As you may know, I've been gone from San Jose for some 6 months now. I miss it. I miss the people, I miss the work, I miss the weather and I miss the purpose. The third year of medical school is a very different beast! Phone calls from friends in San Jose and continued involvement in the projects has helped to keep me grounded.
While the coup which occurred several weeks after my departure had little noticeable effect in San Jose, it disrupted our projects in several ways. Most significantly, due to the coup the medical school banned school-sponsored travel to the country. This prevented the year-long volunteers who were going to take my place from being able to go and also prevented the fall 2009 trip by the Rochester brigade of doctors. Even so, with huge efforts by the Honduran Shoulder to Shoulder staff and a rogue visit by a committed Rochesterian, our efforts have continued with great success. In sum, the last six months have seen:
- The flattening of a hillside to provide a place for the guest house and clinic. This has been 100% achieved by voluntary community labor. Ten people a day are donating a day of work to make this dream a reality for the community. They have self-organized and self-controlled to make this happen in an orderly and successful fashion. Impressive! We are currently fundraising for the two buildings and plan on beginning construction in the spring.
- The construction of a water tank which will be part of the San Jose Centro piped water project.
- The completion of an application cycle for the next class of middle school scholarship recipients, with 13 more students selected for this year.
- The successful completion of the 7th grade by the majority of the first scholarship recipients and their reentry into 8th grade.
- A Spanish/English literacy curriculum designed and given to the local elementary school teachers.
The fact that a coup, a travel-ban and a bad economy haven't stopped us is evidence of the self-initiative of the people of San Jose and the willingness of this organization to find new and creative ways for things to happen in the face of changing circumstances.
The journey goes on. Please continue to check in on the website for updates, and please don't hesitate to contact us/me if you ever would like more information.
To 2010 we go....
mateo
