Wrapping It Up

What an experience El Salvador was! Sorry it took a while to update.

I left the last post ending on us waiting for Sandra to make her garden. On Tuesday, June 7, I helped Roxanne and David, two team members, teach prepositions in the English class that is taught to the locals three times a week at the LDS Employment Resource Service Center. Such a neat experience-the class members were warm and fun.

Wednesday I of course went to el Hogar del Padre Vito Guarato to play with the higher functioning adults/kids--it's hard to get over to the lower functioning adults/kids because the others flock to you when you arrive. Rachel and I co-taught a special ed class on llamas/elephants/hippos as part of a series of classes on animals. The participants are so cute, and it was worth the experience. Some participated actively, but all seemed to be content to color the animals Rachel drew. I have never taught a special ed class, let alone in Spanish, so it was interesting but so rewarding. I will miss not being there with them.

Also Wednesday brought 8 more volunteers to our already crowded apartment, which now totaled 27 persons! Fortunately, we enjoyed this new group, who was eager to work and had fun personalities.

Harrie, Kristen, and I went to Getsemani on Thursday. Sandra had decided she would rather share a plot of land her friend Patti had. It fortunately was a good area with plenty of sunlight, and Patti was very friendly. We asked them what they wanted to do, and at first they told us whatever we saw was necessary. We discovered as we all started digging that there were tree roots. It became apparent as well that as we tried to divide the land into smaller areas given the amount of materials we had to prepare the soil, Sandra and Patti were less than satisfied, as Adan had specified they could use all of it. By the end of digging one spot and transporting the materials needed to mix the soil, Patti and Sandra let us know exactly what they wanted. We therefore decided to let them get the whole soil ready and told them we would return on Monday when we knew how to resolve the problem of tree roots.

Friday was very fun and challenging, since a handful of Help volunteers went to a university to help teach English as part of an English Club there. I ended up teaching three women how to introduce themselves and hold a basic conversation , and it was great to see them write them down. They had a thirst for learning, and I'm glad I decided to have us practice the sentences throughout the time we were there.

I loved Saturday, as many Help members went to Lake Coatepeque, a beautiful, large, and clear lake which had fairly warm water. I spent the bulk of my time getting to know Megan, Mia, and Michelle, all new volunteers. That night, after eating excellent Mexican food near our house, a HUGE rainstorm hit us. Rain on the streets went as high as my calves! Kind of fun, but kind of crazy!

Monday brought both more achievements and challenges. Sandra had decided during the weekend to prepare her own garden at her house, and she made four spaces in her backyard early in the morning, which I did not know about. She seemed to misunderstand Adan on the phone, because she expected him to visit the garden in the morning, when we were actually going to Patti's to help teach her how to mix soil.

As far as Patti's garden, Patti had excellently prepared four spaces complete with a bamboo border during the time we were gone. Thinking it wise to invite Sandra, we asked Patti to bring her over as well as Sandra's cousin Stephanie to watch all of us as we prepared the soil. Then the miscommunication continued as Sandra tried to communicate she wanted the sand and cow dung for free, since she was part of the original garden but was now moving it to her house. I thought she wanted us to do the mixing of the compost later, since she kept saying she and her cousin Stephanie had to go. This was frustrating to me, since I thought it would just be easier for her to watch us mix the compost rather than wait. After some heated discussion, I finally realized what she was asking for and found out later that Sandra's daughter was sick. Patti had been planning to teach them after we left (an excellent sign they are committed to doing this without our help as much as possible). Ha ha! So we finally resolved everything.

After this, we taught Patti many things, among them how to mix sand into her soil, and how to spread a layer of cow manure on the bottom so as not to burn the seeds. I think one of the most important things we did is let Sandra and Patti know we weren't going to provide anything for any one else except creole seeds and chicken wire, both of which cannot be obtained by the community members, and that we expected people to work before they received them. We also made clear we were leaving in August, thus communicating we wouldn't always be around.

Secondly, we gave both of them options so they could use their agency. For example, we gave them the option of receiving creole seeds (which can be harvested but don't guarantee future crops) or hybrid seeds (which cannot be harvested but can be obtained nearby). Both chose creole seeds knowing the pro's and con's of each. Also, I gave Patti the choice of mixing the cow manure in with the sand/soil mix, which would have to sit for a week before planting seeds, or put the cow manure in a layer at the bottom and immediately plant seeds; she chose the latter after I explained it just depended on what she wanted. That is the key to building confidence.

After having given Patti specific directions on how much to dig, how much soil to fill above ground, how to grow plants vertically with what, etc. we left, and then purposefully visited Sandra's garden to praise her for her earlier work. She also did a good job, and she and Stephanie will share that garden. Lots of changes! I have consistently learned that being flexible is one of the most important things when helping others, as well as honest communication on both sides.

My last day, Tuesday, was a day of mixed emotions. Harrie and I went to Pizza Hut to eat delicious waffles (yes, Pizza Hut in El Salvador is super nice and serves breakfast!) Then we went to El Surco in Santa Tecla, a gardening supplier that gave us the radish, cucumber, tomato, and pipian seeds we needed. Sandra on the phone also apologized for her frustration, and we again reassured her we had no idea she was preparing her garden on Monday. I was sad to leave and not see more of the process, but I felt it was my time to leave. Pretty late that night, Harrie and I finally got a great head start on preparing the required project proposal, which must be approved by team members, the country directors, and Help. Harrie felt certain that Kristen, a fellow team member and gardener, would only what to do fun things and not plan, and I could tell she was nervous to lead. I did my best to encourage her and let her know that I knew she could do it and that it would all work out.

And it did. Harrie told me after I arrived home that she went with three other team members and discovered the woman who sells cow dung has a son who can deliver it to those who buy it. This was a great achievement, since community members don't have cars and would have to pay for a mototaxi, a critical sum of money given most don't have jobs. Patti and Sandra's brother went to the woman's place as well, which I thought would be wise for them to know, just in case. Last, Patti prepared four additional spaces on the other side of her garden and told the team she didn't expect us to provide additional cow dung or sand for those spaces. Wow! So as we have been flexible and followed certain principles, such as ownership, self-reliance, and capacity building as well as confidence building, we helped them achieve what they wanted to do. It gives me great satisfaction knowing we tried to go about things wisely, and we never forced ideas on them. They decided they want to learn how to do home gardens and plants vegetables before and while we were there, but never as our own suggestion. They also chose to harvest seeds on their own. I feel confident this, unlike the previous year, will be sustainable. I can't wait to hear about their continued successes, as Help will be there until August.

Thank you for your support and attention to this blog. Thank you, donors, for providing me the means to learn as I did and share these life-changing moments with you. Hopefully you will have changed from this blog, in that you will seek to learn how to help others. I can promise from personal experience it is one of the most important things we can learn while we are here.

Sincerely,
Travis