MRS FOWLERS’ EXCELLENT ADVENTURE
CHAPTER 8
Titled :”What a difference a year makes!”
How wonderful it was to return in October to a home, not a construction site! And…..THE BAR ON THE BEACH WAS TORN DOWN!! The first few weeks were spent putting finishing touches on the house and preparing my community programs.
Mrs. Flowers also found a solution to the problem of having no town garbage pickup. All edible scraps are stored in the freezer until the bag is full and then dumped between the fence bars into the adjacent vacant lot to feed the horses, cows, pigs, dogs and chickens who freely roam the town during the day. In fact, a few horses and cows are very fond of taking a siesta under the trees on the beach while watching their calves and colts frolic in the sand and surf. At night everyone goes home to their various owners.
Integration into the community has been easy and I have several neighbors who are very helpful…..Amalia &Charlie, a retired couple from Texas (she’s Honduran), Susan and Scott of the “Whitehouse” fame, and of course, my watchman Jorge and his family. But my indispensable helpers have been Peace Corps volunteer Johnice Moore, a new grad with a degree in Spanish from North Carolina and Iris Carranza Rivera, a young Honduran from a neighboring village who teaches English classes from her home, is raising a 10 month old daughter and attending university part time. Both women “fell into my lap” by chance and I’m not sure I could have accomplished everything this year without them.
Program preparation
Since the school year in Honduras runs February –October, I had several months to “polish” the Healthy Living school education program. Thanks to the folks from Salud Total the puppet skits were recorded on CD by some very talented members of their church. WOW! How much more professional that made the program! Of course I then had to obtain audio equipment ---just a “normal boom box” was what I had in mind. But oh no, according to the “experts” I needed much, much more. So accompanied by my friend Melvin (Progreso clinic director who is also a musician), plus a man who was once the sound tech for one of Central America’s biggest rock bands, Mrs. Flowers ventured into the world of sound equipment. She now has a system which not only can handle the puppet skits but one which could likely broadcast to the entire city of La Ceiba.
PROGRAMS;
1. The Healthy Living Education program
Armed with wonderful puppets (courtesy of St George’s Church) and constructed by Canada’s Sinnot Puppets, the first school was visited in February to be followed by a different school each week until the end of April (when I return home). Over 2,000 K- Grade 6 students will each have received the two day program consisting of:
. 3 informative skits (relating to dental hygiene, eye safety & healthy living
practices, HIV information)
. distribution of toothbrushes
. fluoride treatments
. eye acuity testing
Each school has had its challenges ranging from flooding to out of control students. Because the scripts are recorded, visitors and teachers are able to take an active role as puppeteers (something the kids love!) Since our goal is to have a long term impact on the children, we believe that revisiting the same schools each year will be critical to reinforcing the message. Each time we make a presentation, we learn more and therefore are continually improving the program. I hope to expand the dental education by bringing down teams of dental hygienists to clean the student’s teeth. Dental care in Porvenir is limited to extractions and no preventative care is available.
2 Women At The Well Discussion Group
This newly developed program began in January with a town meeting to determine what “things” would be of interest. The number one choice was “self esteem”. Each week I have presented a new subject for group discussion. Topics have ranged from serious to “fun stuff “ including:
. nutrition
. self esteem
. prevention/treatment of common family illnesses
. “living with grandma” ( how it affects BOTH grandma and the family)…this discussion was very lively!!
. women’s health issues
. decorating with no money
. importance of communication
. crafts (Mary Kettrick’s picture frame decorating was a huge hit)
. a presentation of CPR by the Honduran Red Cross
. cultural similarities /differences of women around the world
The group is putting together a bilingual cookbook containing recipes of the ladies of El Porvenir, their friends and families….everything from rice and beans to our North American favorites! The cookbook will be the first step into encouraging the local women to have their own small business enterprise. I hope to establish a monthly market where they can sell crafts, cooking, sewing etc to make a little personal cash and help raise their self esteem.,
3 “ The Visitors”
In November Dr Judy Newman, American pediatric ophthalmologist ( from just about everywhere, she travels all over the world teaching and operating), lived at my house and drove into Ceiba every day for surgery.
Florida maxillar facial surgeon Dr Frank DiPlacido, and his wife Noreen, spent a few days with me in January. Frank used my church’s clinic in Ceiba for follow up consultations with some of his surgical patients from June.
Sarah Mangat, a first year University of Western Ontario student, came during her reading week at the end of February. She was a huge help in launching our first school (near Ceiba) of 326 Kindergarten – Grade 6 students
Mary Kettrick (teacher), Cristine Kettrick (child case worker), and Amy Hullah (dental hygienist) left the snowy north and arrived the first week of March in an unseasonal torrential downpour that lasted three days. Well at least they didn’t have to shovel it!!! Classes in all north coast schools were cancelled for two days but being the flexible Canadians that we are, we improvised and still managed to get the two day Porvenir school program done for Grades 2,3,4. Since the school was flooded, we were fortunate to have the use of the conference room in the municipalidad across the street from the school.
Chris and Cristina Fowler (teachers) and veteran Honduras visitor Carol Mayer (retired teacher from Pennsylvania…we met 14 years ago on her first MMI medical brigade) arrived the following week to much better weather! They completed the 610 student Porvenir school program with Grades 1,5,6. Cristina brought a huge mural made by her Toronto Grade 5 class and it is being proudly displayed at the school. Needless to say, I was very excited to have my son and daughter in law see their foreign home for the first time and to actually experience what mom has been yapping about!!!
My final North American visitors this year were from Iowa…Dr Lou Scallon (ophthalmologist), Dr Cosette Scallon (university student center doctor), and their three teenaged sons, Greg, Ben and Nick here on their March break. No holiday here boys!!! Monday’s Healthy Living presentation for Porvenir’s 50 Kindergarten students was followed by an all day medical clinic for the Kinder’s families. Tuesday Cosette discussed women’s health issues at our weekly WATW program, while Lou saw ophthalmic referrals (at my church’s clinic) from local doctors. The next two and a half days were spent at Standard Fruit Company holding a busy, but successful medical brigade for company field workers. Out of the 212 seen, a little over 5% are surgical candidates for the clinic in Progreso. These employees are minimum wage workers and lack the financial means to receive treatment. At noon on Friday, thinking “it was over”, Lou prepared to return to San Pedro to fly back to Iowa.
Not so fast Dr. Scallon!!!!!!
A six year old Grade 1 student was brought screaming into the Porvenir municipal centre. During an argument with another little girl a pencil had pierced her eyeball. It was, I believe, truly a case of divine intervention that put all of us in the right place at the right time. Lou assessed that the child needed immediate surgery, the son of a prominent Ceiba ophthalmologist was with us as a translator, he phoned his father who said to bring her to his hospital, I drove the family to Ceiba where surgery was successful and the eye saved. I can tell you that this is a very poor family who would not have had the means or access to treatment had we not been there; if Dr Ponce had not donated his services and if Lou had not paid for the anesthetist. The good news is that after several follow up visits, “Cindy” is doing well and will not lose the sight of her eye.
My visitors did not work “all the time” and enjoyed some of our local attractions including the Wildlife Centre, scuba diving in Roatan and a trip to the Pico Bonito rain forest.
Once again I want to thank everyone who came to visit and so generously contributed their expertise, support, materials and ideas to my programs. You all helped to make my life easier and also made a positive impact on the lives of the Honduran poor
Thanks also go to the following:
St Paul’s Church Bloor St, Toronto
St George’s Church , Haliburton
George Purvis
John Shaw, President of maxill toothbrushes
Dr Mike Todd
The Durham District School Board
Dr Ponce, La Ceiba
Hope to visit with most of you when I am back in Canada for the summer
Dios bendiga,
Anne Fowler |
