“You cannot tell a hungry child that you fed him yesterday.”
Zimbabwean Proverb
Finding food other than in the supermarket has become essential for many families in rural Honduras. With most businesses still shut down because of Covid-19, many are still without a paycheck. Growing personal vegetable gardens has still not caught on, and there have been discussions about the reasons for that in the past. One such discussion can be found here on La Gringa’s Blogicito. But that is a topic for another day.
Parents say it is so painful to tell their kids there is no food. For now, many people have decided to go fishing. Some are going to the river in the mountain and spear fishing. But since it is prohibited to go to the river because of the coronavirus lockdown, they have to go after dark. Others have found success in the lagoons along the coast and in the ocean just off the beach using nets.
The catch ranges from tilapia to snapper to shark and more. Whatever it is, a hungry family never complains.
The volunteer team at Utila Search and Rescue has been working hard to help their neighbors on the island of Utila off the coast of Honduras. Residents have been asked to stay in their homes as much as possible during the threat of the spread of the coronavirus. So this organization has been receiving donations from near and far to purchase groceries and supplies to deliver to as many people as possible. This way they do not have to go to the stores and can reduce contact with others .
Amid all the current fear, worry and panic in the world today, I thought you might need to see some smiling faces.
Up until now, there have been no confirmed cases of the virus on Utila. All tests have returned negative. But the residents are extremely anxious saying, if we get it here, we don’t have the medical personnel, equipment and supplies to handle it.
All cargo arriving on the island from the mainland is being sanitized before being unloaded. The Utila Dream ferry has stopped all passenger and transport services until further notice. The Search and Rescue team is also watching the waters day and night and turning away any vessels coming toward the island. Everything possible is being done to keep the island isolated from the pandemic.
The islanders can be very proud and thankful to have the volunteers of Utila Search and Rescue working so hard on their behalf.
“Red Alert Issued For All 18 Departments in Honduras” – Headline in La Prensa, March 14, 2020
The government of Honduras is taking strong measures against the outbreak of Coronavirus. As of March 18, there have been 12 confirmed cases of the virus within its borders. For at least the next 7 days there is a curfew in place, there is a ban of all public transportation, schools are closed, and access to the country by air, land and sea has been cut off. There are blockades in place on major highways to slow the movement of people around the country.
Those living in rural areas are probably safer from having less contact with other people. But there could eventually be a scarcity of food because of roads being blocked.
The effects on people’s daily lives is too much for those already living on the edge. Not being able to travel to work has many in panic because they depend on every lempira they make each week. Panic has been seen in the supermarkets as well, with hordes of people pushing and shoving for the last items on shelves.
This pandemic will pass, but for vulnerable groups like the poor, there could be a long-lasting impact.
Christmas eve night, or “Noche Buena”, is a time in Honduras to celebrate with family and friends. Although tamales are popular, some rural families will raise a pig to butcher and eat on this night. It is a rare treat that most only get once a year. Many rural families can’t afford new clothes throughout the year, but it is a tradition to wear new clothes on this night. The verb used is “estrenar”, which means “to wear for the first time.” And don’t expect to have leftover pork to eat the rest of the week. Some is given to neighbors and friends, but the rest is eaten that night. The celebration goes on into the wee hours of the morning, with the 25th reserved for sleeping.
Who doesn’t like to eat fried chicken. And while in Honduras, you will find no shortage of chain restaurants that serve it. Here are just a few: KFC, Pollolandia, Power Chicken, Wendy’s (yes, Wendy’s has fried chicken on the menu), Bojangles, Auto Pollo, Pollo Caribeno, Church’s Chicken, Honduran Fried Chicken, Supers Chicken, Pollo Campero, Pollo Rey, Pollo Sabor Casero, Popeye’s, etc, etc.
“If you are too lazy to plow, then you should never expect a harvest.” ~Proverbs 20:4
It’s bean harvesting time. Red beans are a staple food in Honduras, and some families in the rural areas are able to grow their own. But there has to be a better way to get to the final product than just sitting down and shelling out each individual bean pod. This family thinks they may have an idea.
First, the pods need to be dried in the sun. On an afternoon in the tropics, this doesn’t take long.
Next, let’s put the bean pods in a sack and try beating it against a tree trunk to break the beans free from the pods.
That was fun! Let’s see how well it worked.
Ok, they are all out, but how do we separate them from the chaff? How about wave a metal sheet while pouring from one container to another.
Ok. We need more air. Let’s try the fan
Wait. It’s getting in my eyes. And it’s still full of chaff.
Oh, well. I guess the time-tested and time-consuming method of shelling each pod individually is still the best way.
After a long day, a sack full of beans makes a good bed.
It’s sad to report that the Lodge at Pico Bonito will be closing its doors for good in 2 weeks. Here is an article from HondurasTips that describes the situation.
One of the owners died in 2017. He was an strong advocate of conservation and ecotourism for the Pico Bonito National Park. But the remaining owners do not share his vision. The plan is to remove the exiting infrastructure, and some say, create a palm oil plantation in its place. The local wildlife will then have to vacate the area.
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The Lodge is adjacent to the 218 square mile park, one of the richest wildlife sanctuaries in the region. It provided employment for local young people as birdwatcher guides for clients who came from all over the world. They will soon become unemployed, but they have indicated they would like to continue offering their services…somehow.
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There is one option remaining to save the Lodge. It is being offered for sale for $4 million until the doors close in April. Here is your chance to save the Lodge and continue its great work…if you have $4 million dollars to invest. Otherwise, Honduras will be losing one of its greatest draws for tourism and a strong advocate for conservation and protection of its natural environment.
“But there are some days when I don’t eat. Because there are some days when I don’t do any shines. People don’t get their shoes shined when it’s raining. The day is ruined. So I walk around, see, with my mouth open catching flies because there’s nothing to eat. I feel empty. I get a bad pain in my belly like something hot down there.” ~Lito Chirinos in “Lito, the Shoeshine Boy” by David Mangurian
It was January, 1994. I was just stepping out of a farm supply store on Avenida La República in La Ceiba, Honduras when a dirty, bare-footed boy, about 11 or 12 years old, walked past with a policeman following close behind. I decided to follow. They were headed in the direction of the Caribbean coast. The street we were on had a railroad track running down the middle which led straight out onto the main pier of the port city.
The Port of La Ceiba
This was where the Standard Fruit Company (Dole) loaded its pineapples and bananas onto cargo ships for the U.S. and Europe. They walked passed the large customs building and stepped onto the pier. As the boy hesitated, the officer pointed to the far end of the pier and nudged him forward. They continued, carefully avoiding the missing boards in the pier revealing the dark water below. As they reached the far end, the officer had the boy sit on the edge and stare at the water. I wasn’t close enough to hear the conversation, but the boy was visibly upset. Then the officer pointed to a board sticking out from the post a few feet below and forced him to climb down. I thought for sure he was going to make him jump in the water. But soon he told him to climb back up and they walked back toward the shore again. At the other end near the shore several other officers had gathered. The 2 stopped. The boy sat at their feet and one of the other officers handed him an orange. Then the original officer kicked the boy in the back and told him to get up and leave.
I never saw him again. But he was just one of many kids who lived on the streets at that time. The police often saw them as a menace and wanted them off the streets. Usually, it was a case of a rural family not being able to feed their child, so they thought they would be better off fending for themselves in the city. The kids would sell newspapers, or shine shoes, or carry luggage for travelers. Sometimes they would find someone to pay them to guard their car at night. Sometimes they would have to beg or even steal. Many would sniff shoe glue to dull the pain of hunger and the thought of being abandoned. Rules and authority would become a distant memory of these kids’ past. Life was just survival, making it to the next day, only to start all over again. At night they could be found sleeping in the gazebo in the park, on the front porch of the Catholic church, under the wooden vendor stands at the market, in the doorway of a store; anywhere that provided a little shelter.
Street kids just waking up in the morning
This brings to mind the lyrics of a song written by the late Rich Mullens:
I believe there is a place
Where people live in perfect peace
Where there is food on every plate
Where work is rewarded and rest is sweet
Where the color of your skin
Won’t get you in or keep you out
Where justice reigns and truth finally wins
Its hard fought war against fear and doubt
I believe there’ll come a time
Lord, I pray it’s not too far off
There’ll be no poverty or crime
There’ll be no greed and we will learn how to love
And children will be safe in their homes
And there’ll be no violence out on the streets
The old will not be left alone
And the strong will learn how to care for the weak
After weeks of tense waiting, the results of the Honduras presidential election on November 26 were announced. The incumbent Juan Carlos Hernandez of the National Party defeated the outsider, Salvador Nasralla, of the newly formed Alianza de Oposición (Alliance against Corruption and Opposition to the Dictator). Reports of irregularities in the vote count sent the Nasralla backers into the streets in protest. For weeks now, the main highways and bridges have been block by the protesters using trees and burning tires. There was a recount supervised by the US and the European Union confirming the results. But rather than easing the tensions, it only led to stepped up protests.
A twitter campaign by university students called for a paralyzing of the entire country on December 11 by blocking roads, ports, bridges, etc. It said, “If we don’t fight today, who will fight for our kids?”
Although the major protests are confined to the large cities, the rural population has had to face many new hardships. People who don’t work locally can’t get to their jobs. Drivers – truck, bus, taxi, etc. – are out of work. Grocery stores and gas stations can’t restock. Local pulperias (small neighborhood stores) are closed. Those who cook on gas stoves are out of gas and have to resort to cooking outside with firewood. And this being the rainy season, that is particularly unpleasant and difficult.
A barber shop owner said, “Usually everyone gets there hair cut and trimmed nice for the holidays, but this year they are not showing up.”
Two reasons for this, they haven’t been able to work and don’t have the money, or they simply can’t get there because of the closed roads. She says she has loans to pay back and the loss of business has her worrying about losing her shop altogether.
Families are worried about their own survival and do not see an end to the problems any time soon. Their lives have been affected by government corruption for so long. People are saying it runs so deep that only God can help them now. The protesters are causing more hardships for their own daily lives, but they say now is the time for change no matter the cost.
Every year on the 20th of July, schools around the country of Honduras celebrate their national hero, Lempira. He was a warrior in the 1500’s for one of the native people groups, the Lencas. He led the fight against the Spanish armies who were trying to conquer yet another piece of the earth for themselves. Lempira managed to hold off the advances of the Spanish conquistador’s in 1537 for a number of months, and he was able to do this by bringing together and unifying 200 opposing Lenca tribes. He was killed in battle later that year and his people surrendered. But he is regarded as a great native Honduran hero and is celebrated as such.
Combined with this celebration is a day of national identity. Mothers of school children buy new material and hand make dresses for the girls to wear, representing the style of each of the 18 departments, or states, of Honduras. This work by the mothers is a sacrifice of both time and finances. They can spend weeks and over $100 making one dress. They have embroidered designs and painted scenes. The boys wear costumes that may include a white shirt with a red bandana and a cowboy hat, or a loincloth representing Lempira.
There are also samples of food representing each of the departments-another job that falls on the m
others, with the help of their kids. It usually requires working all night before the event to finish every detail.
What a celebration! But now its time to get back to math and science.
Excuse me. It’s time to eat!
Ok. We need more air. Let’s try the fan
Rural Honduras 