The Day of Building - Day 6

Last night I overheard two students from other university talking. One said. "I see these people and they have none of the things that I thought made me happy. They are so happy, and I just want to figure out why." Profound, and truly a moment for her as she navigates the road to discovery that 'she is enough'. I shared this in our final debrief/reflection tonite. It resonated with a few of them. The staff person did a great job facilitating a conversation about social change. Made me proud to be bringing these Changemakers back to USD.

Today we spent the day on the Architecture Brigade. The plan had been to do a half day there and then a half day seeing the city. The president of the USD group told me that the another university, earlier in the week, had purchased and then consumed hard alcohol on that trip. (There is a no hard alcohol rule at the compound.) From there, the decision was made to cancel future city trips. Ahh - risk management at its finest. Tonite is our "fiesta" - and I am reminded of how much easier life is with just beer and wine. Students have had a drink or two during the week, but all have been responsible. Tonite has been more, but still ok. Some don't drink at all- really, it is a strong model for responsible alcohol use. How do I bring that home? But... that is a different story for a different day.

A few more observations about today...

Everywhere we went on our way to El Canton and Santa Rosa were corn fields. I mean everywhere. The landscape was beautiful.

Billboards are painted on the sides of rock cliffs.
The areas here have coconut trees next to evergreens next to fruit trees. The climate allows for it, I suppose.

Today our work focused on building/furthering the building of a Health Care Center. The community of El Canton is the 2nd to have the complete holistic model of Global Brigades. The pieces are (in order): Medical/Dental; Water; Public Health (which has 4 parts); and Architecture. Having the community commit to creating this Health Care Center/Clinic has now prompted the government to allocate a doctor and nurse to the Clinic.

It is the wet season in Honduras, so some of the roads are not in great shape. Today the incline was too steep and we were unable to get the bus up a hill. Half the bus exited and then half jumped up and down as the driver put the pedal to the metal. Outstanding. It was CLEARLY not his first time with this issue. 

Before we left, a woman brought out a pot of Honduran coffee. Everyone loved it except for this girl. Still tasted like coffee. Weird. We also had an opportunity to tour a home that had just been built across the street from the new Health Center. It was great to be able to see a glimpse further into the culture. At the end of our time, we mixed 5 batches of cement by hand, dug and filled a trench, and built a rebar tower (you're welcome for that unknown skill I had!).

On our way home, we stopped in Santa Rosa to see the school that the Architecture Brigades teams are building with the community. The structure was impressive and had been designed by US students via a contest. The school serves 6 different communities, both primary and secondary and about 100 kids. One of the staff shared that some walk as far as 2 hours to get there each day. The new facility will be amazing - a library with a view of the valley, a computer room, a kitchen and three classrooms.

Tomorrow we head home. I am ready, but so thankful that I came to Honduras.