Monday, November 5, 2007

What is Leptos




Kai and I have officially completed our first week in El Menco, and it has been slow going. We haven’t ventured out into the community very much, which is spread among 4 sectors along the beach. On Saturday we were supposed to travel to a small island to visit a community and educate them about a bacterial virus that is killing people. The big wooded boat was loaded with nurses, and there wasn’t room for us. We watched as teenagers made themselves some notecards and headed out into different parts of the community for the day, educating people house by house. Today I went swimming with one of the girls who was a part of the activity, and she went down to the beach without her shoes, one of the things that she just told others not to do. She laughed and said that she didn’t like to wear her shoes, which are flip flops- what everyone in this fishing community wears. The other night there was a major fish kill in the lake, and when we went for a swim, we were surrounded by dying fish. The water stank, and the kids were all just plucking the fish from the water to cook. They said it happens, but wasn’t common. This morning there were dead fish all along the beach. I’ve seen larger kills before in Lake Erie, and it’s very surreal.

Kai and I travel to the colonial city of Grenada tomorrow, which is gorgeous, despite having been burned down several times and rebuilt. We are looking forward to getting out of our community for a bit, and getting some variation in diet. I’m hoping to eat some greens, which are very rare here. Our staple diet includes red beans, rice, and a variation of plaintain, eggs, or bread. Breakfast lunch and dinner!

I am hoping to meet with members of ANF tomorrow or Tuesday as well. I’ve been having difficulty knowing where to begin with my project, as the Millinium Village Project was not explained to the community before I got here. Thus, the community has no knowledge of what I’m working with as far as the big picture goes. They don’t want to be a Millenium Village, because they don’t know what one is. It’s hard to work under these circumstances, and I’ve asked from some support from ANF. Hopefully we’ll be able to get a day long workshop with the leaders of this community. I’m learning more about ANF’s work as I’m here. They’ve only been working in this community for the last year and a half from what I understand, and have provided over 120 houses and many more latrines to families in need. The mayor of this province decided who got the houses, and it has caused some frustration in the community for those who didn’t get houses. I am feeling that perhaps because of such a short working relationship in the community, people may not be interested in working with me unless they are benefiting in some tangible way. I will write when I know more. I was hoping that this village had been introduced to the idea of Millenium Villages before I arrived, and was aware of what was involved, but there is much work to be done yet…

1 comment:

Gumpa said...

Elizabeth, Kai,

Wow, sounds like you've been thrown into the deep end. The trip may be different than you expected/hoped, but it sounds like all your experiences will contribute to a rich education, the kind you'd never get up here.

Please be careful, we need you back safe and sound.

Kent