Dec 2

Written by: reh
12/2/2007

Sunday, December 2, 2007

5:45AM Through customs. Waiting to board.
6:30AM Montgomery; boarded plane. Houston on time. Houston; boarded plane on time. Tegucigalpa on time. Slow line through customs. All bags arrived.
1:10PM Met Pr. Schemechel and Jessica after clearing customs. Set up for a rental car. Found a quiet place in the terminal. Went over my concerns about the status of our permitting program with Pr. Schemechel and the importance of his presence at our meeting. He can meet on Friday. He tried several times to contact his lawyer to confirm that he can attend. At a small restaurant and, over a snack, I explained to Jessica what we would go over with Roxana. She understands the situation and believes Roxana will understand my rational. Drove on to Nacaomi. 

An aside: Three years ago there were 3 sixth graders at Andrea Gonzalez, this year there were 13. Three years ago there were 13 fourth graders; they all finished fourth, then fifth, now sixth. In the US school lunch is provided each school day; it is taken for granted. Either the parent, or the State, or a Federal program provide the lunch; only certain administrators know the system. The poor in Honduras are keenly aware of where food (lunch) comes from. Even the 13 fourth graders of 3 years ago knew that L4L provided lunch and that most of them would have dropped out to look for food had the L4L program not been in place. They, and their parents, knew that during fifth grade and sixth grade. They know it now.

Graduating from sixth grade is a big deal. The ceremony is grand (in spirit if not in material items). Each sixth grade class chooses a patron (Godfather). The person chosen as their patron is normally a teacher, local business leader, or government official who has had an influence during their short years of awareness. This year’s sixth graders chose L4L; actually, this is a very autocratic society and they picked the authority figure of L4L. They picked me because they clearly understand that, without L4L, only 4 or 5 would have made it to graduation. They know that L4L has been the most influential entity for their graduation.

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