I have been wanting to write about my experience with the promotoras thus far, so here I go. Doris and David work in the community of Santa Clara and make daily house visits to the people in the 4 caserios. They head out at 8am M-F and work until 3pm with a lunch break in between. We have spent 4 mornings with them and have covered 2 or almost 2 of the 4 caserios. I am grateful that thus far the afternoons in the sun have been avoided because by 12pm the water left in my cantina is HOT and we spend a lot of time in the shade thanks to the graciousness of the people here. We approach approximately 15-20 homes in the mornings and talk to one or two of the adults in the house; majority of whom are women but we have spoken with several men too. The routine seems to be the same at every home. Doris or David introduce us, the families immediately bring us into the shade of their porch or their homes and give us all chairs/hammocks to sit on while they often stand to answer the questions. Their kindness and hospitality are difficult to do justice to in a blog post. The children, mainly muchachos peer around corners and mothers to get a glimpse of us Gringas. We say hello and they reply, but other than that they mainly just watch us. The houses the people live in vary from pretty solid to very run down with trash bag like material on the walls. Like any town, there are sections that appear to be poorer than others.
We first met Doris and David last week on one of our first days in Santa Clara. They spend their days walking around the community talking to the people about health and hygiene and checking the latrines and ventilation systems in the kitchen for safety and good practices. They also spend time giving talks at the schools to the kids. They asked if we were working on the same project that Elizabeth worked on and if we know her. Elizabeth is a former GWU student in the Prevention and Community Health Department of The School of Public Health. She came down to Santa Clara about 5 years ago and did a needs assessment on the water situation here. From there she found funders and created a clean water program that is in the works currently, except now the funders have pulled out. So when the people hear that we are from GW they assume we are with Elizabeth and the water project. They are still hoping to get more funding for this project to continue in fact if you’re in DC this week you should consider this…
***GW students at the SPHHS have been working on a very important project for the past couple of years with Engineers Without Borders to bring potable water to the community of Santa Clara, El Salvador (pop. 3,200). The project is almost complete and a funder has dropped out, leaving the community inequitably connected to the water system. We are holding a fundraiser this Saturday, March 5th from 6:00pm-close at the Laughing Man Tavern at 1306 G St, NW. www.laughingmantavern.com See attached flyer. 5% of sales will be donated to the community and there will be drink specials. Please come and support this community.***
Ok had to plug it. Afterall this is where I work every day now! I have met some very interesting (no this is not my Innnteresting that I say when I am trying to be polite but let you know how I really feel) this is legitimately interesting and inspiring people. We came up with some nutrition questions to talk with the people about in hopes of helping us complete our Environmental Analysis for school. We have since found out that we cannot use this information in our deliverable, but we are enjoying getting to know the community none the less. Many of the people we speak to have very similar lifestyles; a large family size, mother tends to the home, father goes off to work, and their diets consist of rice, beans, fruit (when its growing in the area), eggs, chicken, meat, and sometimes vegetables. Almost all report drinking a lot of water every day! When we ask the people what they would buy if they could afford more food they say, more food in general for their families and some variety in beans, rice, and vegetables. Wow is this different from our society. I know that mothers want to provide a nutritious diet for their families and only want the best health for their children, but I was surprised at the simplicity of the answers. I guess I was naively expecting the “comida chatarra” or what they call junk food; maybe more bread, or crackers, or cookies, things I think, we as Americans, often want and miss when we don’t have them. For instance, I have been craving chocolate and peanut butter. Those are the 2 foods that I miss pretty much daily. Oh and hot sauce…can you believe the Salvadoran diet is not spicy?!?!
We have also been asking questions about their family’s health. Several women have gone to tears when discussing the struggles they are facing. I feel as though the rich history of El Salvador is lost on many people, including myself before coming here. From 1980-1992 the country was engulfed in a violent civil war whose ramifications still impact the people today. Most families receive remittances from their relatives who live in other countries, particularly the US so that they can survive. Many towns were forced out of their homelands during the war and were forced to find new places to resettle. On top of the war, a huge hurricane destroyed thousands of homes in 2001, many of which remain in the same state as they were in 9 years ago. On our trip to Usulutan last week, Leonel pointed out several of those homes in the town beside Santa Clara. The people of Santa Clara tell us their greatest worries are the economy (which has suffered with the fall of the world economy), the health of their children, their children’s education, and whether or not they will have enough money to buy food to feed their families every day or to take their children to the doctor when sick. These are real concerns and real pain that we see in these people over the four mornings spent with them. It is very difficult to just talk to them and then walk away not know IF and WHAT may be done for them to make their lives better. Ideally I would love to jump in and start a program or start working to lessen their struggles tomorrow, but realistically I know this is not how changes work. Change takes time, and money, and a team of people to actually implement and evaluate the program developed. Despite the reality, my experience with these people is real and this is the type of work I am invested in.
As of today we may be changing our project some depending on the revised TOR (SPHHS people you know) we are getting on Thursday. For those of you not in public health the TOR is our Terms of Reference that states our goals and activities here. We have had some logistical issues since arriving and are hoping to figure it all out soon so we continue on a path good for us and the people of Santa Clara. This is a new placement for my program so we are experiencing some hurdles but I hope they will be figured out along the way.
Funny (?) side note about the promotoras… from the first day that we met Doris and David, Doris kept telling us how David is single. We all just laughed and chatted about a bunch of things…no big deal. And keep in mind that this is a very small town where EVERYONE knows the daily activities of the Gringas. Well the other day Kayla had a dream that I was pregnant (AHHH) and she and Felicia were helping me deliver and Becca you were there too. She made no mention of a father. It was only a story about me trying to give birth and Becca taking me to a clinic. So she was telling us about her dream in front of Doris and David and the first thing Doris says is “Oh its David’s baby” and is cracking up laughing and saying it again. I think the rest of us all have this “um ok this is uncomfy but maybe we should laugh” so we laughed. My first thought was ok just a joke but Doris will probably tell this dream to someone and we will just watch it grow into a HUGE story as it spreads. The girls also had this same thought… I guess we will see at the town meeting tomorrow.
I have lots more to say about the weekend but will save that for another post. If anyone has a good story I want to hear it!
Love to all,
Nicoley
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