I have been in Honduras for over a month now, so I decided it’s about time for a blog. So far so good, although that’s not so say this first month has been without its challenges. Arriving and not being fluent in Spanish is proving to be the biggest obstacle to my work right now, and although I am getting better each day, I am at the same time frustrated, looking for words that don’t come (or don’t come fast enough) and ready to get right in there tackling the work that I came here to do—or rather the work I found out I would be doing once I got here. I should mention though that my co-worker is unbelievably supportive and understanding which makes these moments of frustration disapate quickly. I am so grateful I get to work with such understanding and caring people. 

While in Canada I prepared to conduct qualitative research exploring if membership in agrarian cooperatives in Honduras correlates to an increase in quality of life. I researched, I designed survey schedules and focus groups, and I got my head into a very agrarian mindset so to speak. However when I got to Honduras, I was told that I would be SURPRISE doing something different. I would be working with a counterpart of my NGO (Development Word Service) that deals with environmental issues and protection of natural resources, more specifically in the forestry industry dealing with forestry laws, protected areas and wildlife management. My counterpart MAO (the Environmental Movement of Olancho) is a community based social group that has chapters all throughout Olancho with varying capacities and support. Education and awareness seems to be their main focus as well as trying to gain and maintain momentum. They also have some thorough and wonderfully written laws—however unfortunately they remain unenforced, which is one of the huge issues with within the forestry industry, along with the illegal clear cutting of entire forests.

I am okay with this surprise—I can’t say I didn’t expect things to be different once I arrived, and coincidentally have some personal experience in the Canadian forestry industry, so the switch isn’t too big of a jump for me…now what’s the word for tree in Spanish again? (My Spanish isn’t that bad… it’s arbol). I also moved in with a family, which has been great, for speaking Spanish, for getting to eat authentic Honduran cuisine, and for getting to experience the culture. I found two people to tutor me in Spanish so I have been making leaps and bounds in that area as well, and can’t wait to continue to expand my vocabulary and get a handle on these verbs.

Getting settled in Honduras has been great, but one certain aspect of the culture has been harder for me to get used to as the novelty wears of. The district that I am in is very machismo, and it typical for me to get yelled at, whistled at, blown kisses at, even barked at and all other sorts of great stuff whenever I walk anywhere by boys as young as eight years old! In fact today I was walking to the Central Park area and followed for fifteen minutes by a man on a bike that kept circling me over and over speaking in Spanish and then the only words he seemed to know in English, “I love you baby, baby I love you.” Very original I know. It’s not a huge inconvenience but it is something that I am not used to (on this scale) and I am unable to deal with the situation, as I would in Canada so it’s taking some time to work my head around.

I am beginning to see some of the issues with development work and the collaborative process come to the surface as my partner explains to me after daily meetings that he is very frustrated with the organizations he is working with—they are not seeing eye to eye, and are so far unwillingly to compromise which is having adverse results on their activities and course of action. Also the NGO he works for is undergoing huge administrative changes and the lack of uncertainty and instability—including whether or not his program (or his job) will be around in the upcoming year—has everyone tense and on edge. For now, I will hope for the best, keep learning as much as I can, and hopefully in the upcoming weeks as my Spanish improves I can get some real work done and start unearthing some of the greater complexities with a better understanding.

The other day I had a chat with Jose Luis (my co-worker) about what my goals were for this internship, and what his goals were. We talked for a long time and I think I will have three main objectives, along with continuing to help with the advocacy, conferences, and administrative stuff:

1) Doing research and conducting interviews on the impacts of the illegal deforestation in Olancho by conducting interviews and facilitating focus groups with members of MAO in the different communities they live in.

2) Photo documenting the devastation by getting to go to areas of varying degradation ranging from untouched to completely deforested, and

3) Facilitating a workshop for the Youth Environmental group in Salama (if it goes well possibly other schools), to discuss the environmental issues they are facing in a more interactive way, and to look for ideas that they have that they can implement now. Also to discuss recycling and see if it is a project that can be introduced to their schools.

Of course I need to get better at my Spanish in order to do this, but I hope with the help of some other people I have met in Juticalpa  find someone who wants to be my translator for the interviews because even if my Spanish gets to the point where I feel comfortable with it, I do not want to misunderstand someone while collecting information for research. I am very excited to have been asked to work towards these goals, and can’t wait to see how they unfold. Those are my goals for now…they will likely change fifteen more times (at least) before coming to fruition…O NGO’s how I love thee. 

I have been keeping a personal blog (http://delaneycoelho.blogspot.com/) that I post a little bit more frequently on if you care to check it out.

Until next time
Con esperanza y amor
Delaney C.

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