For Whom the Bell Tolls

A block away from the big church in the square, my tree house is regularly filled with the music of church bells: 7am and 5pm bells to go to mass have created sense of routine in mylife, but the ones that always leave me thinking are the 3pm bells- rung only when a death has occurred in the community. Living in a country where poverty induced malnutrition and violence abound, death somehow becomes more common, maybe even more acceptable for assumed lack of alternative... but for myself, who has been privileged to live in a politically stable, infrastructurally sound country, untimely death is just that... untimely.

While I have luckily only been to a couple of funerals during my time here, many of the deaths I hear of are preventable- young men taken by gang or substance fueled violence, children taken by malnutrition and lack of health care access, and parents taken by increasily common chronic diseases due to consumption of processed foods, coca cola, and not enough exercise. Not often enough does the bell toll for old age...

Today Evelia and I sat down for coffee and ended up talking about the violence here in Honduras. She was recently assaulted on her way to a community and says that she still struggles with how to trust people... the truth is that the assualt was both sad and scary in that it was a main road that all of us take to work in the communties of Orocuina and was less than 30 minutes from the city center. Warning shots were fired, but luckily no one was hurt. We got to talking about all of the different social aspects that create violence: lack of education, lack of employment and income, substance abuse & gangs, and lack of hope for the future.

One of the many roads Evelia walks alone to get to work

And yet... after all of this, Evelia had the most interesting comment. She said, ¨I was so worried coming back home that my husband and my family would say ´You have to stop working with the Association. It´s too dangerous.´ but thank God they didn´t. They said that things happen in life and we need to think positive, thank God we are alive, and continue on.¨ I thought about how I would struggle with telling a loved one something happened to me here for this very reason as well (So far, so good Mom ;) ), but never had the thought crossed my mind that if someone asked me not to do something that I truly believed in, that I would actually have to listen. (If that were the case, I most likely wouldn´t be here...) We got to talking about the value of life and liberty... what makes people risk their lives for things they believe in and whether it´s possible to live a ¨full life¨ while constantly in a state of fear. While there were many questions left unanswered at the end of our conversation, we agreed that faith in ourselves, our work, a higher power, and the inherent goodness of humanity were essential for a a ¨full life.¨ And really, what more could we ask for?

We are not police officers; we are not doctors. We do not directly save lives, but... we do change them. The women I work with make the lives of those they touch fuller, more aware, stronger, and more empowered. They teach others how to save their own lives. The next time you tell someone, ¨Don´t¨ think about your passion, your life, and all you are blessed with. On behalf of all those women who are unable to do any or all of the things they aspire to, I implore on their behalf: ¨I don´t ask you to come with me, I just ask that you let me go.¨

I have been very lucky to have been raised in open and supportive family that allowed me to reach for the stars. Thank you to all who have shared your concern, I know that it is because you care :) Thank you also to all who have supported me, told me I could, and that even if they didn´t agree, they knew how important this was to me and that they would be there... to me, that is love.

**I promise to reduce the number of sappy posts in the future... or at least try ;)**