School has begun again here in Roatan, Honduras for the 2018
school year and as of last Monday, all have had their first day. Yippee!
Each child/teen that has been placed in our path has gone to school
outfitted in uniform, backpack, and at least, minimal materials. Those who
needed transportation have bounced along the road in the bus to and from one of
four schools. From this point, it is up
to the families to continue this excellent start so that each child can have
success this year.
We love to shop at a little shop in the Colonia. Mr. Joel is
extremely good with kids and families. He assists moms with deciding which of the two brands of white shirt to
choose. Various sizes of navy skirts or pants are sorted into clear plastic
bags. For girls, he digs through the bag to find narrow waistband or wide. He locates some size 12 pants for skinny
boys, and size 12 pants for bigger boys.
We like our kids to get two of everything, so that one can be washed and
drying, while the second is being worn the next day.
Undershirts are needed under white shirts,
and also socks. Girls can choose knee highs or mid-calf – white. Older boys can
choose white or dark socks. (I know what I’d encourage!)
It is fun choosing dress shoes. Girls’ shoes are all
beautiful with rhinestones or goldish ornaments, or some with black-on-black
bows. There is regular, suede or patent fake leather. And they are all cheap, lasting at best, half
a school year. We have tried to bring good quality shoes with us, but the kids
want shoes that are the same as everyone else. Ok, got it. Boys’ shoes are not so much fun. Some have laces and some don’t. That’s
it. Mr. Joel entertains as he digs
through the boxes of shoes. We will hear “meow” and giggle as we look for the
kitten, only to find that Mr. Joel is laughing at us. And he makes another “meow”.
Backpacks are the best chance to display individuality. Each student is eager to choose his/her own
backpack and there are plenty to choose from.
Frequently, for kids in the Colonia, they have already walked past this
store, and have seen the perfect backpack swinging from the display outside the
store.
We have always had a special relationship with the people in
this store in the Colonia. Mr. Joel’s boss is eager to support us and we try to
encourage shopping with him. People in
the Colonia contend that the prices are more expensive there, but we always
receive a 15% discount making the prices even better than shopping in town –
without the expense of the bus. Whenever
we can, this is our go-to shopping place.
However, for the real shopping experience, there is…..
Shopping in Coxen Hole
Oh my. Larry and I are just along for the ride with this as
there are as many “right” ways to do this as there are shoppers.
The ride – by bus (mini-bus), from the Colonia to town and
then home, is 20 lempiras ($1) each way, each person. A few times we arranged with Pastor Saul to
drive us into town in his van. One such
trip, Larry was left standing at the gate.
We had anticipated a group of 2 moms, and their 5 kids, plus Saul and
us. When Saul pulled the van around, 3 moms, 6 kids, a baby and a stroller were
in the bus before we walked out the gate. Larry chose to remain behind.
For uniform purchases, there are still the same items. But you can choose to go from tienda to
tienda in the market, go into the heart of the market, or choose the larger-ish
department store. Each mom had her preferred stores so we usually just tagged
along and smiled. Sometimes, when we
shopped we could tell people looked at the families and then at us and the
price went UP. There are many, many good hearted North Americans who take kids
shopping and the store keepers will at times take advantage of these good
hearts. Since we already know what the
price is back in the Colonia, I am not at all above getting into the conversation
if one of our families is not getting a fair deal.
Shopping Money
We preferred to give the money to the moms before the
shopping began, and required receipts if we weren’t overseeing the
purchases. With 1500 lempiras ($75
CA$)), families with younger kids could purchase 2 uniforms, shoes, backpacks
and sometimes some school workbooks and materials. For older students, some parents decided to
purchase one uniform pant/skirt, because the kids also needed to purchase white
running shoes for phys ed. Usually, funds for school materials became the
responsibility of the families.
School materials for kids in grade 7 and up
cost another 1000 lempiras ($50 CA$).
This year, before we came back to Roatan, we had decided that
we would put our school support into providing for busing for a number of kids
that needed to go from our small community of Sandy Bay to the nearby town,
Coxen Hole. This meant that families
would hopefully have sufficient funds from their savings over the three months
since school ended to provide for school start up. Another group had suggested they would be
able to provide some for the Son Rise church group as well as their own group. So,
we felt comfortable not providing funds for uniform and materials purchases.
Obviously, we were dreamers……
It has been a challenging
low-season for many of the families at Son Rise. With the record rainy season stretching over
3 months, and the difficulties with the political unrest, prices for food
increased dramatically. The idea of saving for school start-up didn’t have a
chance. We couldn’t help but worry about
this with the Gartners. Jeanette sent a
note from her home in the US one day “Let me see what I can do here.” Jeanette sent out a note to her
friends explaining the needs. The response was a faith-building
experience. The people here pray, and pray,
and pray. So, provision for their kids was God’s answer. But, for the Gartners,
and in turn us as the go-between we had our socks knocked off! I would be speaking to someone who had a need
for their three kids. That day, or the next morning, I would get a note from
Jeanette saying “got funds for 3 kids”. God
provided just like that – one donation/one request; one request/one donation.
And why are we surprised?!
Shopping with Karla
I saved this unique experience, to share with you last. We’ve known Karla for as long as we’ve been
here. She is the oldest in her family
and is now a confident 16 year-old. She asked if I would go shopping with her
since her mom was working, and her dad is – her dad. We headed off in the
pouring rain to catch the bus. I
can never remember the word for “this is my stop, Mr. Bus Driver. Please stop here.” I
said to Karla “can you get us off the bus?”
And she let out an ear-piercing whistle and then shouted in Spanish “let
us off the bus.” The bus STOPPED. Oh my.
Such confidence this girl has!
It wasn’t the shopping that was the event. I did encourage
Karla to try on every shoe she liked before she made her choice. And she did. But lunch….. I had expected she’d want to go
to Bojangles, a favourite chicken place with everyone here. But instead, she
suggested a location on the Main Street in Coxen Hole. It was my first time to
eat there. Obviously, the pigeons that
joined us were regulars.
I told Karla I’d have whatever she was having. This turned out to be a huge piece of
chicken, with banana chips, cabbage, red onion and tomato. Did I want
mayo? I had assumed that was for the
cabbage. But, that was over all, as was
the ketchup. It was a delicious feast
and enough for at least two! Anyone who knows Karla, knows she likes to eat.
(One of those people who eats lots and never shows it!). But, she was unable to
finish my leftovers. Karla
suggested I take my extra food to the guy scooping leftovers from the nearby
garbage. He in turn offered it to the grandma beside him. Ack! I wish I’d eaten less.
With the ring of the school bell, and the funding ending,
it’s time to tuck the school-shopping wallet away. There are still many
backpacks hanging outside storefronts, but they aren’t calling out to the
students we encourage. These kids are dressed in their uniforms, with backpacks
containing school materials. And not only are they dressed in the required
uniforms, we are excited to see the confident smiles as the kids head off for
another year. Ready or not – here they come!
