Roots & Wings International

In the recent past, my husband Oscar, my family of 3 children (at the time; there are now 4) and I moved to Honduras for a job opportunity. We went to live in Choluteca, a city in the southern part of Honduras, near the Pacific coast. This was a very interesting time for us, which allowed us to make new friends and experience new cultures. At the same time, our eyes were opened even further to the great necessity in Central America. Oscar and I had lived in Colombia (his native country) just after we got married, and of course also know that great need exists there and all over, even in the US. During our two years in Honduras, though, we had daily reminders that we were in one of the poorest countries in the western hemisphere and even the world.

My perspective as an American surely shines through my observations, and also makes me mindful of all the benefits of having been born in this country. There are so many things that we take for granted that you cannot just assume will be available there: potable water, running water, fresh food, security in your home and in the street, paved roads, roofs that don’t leak, and public libraries and transportation, just to name a few. And that is for those of us who are doing fine economically and socially.

The things that those who live in poverty cannot count on include all that I mentioned above, along with showers, toilets, water tanks, city water, basic utilities, beds, and even doors and windows for their homes. Not to mention basic nutrition, health care and of course, public education.

My personal experience was that every day I felt a great preoccupation with trying to help in some way, and on a personal level we were able to make small contributions to some people that we had direct contact with. After moving back to the US it became even more difficult to find a tangible way to contribute. The daily contact was no longer there, and my life as a mom of three and then four children  became (and continues to become) more complex as they grew. The ideal of finding a way to help in a measurable way seemed more out of reach than ever.

Recently I came to hear about Roots and Wings International, and was very happy to find that they do good work and also look for volunteers to help them in their projects, and then actively find ways for those volunteers to put their skills to use. This is the first step in starting to help–OK, I’ll say it–create a better world. Call me an idealist, but I do believe in the concept that each person can make a difference. Finally, I’ve seen that RWI takes that concept and couples it with action, and that is the key to effecting change.

I’m going to begin this blog by reflecting on my observations and experiences from when we lived in Honduras, and then I’ll see how it develops. For today I’m signing off, and next time I’ll put down on (virtual) paper some of the thoughts that have been bouncing around my head for years now.