Mas o Menos - More or Less

The phrase ‘mas o menos’ (more or less) is one of my favourite Spanish phrases at the moment. It captures the essence of the phase of settling down in Honduras in which I currently am. Do I understand Spanish now? Mas o menos. Can I speak Spanish now? Mas o menos. Am I feeling at home here at the Ranch? Mas o menos. Do I know what I am doing in my work? Mas o menos. This phrase gives a sense of certainty and hope that you are on the right track – like every day is a step towards a bit more ‘mas’ than ‘menos’. So what have I ‘mas o menos’ been doing for the last 3 weeks… In short building relationships, working hard and finding a lot of joy in life here despite the numerous challenges I am faced with on a daily basis. Here are some of the highlights…

Three weeks ago, I moved into my own bedroom with my new roommate. This was definitely a step towards feeling more settled after living in a dormitory for the first month. My roommate is from the US but has a pretty incredible story – her mother actually grew up in the original NPH home in Mexico. She recently shared her story on the NPH US page. (Here is the link https://www.nph-newzealand.org/mirandas-testimony). It is a pretty amazing testament to the work NPH has been doing for so many years to have a volunteer now who would never have had this opportunity or privilege to give back without NPH originally supporting her mother. As roommates, we get along very well and are share similar values which has been great. We went to Tegucigalpa together on our last weekend off and had a great time visiting the Jesus Christ 'Picochu' statue above the city as well as eating a really delicious crepe (an absolutely delicious treat that was so appreciated). Here are some pictures of our time.

Another recent highlight has been helping another volunteer organize a morning of games and cake for all the children/youth with disabilities including those in the special education classes with learning difficulties on the ranch. Because I have managed to develop good relationships with the children over the past few weeks, it was very special to see them all together with the caregivers, doing something different and fun. Here are some pictures from that day.

Working so much with the children with disabilities has been very enriching – getting to give them unconditional love as well as understanding their personalities, likes and dislikes. But one of the very interesting challenges to my job has to be the attitude towards disability here in Honduras as well as the rest of the world. Overall, the view of disability is still very negative and that people with disabilities should be hidden from society with general fear of people with disabilities at times as well. While this is slowly changing, there is very limited infrastructure, government resources and education available to provide the support required and educate the general population about disabilities. That is one of the main reasons the population of disabled at NPH has grown significantly over the last few years. NPH is also starting to work in the communities to try and address this challenge, however there is so much more work to go.

On the Ranch the attitude towards disabilities is slowly improving as the population of people with disabilities has increased. For example, everywhere in the ranch there are footpaths that can be used with wheelchairs – which is amazing considering it is literally a farm. One of the new and exciting projects is an inclusive park that will be able to be used by all the children on the ranch including those with every different disability you could think of. The children with disabilities go to ‘school’ during the week – some for an hour a day, others for the whole school day depending on their capacity and behaviour. The children with physical disabilities and mild intellectual disabilities are integrated into the main homes with children. They have recently created a home with more support specifically for those struggling with more severe mental health problems. So it is very exciting and at times challenging to be part of the team working towards making the Ranch and NPH more inclusive and integrated. While there is so much that has been done there is so much more that is possible - we are in the process of looking towards the future for these children and adults with disabilities. Aspects such as: who might be able to work on or support the ranch, what are their long-term needs, and building their independence in all aspects of life that are possible.

As you can read, I have ‘mas o menos’ found my role and place here at NPH and feel so privileged to have the opportunity to work here. Life on the Ranch is full of ups and downs but I am learning to ride them while adapting to the culture and language.

I love reading the comments and messages from all my friends and family. If you have any questions or anything specific you would like to hear more about in my blogs please let me know. I continue to ask for your prayers and please know you all are in mine.

God bless,

Christine