Sugar Cane, A Visit,and Some Easter Eggs (Month 9.5)

In this region of the Dominican Republic, and here in my little town of Montellano (population reported at 10,000) and in the surrounding smaller communities we've had 90% un-employment for the past 7+ years since the main employer, the local Montellano Sugar Cane Refinery, shut down, with no employer to replace it. Since then, with a lack of other employment opportunities in the area, communities full of fathers who are cane-cutters, cane-factory workers, truck drivers, etc, have struggled to feed their children. Some young adults who are now married, were in middle school when the sugar cane refinery closed. They've grown up, finished school (if their unemployed family could afford to buy their books and uniforms) and even gotten married and had childen of their own, without any hope of jobs, watching their fathers, uncles, and friends try to eak out a living with part time labor, for most of these young adults' lives. This is one big reason why HHI (www.hhidr.org) the organization that I work for chose this region. The lack of proper health care for poor families here has been a serious problem for years.

But now...there is more hope. It started as a trickle, a rumor, the same rumor that has been circulating (without a shred of truth) for 7 years or more; the rumor that "someone" was buying the sugar cane refinery and would re-open it and provide jobs. Now, it turns out that an American Company has purchased the plant and intends to make Rum (which is made using sugar cane.) They plan to provide hundreds of jobs, and to build a health clinic which will likely collaborate with HHI in some of the health work we have been doing here. So, our little town's situation is changing a bit, and with it, HHI's work will change and adapt. We're excited to see what will happen! The sugar cane refinery is pictured above in it's current rusted, abandoned and boarded up state. We look forward to watching it come to life again... Thank God for Sugar Cane!

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This Easter season my friend Karin Shank came to visit me. I was delighted to have my first visitor from the U.S. since I moved here to work with HHI last June, 2011! I took the week off from work and we went to the beach, I showed Karin the local places of interest, and we visited my friends and co-workers in several of HHI's partner-communities. We introduced the American Easter tradition of dying and hiding eggs to the extended family of one of my co-workers, Dania, a Community Health worker in Pancho Mateo. It was great fun. We started with 3 colors but most of the eggs ended up being green or blue - and so did most of our fingers.

The adults -- who had never seen such a game before -- had a great time hiding the eggs, and the children ran full-speed to go find them. I've never seen such a rough and tumble, full contact, Easter Egg hunt in my life! : ) Once each child had secured an egg, they all immediately ate them and moved on to a happy game of Dominoes, the Dominican national table game. It was a wonderful afternoon!

We tried to go to a candle-light catholic Easter service outside in the center of town with this same family the next night, but unfortunately it was cancelled on account of rain.

Also this week Karin and I went to HHI's farthest away community Arroyo de Leche. We visited two of my community health worker friends/co-workers of mine who live up there and learned more about Dominican Easter foods! We had to get off the motorcycle and hike up the one hill because the severe rains the week before had washed out too much of the dirt, making the road impassible. Below are photos of our time in Arroyo de Leche.

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Cooking HABICHUELAS CON DULCE at Mercedes' House.

This special Easter dessert that everyone eats here during Easter week is made from sweetened brown bean juice with cookies floating in it. Karin and I went up the mountain (4o minutes on a motorcycle) to learn how to make it from my friend and co-worker, HHI community Health Worker Mercedes, in her home in the Campo.

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This Purple seeded fruit is Cacao fruit, which when dried and ground into powder makes cocoa to make chocolate! This, and bananas, and other fruits and flowers grow in my friend and co-worker Corina's garden high on the mountain in Arroyo de Leche. Corina's the woman in the white clothes with the tall plant. : )

Here's Karin and I in the garden. I love all of Corina's plants and try to visit her garden and her household of kids every month!