Visiting Intibuca
March 12, 2008 by adelantefoundation
March 6, 2008
The staff at Fundacion Adelante have made sure that my time as a volunteer has gotten off to a quick start! I hit the ground running in my first week on the job - on my second official day I was at the bus stop at 6:00 a.m. to catch the bus to La Esperanza, the capital of the department of Intibuca. I arrived in the small town at noon, after travelling along winding roads into the hills of this department in Southern Honduras. Intibuca is one of the poorest departments in Honduras, and still has a large population of Lencan people.
After the heat of La Ceiba, it was refreshing getting off the bus to the cooler air of the highlands: La Esperanza is the coolest municipality of Honduras. The surroundings were also very different from Atlantida; La Esperanza is tucked into rolling hills covered in pine trees. Even though the pine trees are a Caribbean species, as a Canadian, they always make me think of home.
The Intibuca office of Adelante is staffed by two dedicated credit officers, who brave the steep, rocky roads around La
Esperanza on their motorcycles to attend the various Asambleas. Another Adelante staff member was visiting, so along with one of the credit officers, the three of us bounced into the hills around La Esperanza in his truck to attend some Asambleas.
We visited four Asambleas in one day, which is quite an accomplishment, given the road conditions, the distance between meeting places, and the time and care the Adelante staff give to each meeting. The Asambleas were held in the front yards or rooms of women’s houses; one was held in a newly built church. Although we were not late in arriving, at each meeting the women were waiting for us to begin their Asamblea.
At each Asamblea, about half the women had brought one of their children. I found my attention constantly drawn to the giggling smiles that lit up their faces, or big the serious eyes that absorbed all that was going on around them. At the afternoon Asambleas, which occured after school got out for the day, we were joined by more school-aged children. These children immediately jumped in to the back of our pick-up truck when we arrived, played marbles in the dust, and asked me lots of curious questions about who I was and when I will be returning.
Unfortunately this visit to Intibuca was a short one, but I look forward to going back to attend more Asambleas in the cool hills around La Esperanza, and to see some of those children again!
A few more pics:
