poco mas

Saturday we went to Mojado, one of the small villages that we will be working with. There, along with the village directly adjacent to them, we do a child malnutrition program. Monthly the kids that are under five are weighed and their height is measured, and the results are tracked, and sent to the doctor at the health center in town.
Since the beginning of this project in February, there have been only two children that needed to seek medical attention, although all of the children were on the lower side of their projected weights. I think this is interesting to keep track of, and would be interesting to see what the results are over the next year that we follow this project. Part of the problem with this particular aldea (village) is that during the rainy season, it is rarely accessible by car because of the treacherous roads that are destroyed by mountain runoff, and it is roughly a 4-5 hour walk from town. There is little land available in this aldea because of its placement on the side of a mountain, and therefore with little growth, no land for livestock to roam and poor accessibility, it means that an often time there is just no food.
I think its hard for me to fathom this type of existence. So many times in the states we talk about people eating to excess and choosing the wrong kinds of food, rather than poor health due to lack of foods. The kids we met have stick thin arms and legs, the mothers roughly the same. Many of the men will leave December through April to work in the fields owned by someone in town, and that is the only source of income for many of these families with their 5 or 8 or 10 children. It is a cause I plan on putting much more effort into.
Another part of my weekend has been going to the children’s mass, which I recently returned from. There the majority of the population is under 10, and all are dressed up in their Sunday best, with their hair freshly combed and their single lempira (the currency here, one with worth 5 cents) in hand for the collection. After some readings and a simply put homily, it is time for the sign of peace, or la paz. Its my favorite part of mass for many reasons, partially because I actually know what to do, but also because of the abundance of love you receive. Children from all parts of the church, whether they know your name or not come running to give you big hugs, and if they can reach, a kiss on the cheek. It lasts just minutes, but it may be the most rewarding two minutes of the day for me. So much of the work we do isn’t rewarded, and of course, that wouldn’t be why we did it if we were compensated, but this is the ultimate reward of all, a simple, free for all type of love, that you receive just by being present, which after all, is what we are here to do.