

2009-05-12T10:31:00.000-07:00

Hola!

Lori and I were too tired last night to blog...or for me...to even read email. We have had 2 full days again. Yesterday and today we left El Hogar for field trips. Yesterday we went to the Technical school. When the boys finish 7th grade at El Hogar, they choice a trade and continue to the other El Hogar areas. One option is the Technical School where they go to learn either welding, electricial work or carpentry. They spend 8-10th grades there learning the trade of choose and then leave at about age 16 to be on thier own... The Technical school was about an hour away and we spent the morning there and lunch. The money donated to El Hogar goes to the any of the 3 El Hogar projects. El Hogar where we are staying (grades Kindergarden through 7th grade), The Technical school or the Agricultural school. Wednesday we went to the Technical school and today to the Agricultural school.

Agricultural school is over an hour away and this is where the kids learn the trade of raising animals or farming. The visuals throughout the ride especially today were very eye opening....the poverty is unbelieveable.

Both afternoons we returned to shovel MORE dirt...including moving dirt from one part of the building over to another side via wheel barrels and a lot of man/woman power! Both nights we then went out to play with the kids. Last night after showering, Lori and I went to play soccer...holy crud...these boys put our kids to shame with their foot skills, no training, no uniforms, no shin guards and old ladies on thier team! I needed another shower after.... Tonight we spent time coloring with some of the young boys. No way was I playing soccer again... my clothes smell bad enough already! Thank goodness I have enough underwear and socks!

Enjoy the photos below! Miss you all and can´t wait to share wine and stories with you all when we come home. We are forever changed! We can´t believe tomorrow is our full day here and our last night to play with the kids.

Randy Moss was here???

Alexander and Wilmer drew Lori and I pictures...most of mine walked away with another child.....butI did manage to keep 2 to take home. The boys in spanish wrote on our pictures "Thank you for coming to El Hogar and thank you for playing with us, but can you write us please."

A few pictures from the Agricultural School

So these baby cows came from artificial insemination right...well this jar on the right...That´s where the bull´s genes are kept....If you know what I mean....

"Apples....and Bananas...." ok...no apples

From the car we saw a few street side markets. Carlos Costli, number 13 is the Honduras Soccer team star...Hoping to buy them tomorrow from a market area we are going to.

Pictures from The Technical School

Working with electricity...Mark and Mark with some of the cabinets the boys in welding made.

Classroom at the technical school

Does Paul Anastas know what this machine is?? I bet he does....

These boys do their OWN laundry...how do we teach our kids to do that???

Mike Statkus would be so proud! The boys wanted a basketball court built before they had a dormitory built. However, The Chicago Bulls??? Go Celtics!!!

A puppy pet....

Aloe

The large Coffee Plant roasting beans we could smell in the van!

Overwhelming views of poverty... and millions and millions of people

It´s no wonder the boys are happy to be at El Hogar.... tomorrow we actually go on a home visit to see first hand where some of these boys come from....
Buenos Nochas....
Diane and Lori xxoo

Touring Teguc

2009-05-11T13:04:00.000-07:00

Honduras boasts a lot of tourist destinations. Perhaps the most popular are the Bay Islands to the north. The biggest of these is Roatan which has some gated resorts as well as family run beach bungalow getaways. Roatan is a favorite destination of divers because it sits on the same barrier reef as the islands of Belize - the largest reef in the Western Hemisphere.

La Ceiba is the city on the mainland just across from the Bay Islands. They are starting to host some eco-tourism there as well as having gorgeous beaches. Copan is the site of some very well preserved Mayan ruins and they have some nice hotels there.

Rumor has it that the show "Survivor" will be sited at one of the small Bay Islands next season.

I have never been to any of these places - though this is my nineth trip to Honduras. I have only been to Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula, the largest cities. These places are not popular tourist destinations. The poverty is concentrated here. Despite the existence of MacDonald's, Dunkin' Donuts, Marriott, and Payless Shoes, you can never escape it. Never more than a couple of blocks away are neighborhoods where people live on less than $2/day.

Nevertheless, our hosts don't want us to think that Honduras only has hopelessness and ugliness to offer, so they usual insist that we go on some outing to a place of interest. This year, we went to La Pacacho - a national park high up in the mountains overlooking Teguc. I've actually always wanted to visit because up there is a giant statue of Jesus, a la Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. It is so big that at night you can see it lit up from El Hogar. Here's some pictures of the the big fella:

He's fully about a hundred feet high and quite impressive to stand under. At the park is also a replica of the Mayan ruin at Copan:

Why these ruins needed to be replicated is something of a mystery to me, but it was fun to be there and climb the steps.

Most impressive, though was the view of Tegucigalpa. Below you can see the futbol stadium and the airport runway.

If you click on this (or any of the pictures BTW), you'll be able t see a lot the details.

We waited until the Continental flight arrived and watched the infamous Toncontin airport approach from a birdseye view. It was pretty interesting. We applauded when it landed safely, just as if we were aboard.

The smell of the air up there was amazing. Down at El Hogar where we stay, the aroma is always of diesel fumes, open sewage and other acrid odors. Up here the air was fresh and recalled the natural beauty which must have been the norm before the concentration of population and poverty moved in.

Of course, around these larger landmarks are the tens of thousands of makeshift dwellings where the poor of Teguc live. They were easy to spot from our vantage point and gave a kind of bittersweet feeling of the spectacular view of the unspeakable poverty.

Another day, another lesson

2009-05-07T20:21:00.000-07:00

I suspect this entry may be brief (well brief for me) as I just finished yesterday`s blog (http://mathworkselhogar.blogspot.com/2009/05/kids-at-school-and-play.html) and today was another busy day.

We started today like my other days - get up, make and/or drink coffee, head over to Devotions, eat breakfast (once again eggs and refried beans) and got ready to get on the road.

Today we headed out to the Episcopal Agricultural School and Farm. This school is a further distance than the technical school and it took us even longer having to sit in traffic for a while.

The school is really beautiful, it was a bit of an overcast day when we got there, but hope you get the idea.

We got a tour of the fields with lots of explanations on what they are trying to grow and some of the challenges we are having. Thanks to Mark B`s translations we were able to understand what we were being told. We were being escorted throughout the tour by two boys who had being doing most of the work (planting and maintaining of trees, building a green house etc).

We then got to see all the animals. Yeah I just can`t resist taking pictures of them. The animals in Honduras don`t seem to be any different than the animals in the States, but they were there and I had a camera...

Holy 2 Cows Batman these calves are identical twins.

The sheep were tired of us and heading into the great blue yonder.

Does this hen looked ticked or what?

On the way too and from the Agriculture school we got to see more of Honduras. Here is one picture I took as we were flying along in the van. It gives an idea of how cramped in all the small shack style homes can be.

When we got back to El Hogar it was our 4th and final day of work. As others have stated in their blogs, we did a lot of shoveling again today. My blisters now have blisters and I suspect I will wake up stiff yet again tomorrow. But that is ok, because it was work well done.

Dinner tonight was a nice surprise. It was the chicken and potato dish we had when we arrived Saturday afternoon. Yes there was still rice and corn tortillas, but no beans. Did you hear that - no beans!

After dinner and going through some older MathWorks trivia thanks to Jason, we headed out to spend time with the children. Tonight may be the last time we get to see some of the children so we wanted to spend as much time with them as we can.

Here is me and Ramone again. I love the smile and wave I get when I see him. I still don`t know his story yet, how he came to El Hogar, when he had the cleft palate surgery and if he has any family to speak of. After Mark T took this picture I got another one of Ramone`s thumbs-up!

After spending some time going around to see what was going on, I ended up at the futbol game that Tara and Stuart were playing with some of the boys. I joined in for whatever good I did. I did not play soccer when I was little and it showed. I occassionally got the ball away from a boy or blocked a pass, but really I just screamed like a girl a lot.

As the game progressed I started playing with this little boy, I believe his name is Santos Roque Sevilla. He accidentally bumped into me and I tickled him a little. He then kept sneaking up behind me and trying to tickle me. I would put my hands behind my back and tickled this boy who maybe came up to my waist. He would then squeal and run away. He would come and we would repeat. After a while I just gave him some tickle monster treatment and he would roll around on the floor with the biggest laughs coming out of this little person. There were times I thought he was going to bang his head he was laughing to hard, but he did not care. I am not sure, but I think this must have gone on for about 30 mins. To be honest I am not sure who was having more fun, him or me.

As a lot of things, our playing turned into tag and a few friends joined in. Then tag turned into swinging off the rafters and being wild animals that chased me all over the grounds. These boys really do have an amazing imagination which is so great to see.

Through all the hard times in their lives, they have not forgotten how to play. Life is short, play hard. Life is hard, play harder. The more time I spend around these boys, the more I seem to learn.

I hope at some point in time they are able to appreciate how much they give to those that join them here in El Hogar. For a few days they let us into their lives and their hearts and I know I am a better person for it. Now it is my turn to make sure I give of myself, the way these brave, sweet and loving children do.

But I will not figure out how tonight as we have another early day tomorrow and I am crashing. Only one more full day to go. How is that even possible? Didn´t we just get here? Time does fly when having the experience of a lifetime.

Melissa

Soccer Blow-Out

2009-05-07T19:45:00.000-07:00

Tonight we started off with what was advertised as "hide and seek" but then turned into a sort of game of tag. During my pleas for further information, Mark pointed out the futility of asking for clarification of the rules which, together with the game itself changed continually.

I can catch any of the kids if I have some open space. I think they are not used to adults being able to catch them. The other night I remember wishing I had some sort of head camera as we ran round corners, over ledges, through clothes on the washing line, over construction materials and all in partial darkness. Its pretty nerve racking. I'm sure the kid is going to trip and whack into some giant piece of rusty pipe somewhere in the shadows. Put it never happened. But I can only sprint for a short time. If they can dodge around the swings, trees and benches for more than 10 sec then I'm done.

When the game turned into soccer it was on a surface that was made of smooth cement covered with a fine layer of dust. Everyone was skidding and falling with a thump every now and them. There was one very small kid who's whole technique seened to be to dive and roll at the feet of whoever had the ball, laughing as he did so and annoying the other kids some what. He didn't kick the ball in any consistent direction but I'm sure he was on our side.

The game in its initial location ended abruptly when someone kicked the ball into an outside fluorescent light above our goals that smashed dramatically. I went off to get a bag and some gloves. I was impressed when another kid on our team went off and got a brush. We quite fastidiously brushed up the glass and swept it into my bag. Knowing some of their backgrounds, I'm always impressed, each time I see the boys being thoughtful and responsible.

Stuart

What a day!

2009-05-07T19:39:00.000-07:00

Tuesday! Hola!
Lori and I are blogging on our own tonight...We had to be separated because we were laughing too much...actually it´s because she went to the computer room first! These are some of the older boys tonight and happy to have their picture taken.

Kids taking laundry down from the door to the Laundry room...

Today was a powerful day both physically and emotionally. I had the the movie "Holes" in my head for the better part of the day since I moved dirt from 1 pile into another just a short distance and then gravel maybe the same distance in a different direction. I just shoveled and ate dirt. Tiring, but very fulfilling.
Trying to figure out what to do with these huge boulders was quite a challenge...

¿How were we going to sift THIS through the screens for the cement?

Lori had the tougher job today moving dirt from part of El Hogar across "Campus" over to the other going up a big hill. She was working those legs for "Reach the Beach" hills. Plus since she can´t go running here, so hoofing dirt up a hill in a wheel barrel was the the next best option. Check out the smile. I told her to think of the Cosmos we´ll have at home when we get back to Stow.

There is NOTHING like a frozen Banana con chocolate during breaktime!

Tonight was a whole other story. Claudia, the Directór did a presentation tonight of El Hogar´s history, a movie of a home visit and stories of some of the kids which of course brought me to a blubbering mess. The hardest part of course was surpressing that during the presentation. Her passion for these kids is so obvious. Some of the stories of where these kids came from are absolutely overwhelming. The little boy laughing in our blog from yesterday, Wilmer, was living on the street with his alcoholic father for 3 years. His mother was no where to be found. His father though in his 50´s looked like he was in his 70´s. Wilmer watched over him every day and finally a relative brought him here. His father came to see him months later and promised to straighten up and Claudia allowed him to take Wilmer for a day in December. Wilmer disappeared with him for 3 days. Claudia had to go find him..... Wilmer doesn´t want to see his father again. Now look at his laugh in that picture from yesterday..... So many stories like this or worseHe even helped us shoveling today for a couple of hours. After Claudia talked with us tonight, we went to meet the new kids that came here within the year and I could have passed out, honestly from being so overwhelmed. Imagine walking in a room and unexpectedly 30 kids all came up to each of us to hug us individually. Most of them barely reaching my waist in height. Remember the scene in Spy Kids when all the kid robots are ordered to attack the bad guy at the end and they running up to him with their hands up yelling? Well these kids didn´t yell or attack ' they just ran all at once with open arms for hugs. These kids don´t cry and here I was with tears POURING down my face hugging these beautiful little kids. I will remember that moment as vividly as I remember the first time I held Michael in Colorado. An overwhelming feeling in your heart that you can´t explain or imagine could be any stronger. How blessed, lucky and humbled I feel to be surrounded by children who have endured more in their young lives than most adults I know will ever go through. I still can´t get over that some are so small for their ages. So much malnutrition before they go here. One only hopes they catch up as they get older. But their smiles......and the love and trust they feel here...just look at these pictures....
We hope you can feel what we are feeling. We are so happy to be able to share all of this with you... Thank you for taking the time to be with us on this...and it´s only Tuesday....

Samuel in the yellow ...what a cutie! check out the flipped up collar...

Francisco I played with paper airplanes.

This is Wilmer....when he was playing dominos with me yesterday.

This is Lindsey. No one knows how old she is. Her mother says 6 but she looks 4.... An absolute love.... She LOVED playing the game LRC (Left, Right, Center) a game I brought down with me. Thanks Barbara Rawding for introducing that game to me at our department outing....
Remember to go to mathworkselhogar.blogspot.com also!
Buenos Noches!
Love to all
Diane

Too Many Hours with a Wheelbarrow?

2009-05-07T19:10:00.000-07:00

Today, after our visit to the Agricultural School, we resumed our task of moving and distributing a large pile of sand. This, as in previous days, involved a lot of shovelling, raking, and most of all, pushing sand around in wheelbarrows. This sand is being used as the base for a concrete pad adjacent to the student dormitory. You can see a photo of this work in the blog entry below entitled Impressed by El Hogar.

Unfortunately, while the distance between the pile of sand and where it needed to go was no more than 50 feet, the pile of sand was on one side of a narrow opening, and the destination was on the other. This is important, because the narrow opening is too narrow for a wheelbarrow to pass through.

We therefore had to resort to other techniques for moving the sand. One of these methods involved loading up wheelbarrows, then dumping them right at the opening, manually shoveling the sand through the opening, then loading up another wheelbarrow on the other side. However, the more efficient method turned out to be loading up wheelbarrows, then letting the guys push the wheelbarrows the long way around the dormitory to reach the destination. As one can imagine, this was tough work, as some uphill pushing with the loaded wheelbarrows was necessary.

It appears that the stress of the work started to take its toll. For example, Mark Taylor seems to have developed an unusual attachment to his wheelbarrow, "Consuela". "Ah, my dear," I heard him say, "you do not yet have enough sand in you. You must be patient until you are full, so that I may push you around to the other side." Mark Biesieda was having an ongoing conversation with his wheelbarrow "Carmen". In fact, both Marks disappeared shortly after supper and we suspect that they have run off to the tool shed, where the wheelbarrows are kept. We are establishing an intervention plan and are heading off to the shed to retrieve them now.

Thursday afternoon - on work crew again!

2009-05-07T19:08:00.000-07:00

This afternoon we continued spreading sand around the rear of the new dormitory. As you may recall, a dump truck left several large loads of sand on one side of the dormitory, and unfortunately our task was to move that large pile of sand through a narrow passageway, just slightly too small for a wheelbarrow to pass.

Stuart kept a constant stream of wheelbarrow loads moving towards the passageway:

and Melissa shoveled the sand through like mad:

while Tara loaded it into a wheelbarrow on the other side:

and Diane helped spread and level it:

Unfortunately this bottleneck between the dorm and the wall kept us from making swift progress, even after Stuart tried some novel shoveling techniques:

So Jason came up with the idea of boosting our throughput by sending some wheelbarrow loads the long way around the dorm. This is where my story begins.

Meet my newest friend, a wheelbarrow whom I have affectionately named Consuela:

Jamie kindly captured a few photos of our adventures together. After loading up Consuela with a heavy burden of sand, we would set off together, Consuela and I, on our long journey around the dormitory:

around the front of the dorm (here passing Jason on his return trip):

around the far front left corner:

up the challenging hill towards the rear of the dorm:

passing through the narrow corridor behind the dorm, tantalizingly close now to our final destination:

getting ready to dump:

and at last, our burden is lifted!

Then back around to the start again, passing Jason again on the way, for another load (Jamie kindly escorting Consuela back for me after recording the preceding photodocumentary - thanks, Jamie!)

After many more trips around by Jason, Mark B, and myself, and continual work by the crew in the rear, behold the fruits of our labor!

Some of us handled the physical demands of the afternoon with grace and flair:

while others gave the ultimate sacrifice. Stuart, we salute you!

Signing off for today,

- Mark

Impressed by El Hogar

2009-05-07T18:53:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we visited the Technical School, where students learn to be carpenters, welders, or electricians. Today we visited the Agricultural School, where students learn how to raise livestock or grow crops. I´ve been impressed by the work these schools (and El Hogar) are doing. Normally, public school in Honduras only runs through sixth grade. To attend, students need to buy uniforms and books. So, for many of the poor, attending public school is unaffordable. As a result, there is little upward mobility. If you are born poor, you tend to stay poor. Even though El Hogar only reaches a small number of students, they give students the skills they need to improve their situation, a huge accomplishment.

After we returned from the Agricultural School, we moved more sand to work on improving the drainage near the dormitories:

Tomorrow, we will be visiting the home of one of the students.

Sopa con banana, take 2

2009-05-07T18:36:00.000-07:00

Today we visited the agricultural school, eating lunch there instead of El Hogar. Although last time the food there was fantastic, I wouldn`t say the same this time but that is likely a reflection of the season (early May vs. early October). They are just beginning to prepare the fields for this year`s crops, so the fresh veggies are in short supply. Soup for lunch again, but a teenage-boy-working-on-a-farm sized portion with beans, rice, potato, banana, and a bit of beef, and let`s just say I won`t make soup with green bananas in it at home. They are starchy and absorbent but thankfully with no banana flavor. Two days in a row, at different places!

As usual, the drive out to both places gave us both beautiful views (though browner than last time) and glimpses into very deep poverty. You can really see the density of the shacks on the mountainsides, and get some very close-up views of how they`re cobbled together. And, of course, the usual Honduran style of driving. Even with the reasonably cautious Raul at the wheel, we decided that the rooftop-skimming approach to the airportwas MUCH safer than driving on the roads.

Thursday visit to the Episcopal Agricultural School

2009-05-07T18:29:00.000-07:00

This morning Raul took us on another field trip, this time to the other El Hogar vocational school, the Episcopal Agricultural School. This is a working farm that serves as an open-air classroom for boys who wish to learn modern farming techniques. After three years of schooling, they graduate and take what they have learned back to their own villages, to help improve agriculture throughout Honduras.

The first stop on our tour was an experimental area being prepared as an orchard for fruit trees. Two young men at the school had planted several dozen small saplings and then had been watering these small trees for months by carrying buckets of water by hand. The trees will eventually grow to be about six feet tall and produce a very marketable kind of fruit (although we're not quite sure what the English translation of that particular word is, so that will have to remain a mystery!)

We then had our own "Field of Dreams" moment as we entered into this mysterious-looking grove...

...to find banana trees growing inside!

Then it was on to the hen houses where we saw some young chickens...

... and where I bonded with a special friend ...

... and finally found out where all those tasty fresh eggs we've been having for breakfast come from!

We also stopped by to see some livestock - first a litter of frisky piglets...

.. and then we finally found out where baby cows come from! Answer: this bottle of liquid nitrogen and a long hollow tube!

We met a cow just days away from giving birth ...

and a couple of young twin calves:

After our tour, lunch was very similar to yesterday´s; tasty but a little disconcerting with bananas in our hot soup!

We ate lunch along with all the boys in the school. We met several of them and they are a very hardworking bunch!

This school is located about an hour and fifteen minutes' drive away from the El Hogar elementary school where we are staying, and on the way back we got another eyeful of the unique living conditions in much of this country.

We spent our afternoon back on work detail. More about that in my next post.

- Mark

My friend Pedro

2009-05-07T18:16:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of me with my friend Pedro Sosa. Apart from some of the staff, Pedro is the only person who has been at El Hogar longer than I have been coming here - starting in 2002. Pedro's story is an extraordinary one, and exemplifies what El Hogar is all about.

Pedro was found years ago wandering naked in a forest near Tegucigalpa. He was not able to say anything about where he came from or who his people were. He could only say his name. At the time, he was probably in his early twenties, but nobody is really sure how old Pedro is. Soon, the fact that Pedro has a serious learning disability became clear. He can see, hear, and speak, but could not read or write.

Claudia brought him to live at El Hogar. Pedro is a gentle soul who is much beloved by all at the school. He is, at once, an older, and a younger brother to the kids here. During free play in the evening, it is not at all unusual to see Pedro with several small bodies clinging to him.

Pedro loves books - which is extraordinary because he can't read. But Pedro and I bonded over books on my first trip to El Hogar. I was leading a group of teenagers on that trip and was completely exhausted at the end of the day. I escaped to the bench outside la cosina where the lighting is good with my book to have a few minutes alone. Pedro came up to me as if we were old friends and sat next to me with his book - a picture book of underwater animals. I happened to be reading "Guns, Germs, and Steel" which has two pictorial sections, which Pedro found fascinating. He speaks not a word of English, and my Spanish was, how shall we say, rudimentary at the time, but we had a fine old time with each other's books that night.

One of my favorite stories about Pedro Sosa was in 2004 when the movie "Napoleon Dynamite" came out. Somebody from a previous work team had brought him a "Vote for Pedro" T-shirt from the movie. When he saw me that trip, he came up to me, all smiles, and said, "Yaysone, vote for Pedro!" I had just seen the movie and I cracked up - Pedro laughed, too, but I think he was laughing at me laughing. Anyway, that was and remains the only English Í've ever heard Pedro speak. (I wanted to write him in for the 2004 Presidential election, but remembered that you had to be a US citizen.)

Pedro is not a student here. If we were going by the book, Pedro would not be allowed to live here. The fact that he does is, as we are fond of saying at the MathWorks, "out of model." Thank God for model-breaking, or Pedro would probably be dead or in some unspeakable asylum down here. The compassion and grace that allows Pedro to be a part of this community is amazingly taken for granted by the staff and students here. But I want to recognize the miraculous quality of this place. Stuff like this happens all the time at El Hogar.

Pedro is content. He is beloved. He has all his needs taken care of and gives back to his El Hogar family with affection and humor. In my book, he is a roaring success and I only hope I can say such things about myself some day.

Kids at School and Play

2009-05-06T19:03:00.000-07:00

Ok, I am a little behind on my blogging (sorry mom). Yesterday was such a long day that by the time I got on the computers I uploaded some pictures got caught up on blogs and comments from those watching (please keep the comments coming, they are great to read) and then needed to head back to play `Celebrity`with the rest of the group. The way I performed, I should have stayed here and blogged ;-)

As people have probably read, we went to the technical school yesterday. We gave a ride to a 21 and 22 year old boys from St. Fransis, who were going to be doing work at the Technical School for the day. The 22 year old boy, I believe he said his name was Saul (at least that is what it sounded like.) He wore a hodded jersey, with the hood up, as his face was cut up. He told us that he had been jumped by a gang just outside El Hogar. It is hard to know why he may have been jumped, if it was random or perhaps not-so-random. Either way this young man just seemed to want to talk to a few people. Perhaps I am just a sucker, or seeing something that was not there, but there was something sweet in his lost eyes.

At one point during the ride we got pulled over. We later found out it was because the van didn`t have reflective tape on the front of it, but when we were pulled over Sahul had mentioned a woman had been kidnapped the night before and that perhaps the police were looking for information. It was a little reminder of what lies beyond the safety of El Hogar.

Institute Tecnico Santa Maria (ITSM) St. Mary's Technical Institute

Thankfully the rest of the ride was uneventful. When we got to the school, after making a trip to the baños we got a tour of the school, starting with the sidewalk that Jason and Tara laid the foundation for a few years ago.

We then got to see the 3 existing shop classes (Wood, Metal, and Electrical) and the soon to be Auto shop.

We got to see the boys in action and some of the work they have produced. They are really quite talented. In the wood shop one boy was working on a hutch-china cabinet I know my mom would love and a group of boys were working on vases to give to their teachers for Mother`s Day.

In the Metal shop we saw metal crosses and candle stick holders that were beautiful. It is amazing to see these boys create things of beauty after having been through so much. Just like the children at El Hogar, the Home of Love and Hope, the boys at the Technical School are just as inspirational, if not more so.

After checking out all the shop classes we got to checkout the dorms. You will notice the bars on the windows. They tell the boys the bars are there for their own safety, but the truth is it is to keep the boys in (though not necessarily for the reasons you may think...) The bars are not there to stop the boys from running away, but to stop them from sneaking out to meet girls.

During this trip we keep making the observations about how universal childhood is and what being a teen ager is. No matter what the backgrounds kids play the same and teenagers do stupid teenage things. It is a nice reminder that as a whole we people aren`t that different. We may not look the same or speak the language but our behaviors as humans can be quite similar. After this trip perhaps I will remember that more.

Next stop - lunch. Anyone who read the blog yesterday saw what lunch looked like. But in case you missed it, here is my reaction to it.

We`ll just say it was interesting. The soup had cooked bananas (that tasted like potato), cabbage and melon with some kind of beef (like beef stew meat, but more fattier). I thankfully was able to eat it all (as we can not leave food on our plates), but like someone said, I will not be trying to make this at home.

After lunch we got to see the chapel and what will be the computer room. The buildings are really quite beautiful. The chapel does not have windows and doors at the moment (which is ideal this time of year), but will become critical when the rainy season hits. They will be putting in stained glass windows which I am sure will look absolutely beautiful.

When waiting for the group to leave Mark B and I got the same idea to checkout the sound of running water behind the school. It was some natural beauty alongside the beauty of the architecture and the boys at the technical school.

When we got back to El Hogar we got changed for Day 3 of `Move the Sand`. The fun challenge today was moving the sand into a section of the property that a wheel barrel could not easily get to from the pile of sand. So we spent the day shoveling sand into a wheel barrel, dumped the sand from the wheel barrel at the closest point that it would fit, and then on the other side of that point shovel the sand into another wheel barrel and move the sand to the required spot. Didn´t follow that description? Don`t worry about it, not sure we completely got it either, but it was what was needed to be done. A few blisters aside, it was a good day of work. I didn't have my camera with me, so checkout the other blogs for potential goofy pictures (not that I posed for any myself).

Dinner was once again eggs, refried beans and corn tortillas with hot sauce. The more times we eat this the more hot sauce we add (Ivan should you come to El Hogar, I highly recommend you bringing a supply of hot sauce with you) . I had a little of that and some instant oatmeal just to add a little variety to the evening.

Once dinner was over, it was time to play. I got to spend a little more time with Wilmer (who I mentioned kicking the ball around with the day before). We learned about his family situation from Claudia the day before. They don`t know who his mother is, but his father is an alcoholic that Wilmer used to watch over when he passed out. Wilmer often wanted to see his dad, but the last time he went with his dad, his father did not return him. It took the police 3 days to find Wilmer to bring him back to El Hogar. His father no longer sees him (assuming he is still alive, as people suspect he may have AIDS). Wilmer has just the cutest disposition. You watch him play by himself and he appears to still have that sense of fantasy and imagination which surprises me after all he has been through. Later in the evening a group of boys were playing soccer, excuse me futbol, with Lori and Diane. Wilmer was playing goalie but asked Lori to stand in for him. I watched Wilmer as I was curious as to why he was leaving the game. There is a woman at El Hogar who has a hard time walking and she was dragging a bench so she could sit and watch the game. Wilmer went over to help move this bench that probably weighed more than he does. To see a boy that age being that observant and thoughtful was just surprising and heartwarming. I hope he doesn´t lose this as he gets older. He truly is a very sweet boy.

Here is a picture of Jason giving a letter to Eber Raul from his sponsor, and fellow MathWorker, Helen. It was like Christmas and Jason was Santa Claus when he pulled out this letter. Eber Raul just lit up and all the boys swarmed around to see.

I spent some time tonight walking around seeing what the children were doing. I stopped into the library and the kids were eager to show me their books. I did not stay long as it became evident that they were supposed to be doing homework. Oops. Funny how they forgot to mention that ;-) I ran into Eber Raul and he was still going through the postcards of Boston with messages from Helen. He asked me to read them to him again. You could see how much getting these letters meant to him.

Other activities on tap besides homework and futbol was tic tac toe, drawing with chalk, hide and seek and of course throwing paper airplanes.

Tonight I only watched the paper airplanes, I did not participate in hopes of avoiding further injury.

Cristian loved showing off his chalk drawing of a pimped out Cadillac. How does one say pimped out in Spanish?

This little girl just wanted me to keep taking her picture. She loved the camera and as you can see the camera loves her too.

Here we have more young ladies loving the camera!

We love to read `Beauty and the Beast`.

I then went back to watch the older boys play futbol as they had since taken over the game from the younger boys. There were a few of us sitting on the wall watching the game and playing with the younger boys. They would sneak up behind us and put their hands over our eyes until we said `Como se llama?`. They would then say their names in sily voices until we guessed them. They were just too much!

After sitting there a while, my buddy Ramone came over to sit. He never really tries to talk to me, but he sat next to me leg to leg and would just look up and smile. We just sat and watched the game and I rubbed his back. He just sat there with me, occasionally smiling, until the bedtime snack bell rang.

And of course there are the big kids at play! To the left Jason and Tara are showing Jen and Mark how to play Euchre (ok this picture is from the night before, but cards were played last night and I didn`t have a picture to show. I consider this taking creative license). To the right Diane had been playing tic tac toe. I think the competition was tired of winning and took off. Nice to see I am not the only one who can`t win at this game ;-)

After the boys went to bed and I uploaded some pictures I went to play Celebrity with the rest of the group. As I mentioned earlier I was not very good at it, so I will leave it at that. I then watched a few games of cards and headed to bed.

This was another full and amazing day. Sadly we are more than half-way through this trip and I am surely not ready for it to be over yet. Here is hoping the next few days do not go by too quickly.

Melissa

Return to Amarateca

2009-05-06T18:50:00.000-07:00

Today we took a trip to the technical school in Amarateca Valley where I worked 3 years ago. It looked very different. The building where we were mixing cement and pouring it into wall sections was all finished and being used as classrooms and a cafeteria. It looked beautiful. Three floors, all white and tiled and a red roof. It was very satisfying to see it being used, knowing that I had helped. I remembered the time I carried a bag of cement. It was the heaviest thing I ever carried.

Stuart

Things that Go Honk in the Night

2009-05-06T18:31:00.000-07:00

As I lay in bed last night, waiting to drift off to sleep, a nearby rooster started crowing (the whole thing about roosters crowing at dawn is hooey - they crow morning, noon, and night). A short time later, a car alarm went off, jerking me awake. A little later still, it was a car horn playing Dixie Land. It hit me that here I was, in a bed thousands of miles from my home in the States, hearing exactly the same sounds I could hear on the streets of just about any town in America. Roosters and horns and car alarms are the same the world around, I guess. Then it occured to me that during the past few days I´ve been hearing a completely different sound that is the same the world around - the sound of children laughing and playing, learning, eating, developing a sense of hope, and learning to believe that they are loved. It was a nice thought to fall asleep to.

A day at the Instituto Technico Santa Maria

2009-05-06T18:14:00.000-07:00

This morning Raul took us on a field trip some distance away from Tegucigalpa. The drive took us over mountains and through areas that gave us a glimpse of just how different life here in Honduras can be. We saw vistas of humble homes stacked seemingly one on top of the other as far as the eye can see.

Our destination was another El Hogar school campus called the Instituto Technico Santa Maria. This school is for older boys who have graduated from the El Hogar elementary school and who wish to learn a technical trade which will help them to eventually find a rewarding job. I was quite impressed with the size and scope of the campus, and the quality of the education the boys are receiving here.

The school has dorms, classrooms, a beautiful new chapel, basketball court, and technical classrooms covering woodworking, metalworking, electrical repair, etc.

Here we see Raul on the left admiring the students' handiwork in the woodworking shop. We got a thorough tour of all the other shops as well, and the boys were all happily working away (under the watchful eye of adult supervisors):

We found out that one other important skill the boys learn is how to wash their own clothes! And they do it the traditional way:

After our tour, we had a break for lunch at the cafeteria where the students take their meals:

We were served the same food that the boys also ate:

And yes, that is a banana floating in the steaming hot soup, along with a bony piece of an animal which we think was a cow. Oddly enough, cooked bananas in soup taste almost exactly like potatoes!

After returning to Tegucigalpa we donned our work clothes and continued yesterday´s job of shoveling and transporting sand. I forgot to take photos, so just take a look at the blog entry I wrote yesterday and imagine two or three more hours of the same.

This evening after dinner, Tara and I played "hide and seek" with Alexis, who started the game innocently enough by having me count to 51. Soon I found out that this version of the game devolves into a hard-fought game of tag, cleverly designed to leave tired adults sweating and panting for breath. Alexis had pity on me and eventually allowed me to tag him, at which point I had had enough and went to watch the boys play soccer. Diane and Lori jumped in and played like crazy - we'll see if any of us can still walk tomorrow!

That's all for tonight,

- Mark

Whoops!

2009-05-06T16:42:00.001-07:00

I realized today that I had accidentally restricted comments on our blog entries to "registered members". If you've felt like commenting but didn't feel like joining blogger, I've now relaxed permissions so anyone can comment.

Sorry if you've felt unwelcome, but please, we'd love to hear what you have to say.

Thanks.

Wheelbarrow Capsize

2009-05-05T19:30:00.000-07:00

We worked pretty hard today. Our group's task was to shovel sand into wheelbarrows at one end of the campus and bringing it up hill to another part. I got blisters on my hands, even with my gloves. A couple of the tiniest kids insisted on helping us for about 2 hours, shoveling pretty hard. They were having fun like it was a game. One of them Carlos, managed to take a wheelbarrow full of sand all the way to its destination. The smaller kid, Wilmer, wanted to try with the next barrow-full but promptly fell over after moving it about one foot, capsizing the wheelbarrow and emptying its contents. He thought this was pretty funny.

We found out during a presentation given to us tonight by Claudia, the director of El Hogar, that Wilmer, the smaller boy who had just been there a year, had been living on the streets with this alcoholic Dad for a while. He was such a happy, bright child. Althought all of these kids come from some sort of disfunctional or dangerous environment.

I am pretty exhausted. I still somehow found myself chasing kids in the evening, an activity I said I wouldn't do as I was too tired.

Tomorrow will be Wednesday. We are not working in the morning but going on a tour to the technical school where I worked the last time I was hear. I'll see how it has changed.

Stuart

Another day, another reality check

2009-05-05T18:58:00.000-07:00

I am soooo not quitting my day job to move to Honduras to do hard labor for a living (though the frozen chocolate covered bananas are quite the incentive. In case it isn`t obvious we did more work outside today. I, along with Jen, started the day finishing off the paint job Tara and I started the day before. While the second coat was easier than the first there was an additional challenge. It downpoured overnight, so the wall was seriously covered with sand. So we spent a little time cleaning off the sand and mud (ok very little as the wall is textured already).

Doesn`t the wall look nice!!! We actually painted a lot more than that one section - no really we did!

Jen and I finished up a little before lunch so we helped the part of the group that was moving a pile of sand from spot A to spot B which was about 5 feet away. The rest of the group was moving sand from a greater distance and having to run wheel barrels up a hill. I tried using the wheel barrel once - got it about 3 feet and almost dumped it. I could have kept trying, but we would have been shoveling twice. And you know how us MathWorkers feel about muda!

During our lunch break a few of us were sitting outside and Wilmer came over to talk with us. Thinking I had a great idea I started to show him how to thumb wrestle. Silly me, he already knew how to thumb wrestle and did it quite well! He was then called away as it seems he was supposed to be doing his chores and not building with dominoes with us.

After lunch we spent a lot of time moving around more sand. Eventually this sand will be turned into cement which will help the water from the drain of the dorm flow away from the building.

In some ways it felt like a futile activity, but one that needed to be done all the same. We got to dig out some cool big rocks and passed the time talking about when shows like the Flintstones ´Jumped the Shark` and our favorite Looney Tunes characters and episodes. Hey, you do what you have to in order to pass the time.

Thankfully we had our frozen chocolate covered bananas to keep us going as well as help from some of the children.

We all made it through the day without injury (or getting rained on as we expected) and are fortunate enough to know we get to finish the job tomorrow!

I am sure others will be blogging this as well, but today was a great food day. No beans what-so-ever. We had canteloupe and REALLY good banana bread for breakfast, something similar to beef stew for lunch and spaghetti for dinner. No fear, I am sure the beans will be back tomorrow.

After dinner we met with Doña Claudia where she gave us a presentation on the children of El Hogar. She showed us pictures and told us many of the children`s stories. It was so hard to not get emotional to hear what these children have been through, seeing what the homes they came from look like and how far they come. In watching these children she says she sees miracles every day and I can see why. Just looking at some of the children we have been spending time with, you would not know they have been through so much in only a few years. Doña Claudia and the staff at El Hogar are amazing people doing amazing things.

After the presentation Doña Claudia introduced us to the children who have come to El Hogar in the last year. As we entered the auditorium they gave us a hug one-by-one. There were some that just seemed to hold on a little longer than the others and I didn´t want to let them go. My buddy Ramone was in the room, he came by and hugged me twice. I just can`t describe how tonight felt. It does leave me wanting to do more.

When we were done we got to spend some time playing with all the children. I ended up kicking a ball around with Wilmer. He was getting a kick out of watching me run after the ball and would be yelling rapido at me. When the 7pm bell rang he wanted to stay and play instead of getting a snack before bed. He is the tiniest little thing and always smiling, but that was not always the case. I would take him and many others home with me if I could. Ok, I would have to buy a bigger house...

Here is Tara and Melvin playing cards. When Doña Claudia showed us her El Hogar presentation she told us stories about Melvin that were heartbreaking. Knowing some of the things this boy has been through and how he continues to have such a sweet dispostition brings tears to my eyes.

And the picture to the right is with me and my buddy Ramone (he is the one in the center). Ramone is one of the newer children at el Hogar. When all the new children left the auditorium Ramone gave us all one more round of hugs.

Going to get going so I can get some rest in before another early, long and amazing day tomorrow.

Melissa

Creating The Bean Blog

2009-05-05T18:34:00.000-07:00

At the end of each day, we spend a few moments in the El Hogar computer lab, sending emails to loved ones, catching up on the news from home, and posting blog entries describing our activities here in Tegucigalpa. This is generally a quiet and peaceful activity, as we reflect on the experiences of the day. It is a solemn time of contemplation. Just last night, I dared to interupt the meditative mood to capture this image of Lori and Diane as they worked on their Monday evening entry. I hope you can see, reflected in their faces, the seriousness of this activity.

The Widowmaker

2009-05-05T18:27:00.000-07:00

Meet "The Widowmaker", one of which is in each bathroom and allows us to have hot showers. The Widowmaker is a small, tankless water heater attached to a showerhead. Don´t you love the somewhat exposed wiring? To take a shower, you first turn on the water, turn on The Widowmaker, take a shower, turn off The Widowmaker, then turn off the water. Turning off The Widowmaker is always disconcerting, because there is a visible spark from the unit when the switch is turned off and you´re dripping wet from the shower you just took. But it works and allows us to remain clean and comfortable.

2009-05-05T18:13:00.000-07:00

Day 4 of our Honduras trip is winding down, I am sore and tired, but the experience has been rewarding so far. It´s been interesting being called Jimy (Yee-mee) Today´s work involved moving sand to help with drainage behind the dormitory.

Here´s Stuart pushing a wheelbarrow up the hill:

Jason, our fearless leader, moving some rocks:

Stuart and Rachel receiving help from one of the students, Wilmer:

The day ended with us meeting some of the newer students. It was amazing walking into the auditorium and being greeted with hugs by about 25 students. The outpouring of love was overwhelming!

All the hard labor we could ask for - and then some!

2009-05-05T18:07:00.000-07:00

Today was a very full day of work, and those of us who didn´t get enough yesterday certainly got their fill today! I thought I'd show some photos and videos of just a couple of the tasks we accomplished.

The first task was just about as simple as one could possibly be: move this giant pile of cement-grade sand from one place to another, to allow room to level a low spot behind the new dorm where storm runoff collects. Here are the "before" photos:

(big sand pile!)

(big empty space!)

and the "after" photos:

(big empty space!)

(big sand pile!)

Of course, in between those two sets of photos were several hours of back-breaking work, involving shoveling sand into wheelbarrows:

Pushing the wheelbarrows down to the new pile:

And dumping the sand on top:

What the photos don´t capture is a sort of quick sprint with the wheelbarrow in the hopes of reaching the top of the pile before dumping the sand:

With the giant sand pile out of the way, several of us levelled a couple of dump truck loads of fill sand (not to be confused with the aforementioned cement-grade sand!) into the low spot behind the dorm.

Word is that tomorrow we'll get to start tamping it all down by hand. Words cannot describe the palpable excitement we all feel about this prospect :-)

After a hard day´s labor, we were very grateful to be treated to a spaghetti dinner, Honduran style, complete with tortillas!

After dinner, Claudia, the director of El Hogar, spoke with us for a while and showed us slides and videos about the kinds of conditions in which they find the children before they come to the school. Many of the children are in extremely desperate circumstances - dreadfully malnourished, or begging on the streets, or in abusive situations, or suffering from extreme neglect. If it were possible, Claudia would save every last child in the country from these kinds of dangers. Given the resources of the school, they can currently take only 15 to 20 new children each year as the older ones graduate.

After her talk, Claudia surprised us by introducing us to the new crop of children, who were delighted to see us - and every last one of them gave each one of us a big hug! It completely melted my heart. All these children, each with a unique story of hardship and suffering, now happy, healthy, and getting a good education in a safe environment. And each one so happy to see us!

The full name of this school is "El Hogar de Amor y Esperanza", which means "The Home of Love and Hope" - and this place truly is an oasis of love and hope in a country where there is so much despair and desperation.

Signing off for today,

- Mark

Sweat, Tortillas, Dirt, and Tears

2009-05-05T17:48:00.000-07:00

It´s hard to put this place into words, but well worth it.

Doña Claudia spoke with us this evening, showing us pictures of some of the children (and challenging us to say what their names were) and telling us their stories. When I first came I had a vague sense of their backgrounds, but hearing specific struggles of children that I´d played with or watched today made their stories much more heart-tugging. And then when she was done, that group of children was waiting for us outside, and we were suddenly overwhelmed by tiny, smiling faces and little bodies reaching up to hug us.

Enough to make a girl cry, really. :)

I´ve gotten to know a few of the kids: Jose, Sisi, Wilmer, Christian, Lindsey. Wilmer and Christian helped us shovel dirt into wheelbarrows and push it up the hill to where we were building a water-drainage incline behind the new dormitories. They had tons of energy and made a tedious task suddenly a lot of fun. They buried unused shovels, raced and crashed the wheelbarrows, looked at us like we were a bit dense whenever we tried to speak Spanish, and giggled at our sad attempts to pantomime what we wanted. It was great seeing them so happy, especially knowing now where they came from.

It´s been fun being surrounded by Spanish, my first real immersion since I took it in high school. I understand about 1 word in every 15, which makes me pretty much useless. Church was a bit easier, where the pastor spoke more slowly and stayed on spiritual topics. I even managed almost completely to understand the last few sentences that the pastor spoke in his sermon.

Work done: painted 4 dormitory doors white, painted a section of wall bright red, shoveled dirt, pushed it up the hill about a half-dozen times in a wheelbarrow, shoveled more dirt, and hauled wood.

After we finished the work for the day, I sat in the school courtyard and watched six boys playing soccer. They were beautiful, athletic, funny, and totally committed to the game.

In other news, I´m getting used to the constant honking of the horns on the street and to learning way too much information about my teammates. Suffice to say I´ll never be able to pass them in the hallway at work again with a straight face. It´s been awesome.

2009-05-04T19:25:00.000-07:00

Day 3! More beans!!!
We are having so much fun.. We started the day with classroom visits. Lori and I like the math class probably only second to the 1st graders who were working hard. The kids are very disciplined and all different ages depending on how much education they had before coming to El Hogar. A 6 year old can be sitting next to a 12 year old in the same class...

We have laughed so much. These Mathworks people are the smartest people I have every been with. I wonder if any of it will rub off?¿ And IBMer´s think they are smart! Just kidding all you IBMers. Conversations in the kitchen revolve around never mind ' Lori doesn´t even understand it. OK - so forget all that. The real story of the day is that we had a great one. I was the smartest one today though.... I chose to work inside instead of being outside in the heat. I painted 4 doors and Lori pulled nails out of old wood and picked up glass.

Beans with cheese, beans with sour cream, beans with rice...and Lori is hungry but filling up on Diet Coke. We are having a great time if you can´t tell. Below is a creative example of a bean s`more (with chocolate:)

In the afternoon after much needed showers (Lori went last and had a FRIO shower). We played Domino´s with Wilmer who had the most adorable smile and laugh.

Here we are posing by a prior teams artwork..

Then went in for beans. I had my first banana con chocolate after Jason and Melissa, Stuart and Tara worked up another sweat playing soccer after dinner. I just HAD to celebrate with a banana I didn´t earn.

Diane and Lori

Play-time Snag

2009-05-04T19:14:00.000-07:00

I eventually tracked down Jose Adan, the kid I sponsor. I hadn't met him before. He is thirteen. He was playing with a friend of his. I exchanged a few phrases in my limited Spanish with him. I thought some physical activity would fill the awkwardness so I proceeded to climb on top of a wooden pole holding up one end of the clothes line they were playing under. I sat on the top for a while. I think they were impressed, or perhaps puzzled and laughed. I then rolled backwards and hung upside down for a bit from my knees. I was all set for a flamboyant dismount when I realised that I had hooked my jeans to a couple of big nails on the top of the pole. This entertained him and his friend even more. I didn't think I would be able to get back up right and was considering a cry for help to some other adults within earshot. Well, after some effort, I did manage to pull myself upright and un-hook myself. I now have a rip in my jeans.

Oh well. We didn't exactly bond but I think he was entertained.

Stuart

A very full Monday at El Hogar!

2009-05-04T19:09:00.000-07:00

Hola!

This morning we were up bright and early to join the children of El Hogar in morning devotions. I was struck by this first glimpse into their daily routine and I couldn´t help but be reminded that unlike my own son, these boys and girls don´t have a morning routine that involves a mother and father, but instead assemble obediently into the auditorium to hear an exhortation about the personal qualities they are encouraged to practice (this week: prudencia - prudence). That was followed by a prayer and the singing of the Honduran national anthem.

The routine was a bit different this morning, as our work team was called up on stage and introduced to the children. We were asked to give our names and the name of our native country - a task which I think I pulled off in Spanish!

Our first activity of the morning was to visit the El Hogar school building and observe and even participate in some of the classes. These kids are diligent and enthusiastic learners and my impression is that the education they receive is every bit as rigorous as that which you would find back in the U.S.

I especially enjoyed my visit to the First Grade classroom, where some of the children were working enthusiastically on posters about the food chain.

I loved this drawing they were working on entitled "cadena alimenticia" (food chain):

As you can plainly see, zebras eat grass... lions eat zebras... and giant green bacteria eat lions! I questioned the students about this a bit, and they assured me that this latter step occurs only after the lions are dead. (Also I think the bacteria are not really drawn to scale...)

After the school tour we donned our work gloves and headed up to the new dorm site where we would be working throughout the remainder of the day, but before starting work we were treated to banana con chocolate - frozen bananas covered with chocolate, a favorite dessert here we were honored to enjoy!

Also before starting work I had a quick tour of the inside of the dorm. I was so touched to see so many triple-decker bunk beds all in a row (and a couple of mattresses on the floor as well).

Although this is their "bedroom", there weren´t really any personal possessions there. I learned later that each child has a small locker elsewhere for whatever few items they might call their own. I saw a couple of boys with beanie babies at devotions this morning, which made my heart ache.

There is a beautiful view from the windows of the dorm. What an improvement this new facility is over the previous dorms they lived in, which resembled the small buildings you see in this photo. I am reminded again how thankful I am to all of you who have contributed to this wonderful place!

After the dorm tour it was time to begin our work for the day. Plans inevitably changed again; a few of us wound up doing some exterior and interior painting of the new dorm...

while some of the rest of us removed concrete forms from the rear of the new dorm:

Then we spent the remainder of the hot morning and afternoon hours pulling nails from boards left over from the dismantling of the old dorms, and stacking up the boards in neat piles. Usable boards will be sold later to further support the school´s mission.

We´re not sure yet what we´ll be doing tomorrow, but we're just happy to be here and helping in any way we can!

Thanks again for your support and prayers. Hasta pronto!

- Mark

It is, after all, a school

2009-05-04T18:36:00.000-07:00

In some ways, El Hogar is miraculously ordinary. Amid some of the worst poverty in the Western Hemisphere, kids who once were digging their meals out of dumpsters and living on the street are sitting in well appointed classrooms in their clean white-pressed uniforms, learning Spanish, Social Studies, and Math.

Hazer, the Math teacher, did a great job engaging the students in learning about identities. The kids seemed to get a kick out of the fact that:

1 / 1 = 1

8000 / 8000 = 1
863, 587 / 863,587 = 1

And the kids seem to really like being there.

Of course, like all schools, there is a day of reckoning. It turned out that on Sunday, some of the mothers of the El Hogar kids came for a visit. Claudia, the director, meets with them to tell them how their kids are doing and then tries to give them some support for the lives that they must return to outside El Hogar. But Sunday was report card day:

Mostly, it was sweet to see how proud the mothers were of their kids and how supportive the teachers were. I don't think report card day is quite the same here as it was for me as a kid.

Where do I begin?

2009-05-04T18:24:00.000-07:00

Today was such an amazing day I just don´t know wheret to begin. It started off as another early morning (that darn rooster), plus with today being our first work day I was eager for it to begin. After enjoying another great cup pf Honduran coffee (for any MathWorkers watching I am bringing some home if you are interested) and then we were off to Devotions. The boys and girls looked adorable all lined up in their jeans and white button down shirts. We got to listen in as they were given instructions on respect, announcements for the week and we got to hear them sing what I suspect was their National Anthem. At the end of the Devotions Doña Claudia brought our group on stage to officially introduce us. She asked us if there was anything we wanted to say to the group, but even with more time to think I am not sure I would be able to come with the right words to explain why I am here and the impact they have had in only a few short days.

After eating a tasty breakfast of eggs, refried beans, cheese and of course corn tortillas we got to sit in on the morning classes. I spent most of the time in the First Grade class and got to see Fransisco and Sisi. The children were all so tiny and sweet looking. They were all so excited to show us their drawings of animals or people. There was the one little girl who was drawing a picture of what I would normally assume was a mother and daughter, but in a place like this it is hard to know. I asked her if I could take a picture with her and she smiled and just grabbed me around the neck and pulled me towards her. Seriously how cute is she? I on the other hand have the constant glow Jason keeps speaking of (and he doesn´t mean because we are happy).

I then headed over to the Social Studies class, with my buddy Ramone, where they were talking about their natural resources and the products they produce with them. I was getting a few words here and there, but thankfully Mark B was in the room and he explained what the teacher was saying in a little more detail. Evidentally they make a lot of cement here.

When the bell rang and the children changed classes we went back to the volunteer house to wait for Raul and our instructions for the day. Sadly Lazaro who was going to be instructing us was sick, so Raul made up some tasks on the fly. But before we even started we got to have frozen chocolate covered bananas mmmmmm. A few people went painted some doors inside, a few people sorted and removed nails from wood of the torn down dorms and Tara and I painted the lower walls of the new dorms in red. We only had one can of paint and small paint brushes, so we weren`t completely efficient, but think we did a good job overall. Looks like we`ll be lucky enough to do a second coat tomorrow. We had chicken, rice, refried beans and corn tortillas for lunch. Thankfully not sick of them yet! After lunch I headed up early to finish painting one section of the wall. The children were on their lunch break so a lot of them would chat with me while entering or exiting the dorm. Ok, there is not a lot I can say, but I am starting to understand more. Tara and I finished our painting and helped the group moving wood. I was definitely pink and Raul wanted me to get into the shade - I just told him it was a healthy pink.

I think this has been my favorite moment so far (which is hard to say since there have been many great ones). After a Diet Coke and a shower I went outside to write in my journal. As I sat there a little boy came up to me and asked me my name and I told him. When I asked him his name he took my journal and wrote his name in it. He is Eber Raul. He then called his friend over so he could write his name in my journal. He is Carlos. Then there was the very adorable Wilmer and then Johan. Then as quickly as the boys appeared they disappeared. A few minutes later Carlos returns with a piece of chalk. On the ground in front of me he writes ´God Bless You´and then points to me. He then sat on the wall next to me and writes`God is Love` which he points to painted on a wall behind us. He erases these words and draws a tic tac toe board. We played many rounds with him winning most of them. I am just out of practice.

We got called in for dinner. There were eggs, corn tortillas and beans (no no not refried beans as you may have guessed) and rice. The group then sat around and talked for a while. It amazes me how many conversations seem to come back to bodily functions. But I guess when you are eating beans 3 times a day that is bound to happen ;-)

After a while Tara and I joined Jason and Stuart playing with the boys. I think it was a combo of hide-and-seek and catch. Man can these kids run. There was just no catching them and when they were chasing me there was no out running them. Aside from being way too out of shape for this level of activity I had a blast. There was a little boy wearing a BC t-shirt which I loved to see. We then played a quick game of soccer, pardon me futbol. I have to admit I was afraid of getting too close - these boys were ruthless. We played until the bell rang for them to get their evening snack. We also got another chocolate covered frozen bananas - I could seriously get addicted to them.

So that brings us to blogging, catching up on e-mail and of course the Boston scores. We all did a wu-hoo when we heard the Sox are beating the Yanks :-) So I guess that is enough for one night as I am sure I will have plenty to report on tomorrow.

Melissa

A day of thanks

2009-05-03T20:22:00.000-07:00

All 11 of us thankfully made it to Honuras without too much issue, though my suitcase looked like it spent a little time with a gorilla in cargo. The landing into Honduras was not as scary as I thought, but it was pretty cool. We came in so low you thought the wings would literally clip the houses below. The planes come in so low I guess there is a real concern that planes could hit an antena or two. The houses we flew over were like nothing I had ever seen. It looked like a bunch of children`s forts all crammed together on a mountain side.

For all those with questions about the impact of the Swine Flu... When we got to the airport we had to sign a paper stating that we did not have any flu symptoms or be around anyone with flu symptoms for the past week. We then had a thermal scan to make sure we didn´t have a fever. They were passing out handouts cautioning anyone coming from Mexico or the US. It was funny that the people handing out the forms had masks on but no one else in the airport did. Good thing flus are not air bound ;-)

When we got to El Hogar the skies just opened up and it poured for hours. While the rain was not ideal, we were just thankful that we, along with our van with luggage out on the roof, made it to El Hogar before the rain.

Due to the rain and the fact that it was Saturday, we didn`t initially see many children. Some of the children get to go home or be with family over the weekend. Claudia does home visits to ensure that the children will be safe and have food if they go home. For children that do not have families or a safe home to go to, they spend the weekends at el Hogar.

Later in the evening we spent some time playing inside with the children. Some of the group made paper airplanes, some were playing catch with Beanie Babies and some watched 101 Dalmations in Spanish (believe it or not Cruella is even more scary when you don´t understand what she is saying).

I have to admit I have already gotten my injury out of the way and I haven´t even picked up a tool yet. Yes I hurt myself making paper airplanes and no it wasn´t a paper cut. I was sitting on a marble tile floor and as I slid my hand along the edge of the tile I sliced myself. Ok, not a mjaor injury, but there was blood, so it should count ;-)

It was a blast playing with the children. Watching them get excited whether it be for a good throw of a plane, a great catch of a Beanie Baby or laughing at a classic of a movie. So far this trip has already been made up of a lot of touching moments. One little boy came up and gave a few of us a big hug. He didn`t know my name, but he hugged me so tightly you would have thought we were family. The fact that the hug of a stranger was that significant was just heart breaking to me. Another little boy came up to me asked me my name and said `God Bless You` which felt so sweet. And then there is my new buddy Ramone. For a while we just sat and watched a little bit of the movie until he then moved across the room so we could throw paper airplanes to each other (after my injury I stuck to throwing the planes not making them ;-). Any time I had a really good throw, Ramone would give me a thums up and a big smile. I may not understand much Spanish or he English, but we were getting along just great. I suspect Ramone will show up in a few more postings.

Today being Sunday, the families drop off the children to stay here the rest of the week. It was hard to comprehend what Sunday`s must be like for the families or the children. There was one little boy sitting on a wall with his mother. She was talking to him and every few seconds he would reach out and give her a peck on the cheek. It was such a sweet moment between mother and son. Sadly there were too many families dropping off their children today.

But there were fun moments today as well. After attending Mass we went to McDonalds. We did not go through the Auto Mac (drive thru) but did sit at tables where they actually have a waitress take your order. All of the children got the same Happy Meals and the older boys and us adults got to order from the McMenu. I haven´t been to a McDonalds in years - have they gotten this tacky in the states as well? It was cute watching the kids with their Happy Meals, so of them decided to only eat part of their lunch. When they were done they packed up their food in the box and spent some time playing on the indoor gym. On our way back to El Hogar we stopped at the super market which happened to have a guard with a very large rifle standing in front. After only a few seconds in the store we heard this very familiar chime - someone had just turned on a Windows machine. You should have seen all our ears perk up.

Once we got back to El Hogar we changed our clothes so we could play with the children. I quickly came across my buddy Ramone. He waved me over to join him and another little boy in kicking a ball around. Ramone was very courteous making sure that we alternated taking turns. Or if the ball went too far and he would go and get it for me so I could take my turn. I got a few more thumbs up and a grin (and thankfully none of them when a ball went astray and hit a classmate). We were playing for a while and Rachel came over and joined us. These boys have some amazing footwork. Honestly I was just thrilled that I didn´t trip over my own feet.

Later there was kickball with a few other boys, Tara, Stuart and Mark T. It was amazing how the rules kept changing. The boys had us running ALL OVER THE PLACE. They were running the bases, but I think we got the better workout. We were getting killed, but we were thankfully saved by the snack bell.

Tomorrow is our first day of work so I will wrap up so I can get some sleep before the rooster starts crowing around 3am and the car alarm goes off.

Only two days in and the trip has already been amazing. I can´t wait to see what the rest of the week brings!
Melissa

Arrival weekend in Tegucigalpa!

2009-05-03T19:49:00.001-07:00

Hola a todos desde Honduras!

(Hello to everyone from Honduras!)

After weeks of anticipation, we are all happy to be here in Tegucigalpa at last. We have had a good start to our week and I am happy to be able to add to this blog - and even happier to have the means to upload a few photos for everyone to see.

The flight here was uneventful - which is good considering that Toncontin Airport is famous for having one of the shortest runways and perhaps the most dangerous final approach of any commercial airport in the world! Check out this YouTube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_z5HtME9n8

And then see what our own landing looked like from my seat on the right side of the plane:

After arriving at El Hogar and settling in to the visitors´house, we were immediately treated to a delicious meal of chicken and rice, which then left us ready for afternoon naps to try to recover from waking up in the wee hours of the night in order to make it to Boston Logan at 3:50am.

Later in the afternoon, Jason gave us a tour of the site and we got to see the new dormitory for the children here, which was finished last February thanks to the generosity of previous donors.

The children all live in this dormitory and also take their meals there, although the food is cooked in la cocina, a separate cooking facility, and then carried to the dorm by the children.

Our dinner last night was a more typical meal of plantains, refried beans, and tortillas - a repeat of which we enjoyed for dinner tonight as well. It´s a simple but delicious meal and I´m sure it will be even tastier at the end of long days of construction work ahead.

This morning before church we had an hour or so of quiet time to relax on the front porch of the visitors´house. (The main door to the house is in the background and several bedrooms are entered through doors in the wall at left.) The porch has become a nice gathering place where we have been eating some of our meals and getting to know each other better as we prepare for the work week ahead.

We visited the Episcopal cathedral near El Hogar for church this morning. The bishop presided over a Morning Prayer service; it would ordinarily have been a service of Holy Communion but it had been decided to switch due to concerns about sharing a common cup while swine flu is still spreading.

I especially enjoyed meeting Moises (Moses), one of the older boys from El Hogar who provided the guitar accompaniment for the service, and comparing notes on our favorite Spanish praise music!

Children here are even more excited about McDonald´s than children back home, so we treated a few of the El Hogar students to the rare treat of lunch there after church, as a reward for those who have been especially well-behaved and diligent in their schoolwork during the past week.

Othe way back to El Hogar we saw a few scenes typical of life here in Tegucigalpas:

This afternoon was a wonderful time of playing with the children here and getting to know them better.

We discovered during a very hot and sweaty impromptu game of kickball that the boys here can be fiercely competitive!

Now we are all ready to get underway with construction work tomorrow. Originally we had planned to perform some demolition work on one of the old dormitories; later we heard that last week´s team finished that work and we might be constructing a basketball court instead. Now the latest word is that we´ll be digging ditches and pouring concrete for a drainage system behind the new dormitory. However we wind up contributing, we are just honored and happy to be a part of helping the children here. And we are especially grateful to all of you who are contributing financially and in prayer to our mission.

Signing off for now,

Mark (aka Marcos)

Hola!

2009-05-03T16:32:00.001-07:00

We are here!!! We arrived safely yesterday morning. Seemed we barely skimmed a house or two on landing, but we made it. After arriving we had rice with chicken for lunch and then we all napped like babies for a few hours. After our beans and plantain dinner (Lori LOVES plantains but not the beans....). We all went to bed at 9:00 because we had been awake since 3:00 am! Coffee is great, kids are cute but our spanish is pathetic. The kids laugh at us but smile at the same time. We are getting dirty sitting on the ground with them and expect to get even dirtier tomorrow as we begin mixing cement for a drainage system behind the new beautiful dorm for the kids.
Church was entirely in spanish but no we stayed awake. No hugs and "Peace be with you" due to the fear of the swine flu. We knew we were all safe though, as we got heat scanned in the airport by masked gunmen and employees. After church we headed to McDonald´s (yes, McDonalds) with a few of the kids as a treat for good behavior or grades. They ate every french fry....and so did we.....

Will be in touch,

Diane and Lori

A Trip to the Chinese Market

2009-05-03T16:29:00.000-07:00

Just up the hill from El Hogar is the "Chinese Market", a small store where one can pick up various necessities. Jason typically makes a trip to the market upon arrival at El Hogar, and after the long flight, we were all looking for a chance to get out and stretch our legs. We passed through the gates of El Hogar, all 11 of us, heading out on our first trip into the urban environment surrounding the school. We strode along the dirt path that serves as a sidewalk. Cars whizzed by, tooting with abandon at pedestrians and other vehicles alike. As we walked along, I looked back over my shoulder and was struck by how strange and completely out of place we looked: a line of 11 gringos walking single-file along the path, sticking out like one very large sore thumb. It was amusing, but it also was an opportunity to reflect on the contrast between the opportunities in our lives and the lack there-of for so many here in Tegucigalpa.

Arrival in Honduras

2009-05-03T16:09:00.000-07:00

The team is safe and sound in Honduras. Given the adventures with other MathWorks teams involving visas, lost passports, oversleeping and dicey connections, the trip down was down downright boring. Other that the usual housetop level approach to Toncontin airport, we might have been going anywhere.

We arrived about lunchtime and were treated to a nice meal of chicken and rice, the took our time unpacking. The rains came, so it was hard to find and play with the kids. I was anxious to see some of my pals again, after having been gone a year.

Turns out they were holed up in the new dormitory. El Hogar has recently finished a new building to house all the elementary school kids - girls and boys. It replaces four old wooden buildings, and this new is terrific. Those old wooden building without sprinkler systems always gave me the willies. But no more - the new dorm sleeps all with room to expand and has common areas large enough for pelting MathWorkers with beanie-babies, with simulataneously watching 101 Dalmations.

This morning we were invited to church, as is usual on Sunday. What was unusual to those who have been to this service before was that they cancelled communion due to swine flu concerns. No drinking from the same cup.

The kids who came with us where actually being rewarded for good behavior or schoolwork. To them it is a treat to go with a work team to church. This time, it was even more fun because the Assistant Rector, Haley, brought her dog Jupiter for a visit.

Of course the real draw of going to church with us, other than a deep spritual experience, is that they get taken out to lunch at that gourmet spot, McDonald's. Great cultural import from the U.S.

Happy meals rule!

Back at El Hogar, the weather was still good, so we got to get to know the kids.

And as usual, they kick our butts in soccer, er, futbol:

All in all, a bang up start to the trip.

Beanie-Baby Workout

2009-05-03T16:06:00.000-07:00

I recognized a lot of the kids from 3 yeas ago (Bayron, Alexis, Carlos, Melvin, Jonathon, Elias, Marlon, Cesare). Some recognized me. "Stuart Little!" they remembered they had called me. They had just watched the movie before we came in 2006.

Yesterday evening it was raining so the kids were inside playing. Some were watching a movie. There were paper airplanes flying about and marbles rolling. I intercepted a flying beanie-baby and then proceeded to toss it, then another, back and forth across the room to a bunch of the younger kids. Then up the stair-well from the bottom as fast as I could. They were thoroughly entertained by this. I think I must have lasted for only 20 min before being completely exhausted, sweaty and gasping for water. The kids appeared uneffected and went on to some other activity.

Stuart

Third time's a Charm

2009-05-01T14:12:00.001-07:00

Here we are again, poised and ready to head to Honduras to visit El Hogar de Amor y Esparanza, the Home of Love and Hope in Tegucigalpa. A year and a half has passed since MathWorks has been to El Hogar and a lot of things have changed. Girls up to the third grade now are a part of the student body. They live on campus with the boys in the new dormitory. The technical school campus is complete and the agricultural school's headcount has doubled.

All of which is to say that it's high time we went back and check out all of the magic that happens down there. We have the largest team ever to leave there from MathWorks, eleven people, with three veterans from previous trips. Here's the cavalcade:


Mark Biesiada	Jennifer Black	Jamie Cobleigh

Rachel Cobleigh	Melissa Hogan	Jason Kinchen

Stuart McGarrity	Tara Scott	Lori Tavis
	And our friend from IBM:
Mark Taylor		Diane Statkus

Three team members, Stuart, Tara, and Jason have been to El Hogar before and are very much looking to go back.

But before we leave, we'd like to thank all of our friends, coworkers, and relatives for helping us raise a record breaking amount of money for the trip. Donations are still coming in but it is stacking up to be many thousands of dollars.

Our adventure begins tonight at Logan Airport at about 3:30am this morning, so wish us luck and watch this space for stories and pictures.