Honduras: Mateos distribution

From Honduras 2008 Photo Album

19^th September, 2008, Tegucigalpa, Honduras

Today, our SCAW team of six was taken to the village of Mateos, about an hour outside Tegucigalpa. This is a tiny community set in a hilly rural area, with mountains in the background. Some of the mountains looked very like volcanoes but we were assured that volcanoes only erupt in surrounding countries. The countryside consists of lots of scattered homes, most surrounded by gardens (with bananas, a variety of fruit trees, corn, goats, etc) around them, rather than fields. Some of the homes, high on steep slopes or very close to the main road, are very poor indeed.

Our bedkit distribution took place in the courtyard of Escuelo Romulo E. Duron. It was not a large place and the "courtyard" barely contained our activities. The school was tightly secured and we had two quite heavily armed guards. As we are so near to the equator, the overhead sun quickly heated up our place of work and the main street, outside the school barriers, where the children were marshalled by Rotary.

We distributed well over 500 kits, including some left over from yesterday. Virtually all of these were delivered through photographs, each with three children. Those who have helped distribute SCAW bedkits know that this is a highly personal but exhausting process. The personal side makes up for the exhaustion because you get to interact more with the children who not only love the bedkits but also enjoy every stage of the day. They are very curious about Norte Americanos. They often have phrases like "What is your name?" and "My name is ..." that they love to share with us.

Rotaract helpers with bedkits at Mateos, Honduras From Honduras 2008 Photo Album

As is usual here, the distribution school was just the base of acitvities. Children came from far around Mateos, often by school bus but one boy told me that he had walked for an hour and a half.

One of the reasons for the success and buoyancy of this particular distribution was the help provided by members of the Rotaract Club, the young Rotarians. These are bright young people, most with English, who threw themselves into there various tasks with admirable enthusiasm. Their sense of public service, and their pleasure in it, is an example top us all.

The "daily" rain that is a feature of this season here, did not arrive although storm clouds passed around us. A good day!

Peter Adams
for the SCAW Honduras team

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