We FINALLY got to go out to el campo today! As I mentioned in my last post, we were supposed to spend three days out there but that was before the biggest, most intense thunderstorm of my life. That lasted. TWO. DAYS. I would have been willing to brave the weather but the roads out there were trashed, so no dice.
But today, Fabi and I headed out! I got to interview families and water committee members about the water systems -and folks, I did this all by myself :) Etta Projects put in an expansive water systems in four villages a couple of years ago and it was amazing to hear how having clean, accessible water has changed these families' lives! One young mother told me that she used to have to carry gallon after gallon back to her house from the pump -in the blazing heat. I don't know if she took her young children with her or left them at home by themselves but either way, not a good situation. Now, all she has to do is walk out her front door and turn on her facet! So great.
It was soon after this visit that I ran into a man on my way to the next house. Fabi told me she was going to go find the president of the water committee so when this guy approached me, I assumed it was him. And then just in case it wasn't him, I asked him if he was the president of the water committee. He says yes and proceeds to tell me how he's in charge of blah, blah, blah. I'm starting to notice that he has a really strange accent...like he's slurring his words. And I'm thinking, "Shesh, this guy is going to be really hard to understand for a whole interview." But I've had some difficult interviews before so I ask him what he thinks of the water system. He thinks for a moment...and starts talking about my pink hat. Yikes. "Am I really that hard to understand??" At this point, Fabi waves at me to come from farther down the street. So I tell "the president" to hold on for a moment. Fabi tells me he's drunk. And I feel stupid. But HE TOLD ME HE WAS THE PRESIDENT. Gah. So dumb!
After I interviewed the REAL president, it started to rain, really hard. And then there was thunder and lightening and wind. Fabi was worried about us making it back into town. Remember all that dust I talked about earlier? (See here -Oooo look, I got so fancy posting a link!) Well, it turns the roads into the equivalent of butter and our truck has a hard time churning through that stuff. We booked it out of there really fast.
On our way out, two soldiers ran out meet us. And I'm thinking that a Bolivian prison sounds like a miserable experience (although it would be a great blog entry!) but they just want a ride into town. So they hop in the back. "Eeeeexcellent," I think. Not because I enjoy a man in uniform (and shesh, I have a boyfriend people!) but because if we get stuck -they can push us out!
But we didn't get stuck, and we all made it back to town were I ate the best piece of chicken in my entire life. And we all lived happily ever after until the next blog post.
Showing posts with label El Campo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label El Campo. Show all posts
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Los Filtros de Agua
One thing (among many) that I love about Etta Projects is that we are a Bolivian organization, almost completely run by Bolivians. My Bolivian coworkers really take a lot of pride in this and are quick to correct anyone who says otherwise. It is so important to me to work for an organization that incorporates the input and opinions of local people. It makes no sense to come into a country as knight is shining armor, pretending to know what these people need and want, when you have never experienced what their daily life is like.
Anyway, I said all that to say that whenever I go out to survey people, I try to have a local health promoter go with me. This helps with many aspects of the work that I do here, but also leaves the people someone in the community with a connection to Etta once I go home. Plus, I honestly need the help!
My promoter for the water filter project was Dona Victoria and our goal was to visit at least five families in the town, El Rodeo. I was disappointed that the first few families were not using their water filters at all because the handle on the faucets were broken or the bucket portion of the filter was cracked.
To be completely honest, sometimes I have a hard time not judging some of these families. I know that life in el campo is hard but some families take better care of their belongings and children than others. Mirna (the secretary here and my Bolivian mother) says "es un problema de caracter" -a problem of character.
One family in particular was living in horrible conditions. There were dogs, and garbage all over -even chickens in the beds! The children were half naked with snotty noses and the baby's eyes were caked with dirt and flies. This family's water filter was completely disassembled and the mother of the family didn't seem like she cared about anything. It's not my place to judge -I don't know what her life is like or how she grew up but I do pity her children. And really, I pity her as well because you must have been through hell to be that defeated. Sometimes I think what people need is hope, and that doesn't come out of a water filter. Although I could say a few things about the Living Water.
It was at this house that one of the family's dogs jumped out and bit Mirna (who went with me).
I was ready to hit the dog over the head but Mirna just shrugged and said, "It's a good thing I'm wearing jeans!" And everyone else acted like nothing happened! I. Was. In. Shock. But I'm always trying to be culturally aware so I tried to hide my horror over what happened. And I think I failed.
Despite families like this one, there were some families that were still using their filters, which is pretty good considering that they received them over a year and a half ago. One family in particular was just the cutest. The young mother was so proud of her water filter, even pouring us a glass so we could try the water. She raved and raved about both her filter and her new bathroom. It was really encouraging! Hopefully, her little boy will grow up healthy and with better opportunities! With the right tools -and enough hope- I know that all the families in el campo could have these results!
Anyway, I said all that to say that whenever I go out to survey people, I try to have a local health promoter go with me. This helps with many aspects of the work that I do here, but also leaves the people someone in the community with a connection to Etta once I go home. Plus, I honestly need the help!
My promoter for the water filter project was Dona Victoria and our goal was to visit at least five families in the town, El Rodeo. I was disappointed that the first few families were not using their water filters at all because the handle on the faucets were broken or the bucket portion of the filter was cracked.
To be completely honest, sometimes I have a hard time not judging some of these families. I know that life in el campo is hard but some families take better care of their belongings and children than others. Mirna (the secretary here and my Bolivian mother) says "es un problema de caracter" -a problem of character.
One family in particular was living in horrible conditions. There were dogs, and garbage all over -even chickens in the beds! The children were half naked with snotty noses and the baby's eyes were caked with dirt and flies. This family's water filter was completely disassembled and the mother of the family didn't seem like she cared about anything. It's not my place to judge -I don't know what her life is like or how she grew up but I do pity her children. And really, I pity her as well because you must have been through hell to be that defeated. Sometimes I think what people need is hope, and that doesn't come out of a water filter. Although I could say a few things about the Living Water.
It was at this house that one of the family's dogs jumped out and bit Mirna (who went with me).
I was ready to hit the dog over the head but Mirna just shrugged and said, "It's a good thing I'm wearing jeans!" And everyone else acted like nothing happened! I. Was. In. Shock. But I'm always trying to be culturally aware so I tried to hide my horror over what happened. And I think I failed.
Despite families like this one, there were some families that were still using their filters, which is pretty good considering that they received them over a year and a half ago. One family in particular was just the cutest. The young mother was so proud of her water filter, even pouring us a glass so we could try the water. She raved and raved about both her filter and her new bathroom. It was really encouraging! Hopefully, her little boy will grow up healthy and with better opportunities! With the right tools -and enough hope- I know that all the families in el campo could have these results!
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
El Campo and the F-Bomb
Yesterday, Fabi, Guillermo, Marco, Helen and I headed off to el campo (the country) for a community wide sports day. At first, I wasn't sure I should count this as hours for my internship but after the day was over, I came to the conclusion that my view of Community Health work is too narrow. At first, it doesn't make sense that a sports day could be part of Community Health but yesterday I saw six villages come together to compete, cheer, and afterward give each other rides home on their motorcycles. This was, without a doubt, community building and you can't have Community Health without a community. Fabi said that these communities used to have a "fend for yourself" attitude but through the work of Etta Projects, they are coming together to create something stronger and better.
I love el campo. It may not make sense, because honestly, it is really dirty, really hot, and really dusty (not to mention that there are dogs all over -ugh) but I wish I could go out there everyday! The kids there are just the best. I was able to bring a frisbee all the way from the states and the kids had never seen one before! I hope you all get the chance to introduce someone to one of your favorite things in the world because it is the best feeling ever! I had to teach them how to throw it and even how to catch it! I think they thought it was a plastic plate when I first brought it out. You should have seen their faces when I threw it across the field! I felt like the Michael Jordan of frisbee with the way they were cheering :) When I left, all of them asked me when I was coming back and would I POR FAVOR (please) bring "el fisbe" with me?
Other memorable parts of the day would be riding un moto (motorcycle). I have wanted to do that since I've been here and yesterday was my first opportunity. A nice young man named Roberto took me on a little tour of the village and it was exhilarating. I made all the kids laugh when I put my arms out and waved them like I was flying. Sometimes, you just have to make a fool of yourself to experience something to the fullest, you know?
In other more embarrassing news, yesterday I managed to drop the f-word and also said that I was sexually aroused -all within in the same hour. It was a language thing, and I realized what I had done as soon as I said it but the damage was done and I left all my coworkers howling with laughter. In the future, I will remember to use a different verb for "catch" and to say that I feel hot, not that I am hot. Lessons learned, folks!
To end the day, we got invited to eat with the patriarch of a village called La Patria. It is a very humbling experience to know that this man, whose house most Americans wouldn't even camp in, is sharing his food with you. His granddaughter served us coffee and cheese, while I fervently prayed that I wouldn't do something stupid, the memories of the f-bomb experience still fresh in my mind!
Other good memories include: Holding my first Bolivian baby, driving the truck by myself through el campo, and translating the Fight Club into English for my coworkers. And just in case you haven't noticed yet, I still like it here! I got to start interviewing families about their water filters today, which I will describe in detail tomorrow (are you getting tired of me pulling these Ryan Seacrest moments?). I'll leave you with the teaser that someone gets bit by a dog.
Ugh. Dogs.
I love el campo. It may not make sense, because honestly, it is really dirty, really hot, and really dusty (not to mention that there are dogs all over -ugh) but I wish I could go out there everyday! The kids there are just the best. I was able to bring a frisbee all the way from the states and the kids had never seen one before! I hope you all get the chance to introduce someone to one of your favorite things in the world because it is the best feeling ever! I had to teach them how to throw it and even how to catch it! I think they thought it was a plastic plate when I first brought it out. You should have seen their faces when I threw it across the field! I felt like the Michael Jordan of frisbee with the way they were cheering :) When I left, all of them asked me when I was coming back and would I POR FAVOR (please) bring "el fisbe" with me?
Other memorable parts of the day would be riding un moto (motorcycle). I have wanted to do that since I've been here and yesterday was my first opportunity. A nice young man named Roberto took me on a little tour of the village and it was exhilarating. I made all the kids laugh when I put my arms out and waved them like I was flying. Sometimes, you just have to make a fool of yourself to experience something to the fullest, you know?
In other more embarrassing news, yesterday I managed to drop the f-word and also said that I was sexually aroused -all within in the same hour. It was a language thing, and I realized what I had done as soon as I said it but the damage was done and I left all my coworkers howling with laughter. In the future, I will remember to use a different verb for "catch" and to say that I feel hot, not that I am hot. Lessons learned, folks!
To end the day, we got invited to eat with the patriarch of a village called La Patria. It is a very humbling experience to know that this man, whose house most Americans wouldn't even camp in, is sharing his food with you. His granddaughter served us coffee and cheese, while I fervently prayed that I wouldn't do something stupid, the memories of the f-bomb experience still fresh in my mind!
Other good memories include: Holding my first Bolivian baby, driving the truck by myself through el campo, and translating the Fight Club into English for my coworkers. And just in case you haven't noticed yet, I still like it here! I got to start interviewing families about their water filters today, which I will describe in detail tomorrow (are you getting tired of me pulling these Ryan Seacrest moments?). I'll leave you with the teaser that someone gets bit by a dog.
Ugh. Dogs.
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