Something to think about

Hello my faithful readers:

I’ve been here in Roatan, Honduras for exactly one week. In the meantime I’ve started to take note of my surroundings…Roatan has more Americans here than on the little island of Manhattan. I kid, but it has been strange to hear so many American accents since I’ve arrived. From what I’ve observed, many of the people who own businesses here (bars, resorts, restaurants and dive shops) are expatriates. I haven’t talked to many of the American expats yet, but I am curious about what motivates them to move here to the Honduras. Life here isn’t as convenient or easy as you’d find in most of the developed, western world.

Earlier this week we went to the neighborhood (Sandy Bay) where most of the kids who are helped by the School of Life (SOL) International Foundation live. It was an unsettling experience for me because the neighborhood was a mix of fancy resorts, nice beachfront homes and the homes of where the kids live. Some of the homes where the kids lived were in such stages of disrepair that they didn’t even look inhabitable to my untrained eyes; all of this was across the street from a luxury resort. Many of the other neighborhoods here (e.g. Coxen Hole) have similar tough living conditions.

I knew that Honduras is the second poorest country in America, but visiting has affected me more than I expected it would. It makes me realize that even my most humble living conditions were more like luxury homes in comparison to the homes of most of the kids who participate in SOL.

The things I’ve taken for granted-- potable drinking water, hot showers, food, shoes and education are all things that are not readily available for the kids that actively participate in the program. This is something that isn’t as easy to ignore when you’re not faced with it on a daily basis. I remember having this same uncomfortable feeling when I was in China earlier this year. How do you reconcile whining about not having the money to splurge for your next pair of the newest, hottest shoes when some kids don’t have any to wear?

The thing that gave me a little hope was seeing the kids have a good time at the SOL Recreation program, despite whatever they were facing at home. Five nights a week from 5-8 PM, the kids can come to the courts (an old unused basketball court that a local resort allows SOL to use) and play. SOL provides them with the space and a few basic pieces of equipment and crafts (e.g. balls, skates, books, construction paper, markers) to keep them from getting into trouble – gangs and drugs are a big problem here.

The most shocking thing was the number of two-year olds who walked into the courts on their own. I just couldn’t imagine as a parent allowing my two-year old to walk the streets by themselves especially at night. In fact throughout the whole evening we only saw one parent come to the courts with her four-year old son.

On the evening that we visited the courts there were about 35-40 kids participating. I saw kids playing fierce games of futbol (soccer) or basketball, drawing pictures and even rollerblading. That evening there was a great deal of ingenuity and perseverance from the kids using the rollerblades; all of them were using just one skate because of skill or simple availability of skates. It was a funny sight, but the kids were fearless and having a ball doing tricks on their self made obstacle courses. It was a humbling experience for me to see that this one little program seemed to give them an escape- a few hours for them just to have a good time.

My hope is that through our efforts we can recommend practical ways for SOL to implement more structure and procedures to the folks at SOL so that they can continue to help as many of the kids as they can. There is so much need here that it’s hard even with an MBA to decide what advice is relevant for the current situation. Resources – financial and human are severely limited for SOL. It’s tough to find suitable volunteers who are willing to spend the time it takes to keep the programs going for more than a month or two at a time.

If you’re looking for ways to make a difference – consider volunteering or donating to a worthy organization. To make a donation or find out about the opportunities to help SOL, click here.