Friday morning, we set out for Danli to meet Jeannie Loving. For people who didn’t know each other very well if at all, we were getting along very well. One member of the group who shall remain nameless (initials RH) has a phobia about eating, very cautious about trying new things. Also very worried about knowing what we were going to do, and was it safe, going to work, etc. This was the kind of a trip where our schedule had to be fluid, and this causes a certain amount of angst for this member. Well, at times more than a certain amount. Luckily nobody complained too much about the driving, which was to say the least entertaining on Honduran roads. Had they complained, I probably would have left them on the side of the road with the cattle and burros which wandered along the shoulder and roadside ditches.
First order of business for the day was a tour of a cigar factory, the Plasencio Cigar Factory. Jeannie had set this up. The owner of the factory was Cuban by birth, and his family had left after Castro. This fellow not only owned the factory, also the 5 farms that supplied the tobacco and the box factory.
A very sharp and pretty young lady served as our tour guide​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​.
She had started out four years ago working on the factory floor. Management recognized her intelligence and enthusiasm and she moved up rapidly through the ranks. She gave a great tour, and was very patient answering a thousand questions from …. well, doesn’t matter who.
The factory was an impressive operation. A couple of pictures will give some flavor of the visit.
Stacking tobacco                                        Likewise
Bales waiting for use                        Rolling cigars
How healthy can this be?                         How did this get in here?
Each cigar is inspected for quality, weight, etc before going to the next room for packing. This was quite an operation. We bought some cigars for gifts, then left the factory for the little community of San Lorenzo. I had been to San Lorenzo last year and left profoundly disturbed by the poverty and the hopelessness of the people. Since then, they had lost most of the season’s crops due to the heavy rains and floods in August, 2008. One positive note was a water well had been drilled since my last visit. Continuing their bad luck, the pump almost immediately broke, so the water had to be pumped by hand, then carried up a long path to the dwellings.
Duane(aka Jeff Foxworthy)Â Â Â Â Â Â 16 years old
5 gallons of water                        Up the trail
The 16 year old in the pictures looks to be pregnant, which wouldn’t be unusual, but there is also the possibility that the distended stomach is due to worms.
Quite a lot of photo opportunities in San Lorenzo, but I was having the same problem I had the whole trip, my apprentice photographer. I would shift slightly to improve a composition, and bump into her, turn around and there would be another Nikon lens pointed at the same target. Can’t blame someone for wanting to learn, I guess.
The most disturbing thing about the terribly poor communities, at least to me, is the hopelessness of life for the beautiful little children. That is the primary reason for my commitment to the ministry there, to help in some way to improve the prospects for the little ones.
You would think in a nominally Roman Catholic country, you would see more involvement by the Catholic Church. I don’t see any evidence of their involvement. Most communities have some sort of a Roman church building, but they apparently rarely see a priest. The Episcopal Diocese, with partners from the US and around the world, is deeply involved, as are organizations like Rotary International. I have said often that the Episcopal Church is practicing 1st Century Christianity, sending priests or lay pastors out to the communities, getting involved in helping improve their lot, and drawing them into the church and salvation.
Roman Catholic Church
Just as I did last year, we all left San Lorenzo deeply touched and in the case of the others, changed. I had already had the experience.
