Immersed

I’ve just returned from an “immersion day” spanning three days, from Thursday through Saturday. In continuing our preparation for volunteer service this activity is intended to allow each trainee the chance to see what a site looks like and have the opportunity to rub shoulders with a current volunteer.

I was fortunate enough to have been assigned to the Department of Morazan, located in the Northeast of the country, high in the mountains which stand as the natural Honduran, Salvadoran boarder. Before arriving in country I had read a bit about the area during the war and was thus very excited to learn it would be my site visit. After hoping buses for roughly five hours I arrived at the assigned site, a relatively small village about two or three miles from the boarder. For the next two days I became the shadow of the humble volunteer who was generous enough to offer his time to take me around for the weekend and participate in his regular activities.

The area is amazing, much cooler than what I have gotten used to in training, as it is another two or three thousand feet higher in elevation. Surrounded by trees, predominately pine trees, the villager are employed almost exclusively by logging. As such, the area is dealing with the problems of deforestation. A lot of the volunteers work has been with efforts to increase awareness of the problems with deforestation and introducing alternate methods of income for families. The village is situated near a major tourist town although it’s well off the beaten path. Roughly twenty to thirty miles from the closest town, accessed by steep dirt roads, the village has been seeking national forestry protection for a considerable section of land in and around the community and preparing a campsite within as a tourist attraction for backpackers.

The volunteer that I was with for the weekend was great. Born and raised in Maine, it was likely no coincidence that he was place in this site. After living with a host family for the first eight months of service he began work on a log cabin. What’s more, he has taken the opportunity to use this cabin as a cheap model for what the community could put together for tourist facilities. Needless to say I was impressed and, as I’m sure one could guess, a bit excited and inspired to do the same. He was enduringly patient, having asked him questions which ran the gamut, and very informative, clearing up many curiosities and uncertainties. While at site I accompanied him to the local grade school to join in assisting the local health official in cleaning the heads of about fifteen kids of lice. We also had the opportunity to help out with physical examinations by recording the children’s weight, height, and conducting vision tests. The work was simple enough, though surprisingly fulfilling.

Overall the experience was completely unlike what I had expected, yet wonderful in its own right. The people of the community were disarmingly friendly and welcoming, the site was absolutely breathtaking and the volunteer very helpful in painting a picture of what to expect. The weekend had succeeded in making me all that more excited to finish with training and begin my volunteer service.