KB in Honduras: Tierra Blanca

On Saturday afternoon, I went with Omar, Xiomara, and Karla to Tierra Blanca. I wouldn't call it a town, but it is a place about 30 minutes away, up a different mountain, where people live. There is one main dirt road that has houses along it for miles, as well as a one-room school. We went expressly to visit one family. This family lives in a mud/stick one-room house that has no latrine, and the "kitchen" is outside. I'm not sure what the father's work is, but the mother stays at home with her 4 children. Karla was supposed to talk with this family and take pictures for a friend who works in a hospital in Boston. This friend is trying to gather information about the family because their 5 year old son needs help. When Karla was talking about it in Spanish, I am pretty sure she said cerebral palsy, but I do not know enough about this condition to be sure if that is what I witnessed.

When we arrived, the two older boys were playing outside with an old ball, and the little toddler was running around with one shoe. The mother was outside cooking, and inside was the other 5 year old son, in a big crib of sorts. The room had two other beds, nothing else. We talked for a while, asked questions, and observed the little boy. He is the size of a 2 year old and cannot walk or crawl or talk, or eat on his own. The mother said she carries him outside in the mornings for a little while because he loves the sunshine and the air, as we found out when Karla carried him outside. The mother also said that if she has to go anywhere, she just leaves him in his padded bed because she doesn't think anything bad will happen to him since he can't walk or crawl away. When I say go anywhere, I mean the closest neighbor is a mile and half away, and the closest pulperia (little stores in people's houses that sell food/necessities) is two miles away, and of course she has to walk everywhere. It was a really sad situation, and a lot different than how most people live in my town.

The older boys seemed happy enough, and were very respectful when they talked to us. The little girl started crying right before we left and we all thought it was because she hurt her bare foot on the rocks or something. But she was just hungry, so her mother started breast-feeding her. It takes me by surprise every time, but most children breast-feed until about age 2 here, because it is more affordable. They also breast-feed where ever they happen to be; in their house, in the park, walking in the street, even in church. When we left, we gave the mother a lot of money, which she quietly accepted. It was difficult to watch her accept that money because her expression was not happy. But she knows it is more useful to her family than her pride.

A moto-taxi full of boys who all waved and shouted at the cameras.

The better looking houses on the road through Tierra Blanca.

This little boy didn't want to look at the camera. I was trying to capture how old and sad the horse looked.

Our destination. The kitchen counters are wooden tables and planks on top of metal bins outside. They have a fogon to cook with. There is no latrine outside, they just use the wide open land. The house is one room, essentially a bedroom, and it has a door and tin roof.