So, my laptop has taken a turn for the worse here in "The Savior", so its been hard to update the blog with the pics as normal. I have all the fotos saved on my external harddrive, but its hard to keep taking it to the main town to send everything off, or updates and all that jazz. I hope that its just a software problem (doubtful), because if its not my video card is slowly dying what seems to be a more and more painful death (for me). But in the end, Im sure it will make me a better person because working without a computer is hard!!! Living without a computer, not too shabby, but working without one, makes things interesting. The disks to try and reinstall everything should hopefully come in soon, so we´ll see how bad it is soon.
If I get a chance sometime in the near future I will try and upload some of the pics to the previous post with the external.
In other news, it is official, we finished the Peace Corps Partnership grant and supposedly the money is on the way. THANK YOU to all who participated, and I hope that you continue to help out with some of the last projects that I mentioned in the previous post.
If anyone ever has any questions... look me up on skype at rhett.williams.
This quote is from the Patron Festivals program that we just finished making for our community festivals of Santo Domingo de Guzman, coming up Aug 1-8.
"A man who governs his passions is master of his world. We must either command them or be enslaved by them. It is better to be a hammer than an anvil."
St. Dominic, 12-13 Centuries
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Thursday, July 9, 2009
July 4 and June Recap
July 11, 2009
I think today is my sister’s anniversary, Happy Anniversary!
Hmmm…. Well in the last month, we have completed our 10th eye surgery with in which between the 10 we have gotten the prices reduced by close to $3,000. Good stuff.
My stove project has come to a crawl right now because the only truck of the mayor’s office broke down, as well as the trash truck. So my transport for the materials is based on these two, so that has made things hard (impossible, without doubling prices). I only have three communities left to finish off, so I hope I get there in the next few months, I am ready to finish this project, it’s very time consuming.
Oh yeah, so we are trying to apply in our community to make our water system better so that everyone can have water. A fund came open in Spain, but we only had a week to get all our ducks in a row after it came open, but we made the deadline, although maybe with not as much quality as possible. We find out in the beginning of August, very exciting. Its over a 35k project and will affect over 2,750 people. We are also trying to collaborate con WaterCharity (watercharity.org) to put water in the parish medical clinic in the main town that provides two days a week and weekend service with free medicine for not only our municipality, but the surrounding one’s as well (Some 30,000 people). They average 35-40 consultations a day, charge 3 dollars a consult, and the prescribed medicine comes free (general medicine and dentistry…the doctors are really good guys).
Let’s see, we are trying to raise another $200 to reach the goal of $400 dollars to buy a megaphone to post at the top of a building in the middle of our canton(village). It is a really long (4-5km) town going down a ridge, so it’s hard to get announcements out for whatever reason, so we’ve decided that’s the best way to go. They are going to put in all the manual labor, and I have some leftover donation money, but that still leaves us 200 short (amplifier). This will be in coordination with the community event boards that are contemplated in the Community House fund on the website below.
Also, we are soliciting help supply paint and stuff for some local painters to do a map of the village at the entrance and to spiffy up the Community House with murals of cultural stuff, after we finish with the Peace Corps Partnership grant and repaint the thing!!! As far as the donations go to the partnership, HOLD ANYTHING you were going to donate! Supposedly as of today we have filled the cuota, but I can't verify til Monday. VERY EXCITING, if you were going to donate and haven't got around to it, wait a few weeks, we have a few things that will be coming up.
In other news, our Patron Festivals of Santo Domingo (Saint Dominic of Guzman) for my community are coming up in the first week of August. Preparations are ongoing…very exciting.
On a darker note, we had some deaths in the community, back to back actually. One was my counterpart’s mom and one was my neighbor’s grandson. Very sad. The photo will be my last words on that.
On a closing note, I have been coordinating with the scholarship committee to give the high school students tests on deciphering their career path/vocations. The exams took FOREVER to grade and put in order, but then we gave the results and now we are going to invite a group of professionals for a type of career day to talk with them all so that they can make educated decisions and all that jazz for careers. I hope it all pays off.
July 4 went well and we had our Peace Corps soccer tournament where my program had a very strong showing. The little house where we stay when we are in the capital, not for Peace Corps, then threw us a very nice little hamburger hot dog party that was SUPER tasty.
So yeah, that’s what I got right now, kind of here and there, but a little bit of info on everything.
“I have said it already, I am convinced that the way to build a new and better world is not capitalism. Capitalism leads us straight to hell.”
Hugo Chavez
Making the new entrance to the store next door
The other part of the entrance
The Mass where all of the Diocese came to San Pedro to celebrate the end of the Year of St. Paul
People in the street
Our doctor at the Parish Clinic
A patient of the dentist at the parish clinic, haha
Our pharmacy
People waiting.
We had an awards ceremony for the important donors and contributors to our scholarship program here.... This is Aaron´s, the previous PC Volunteer, parents receiving a painting by one of our scholarship students
Aaron receiving a plaque from of our scholars
The honorees left to right, Linda Redman, Aaron Redman, Charles Redman, Tony Gasbarro (Project Salvador), Sergio Orellana (Mayor), Padre Tino, Mirna de Barillas (board member).
I think today is my sister’s anniversary, Happy Anniversary!
Hmmm…. Well in the last month, we have completed our 10th eye surgery with in which between the 10 we have gotten the prices reduced by close to $3,000. Good stuff.
My stove project has come to a crawl right now because the only truck of the mayor’s office broke down, as well as the trash truck. So my transport for the materials is based on these two, so that has made things hard (impossible, without doubling prices). I only have three communities left to finish off, so I hope I get there in the next few months, I am ready to finish this project, it’s very time consuming.
Oh yeah, so we are trying to apply in our community to make our water system better so that everyone can have water. A fund came open in Spain, but we only had a week to get all our ducks in a row after it came open, but we made the deadline, although maybe with not as much quality as possible. We find out in the beginning of August, very exciting. Its over a 35k project and will affect over 2,750 people. We are also trying to collaborate con WaterCharity (watercharity.org) to put water in the parish medical clinic in the main town that provides two days a week and weekend service with free medicine for not only our municipality, but the surrounding one’s as well (Some 30,000 people). They average 35-40 consultations a day, charge 3 dollars a consult, and the prescribed medicine comes free (general medicine and dentistry…the doctors are really good guys).
Let’s see, we are trying to raise another $200 to reach the goal of $400 dollars to buy a megaphone to post at the top of a building in the middle of our canton(village). It is a really long (4-5km) town going down a ridge, so it’s hard to get announcements out for whatever reason, so we’ve decided that’s the best way to go. They are going to put in all the manual labor, and I have some leftover donation money, but that still leaves us 200 short (amplifier). This will be in coordination with the community event boards that are contemplated in the Community House fund on the website below.
Also, we are soliciting help supply paint and stuff for some local painters to do a map of the village at the entrance and to spiffy up the Community House with murals of cultural stuff, after we finish with the Peace Corps Partnership grant and repaint the thing!!! As far as the donations go to the partnership, HOLD ANYTHING you were going to donate! Supposedly as of today we have filled the cuota, but I can't verify til Monday. VERY EXCITING, if you were going to donate and haven't got around to it, wait a few weeks, we have a few things that will be coming up.
In other news, our Patron Festivals of Santo Domingo (Saint Dominic of Guzman) for my community are coming up in the first week of August. Preparations are ongoing…very exciting.
On a darker note, we had some deaths in the community, back to back actually. One was my counterpart’s mom and one was my neighbor’s grandson. Very sad. The photo will be my last words on that.
On a closing note, I have been coordinating with the scholarship committee to give the high school students tests on deciphering their career path/vocations. The exams took FOREVER to grade and put in order, but then we gave the results and now we are going to invite a group of professionals for a type of career day to talk with them all so that they can make educated decisions and all that jazz for careers. I hope it all pays off.
July 4 went well and we had our Peace Corps soccer tournament where my program had a very strong showing. The little house where we stay when we are in the capital, not for Peace Corps, then threw us a very nice little hamburger hot dog party that was SUPER tasty.
So yeah, that’s what I got right now, kind of here and there, but a little bit of info on everything.
“I have said it already, I am convinced that the way to build a new and better world is not capitalism. Capitalism leads us straight to hell.”
Hugo Chavez
Making the new entrance to the store next door
The other part of the entrance
The Mass where all of the Diocese came to San Pedro to celebrate the end of the Year of St. Paul
People in the street
Our doctor at the Parish Clinic
A patient of the dentist at the parish clinic, haha
Our pharmacy
People waiting.
We had an awards ceremony for the important donors and contributors to our scholarship program here.... This is Aaron´s, the previous PC Volunteer, parents receiving a painting by one of our scholarship students
Aaron receiving a plaque from of our scholars
The honorees left to right, Linda Redman, Aaron Redman, Charles Redman, Tony Gasbarro (Project Salvador), Sergio Orellana (Mayor), Padre Tino, Mirna de Barillas (board member).
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Honduras, Coup or Justice?
July 6, 2009
Lots of crazy things to talk about, so let’s just start one at a time. About a month ago, Mauricio Funes, the first “leftist” elected to the presidency of El Salvador, became President. Everyone is very interested to see how it all works out, and how different of a government he will run from all the previous governments.
Also, in other political news, the whole Honduras “coup” is and has been ALL over the news here since it happened. It has really hit home here, because in a military that is traditionally conservative and a leader elected who is liberal, there is a latent fear of something similar here. To me, this has all been VERY interesting to see how the media plays it, as well as the US. For those of you who haven’t stayed upon it, here is a quick recap. Now former President of Honduras, Miguel Zelaya, will end his term in office this January. The Honduran Constitution, as do many Latin American Constitutions, limits the terms that a President can be reelected due to the recent history these countries have with military dictatorships; one person who slowly acquires all/majority power in a country, as Chavez is doing at the moment. Former President Zelaya decided that he wanted to change the Constitution, so he asked the Honduran Congress support him in a ballot to call a Constitutional Assembly, to rewrite the Constitution so that a president could be reelected (ring any bells there, Chavez). He then wanted to hold the referendum himself with the military, but the Supreme Court ruled it illegal according to the Constitution. Both said it was illegal, even his own party who later called for an investigation into his mental fitness, so he turned to the military to get help in the referendum to put on himself. The head of the military said no as well, so….he fired him. In the end the Supreme Court ordered the General’s reinstatement and the Attorney General ordered the confiscation of the ballots sent from, you guessed it, Venezuela. The Attorney General also said that he would issue an arrest warrant for anyone who continued the illegal ballot. Zelaya then supposedly organized the break in of the air force base where the Venezuelan ballots were housed of the said referendum. End of the story, the Attorney General eventually issued the warrant for the arrest of Presidente Zelaya and it was signed by the Supreme Court. The Court sent the military to remove him from office, and then sent him to Costa Rica. None were hurt in the process. The arrest warrant was based on “acting against the government, treason, abuse of authority, and usurpation of power.”
http://www.libertaddigital.com/documentos/orden-de-captura-de-la-fiscalia-17057381.html
There are articles roaming around as well that the Honduran confiscated from him were modified to the point that it would have allowed him to stay in power with the making of the new Constitution all at once. They say that this was why the government acted so quickly to arrest him. But once again, nothing concrete as of yet on that account.
The Congress then appointed the next in line, President of Congress (the Vice had already resigned in 2008), member of the same liberal party as the ex-president, as President.
Here comes my personal opinion in a few words, what a TRAGEDY, for the Latin American people. Honduras had a primetime chance to legally remove a President from power who wanted to defy the Constitution and remain in power without the assent of the rest of the ELECTED/CONSTITUTIONAL government. And, Congress and the Court blew it. They were so concerned with keeping the peace after his arrest, that they sent him to Costa Rica, and that’s when the arrest basically turned into to a coup/kidnapping in the eyes of the international community. The government says they did it to keep down the bloodshed, but they didn’t think out the consequences fully of sending a citizen out of the country. For this reason this is a tragedy, the Congress should have removed him in due time and due process, however difficult because of his actions, and proved to the world that Democracy can work in the face of Presidents who don’t want to heed the law they are sworn to protect. The tragedy is that they had correct motive and faulty procedure. Reading en El Heraldo, one of Honduras’ newspapers, and listening to many commentaries in El Salvador, public sentiment seems to be pretty much in line with what I just described….ok maybe they didn’t use the word tragedy, but seeing it basically like I said.
That being said, was this a coup as many “leftist” Latin American Presidents are calling it? Here is the supremely erudite definition of coup d'état from Dictionary.com:
“The sudden overthrow of a government by a usually small group of persons in or previously in positions of authority.”
In reading the actual definitions, in the basic, generalized sense, I think it has to be admitted that it there was a forced change of EXECUTIVE, but not of STATE, and up until the final sending to Costa Rica, it complied with Honduran law. So, the branch of the government with the power to remove the president, stayed intact, as well as the Supreme Court. Was the change affected by a small group? Nope, everyone but the president and his guards participated. Was it performed by a group by a group that previously held power? Nope. Was it sudden? Well this whole controversy started months ago with the Congress and the Supreme Court ruling against it, so I’d say no. Was the political catalyst a force already in a position of less power? Here is a Yes, but they were ELECTED, so we are now talking IMPEACHMENT and not a COUP….Bill Clinton anyone?
I hope in the end that the Constitution is upheld in Honduras and that they hold out until the people elect their new president in November as was originally intended. This story is huge all over Latin America, because it is a litmus test for how future governments will put up with power hungry executives, and how a country can follow its Constitution and fight off the sanctions of the international community at the same time. If only he’d gone to jail instead of Costa Rica.
Check out a decent article here from the Wall Street Journal:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124623220955866301.html
This ended up being much longer than I expected….I’ll post on the rest of my stuff here with my life in the next few days.
Thanks to all who have donated to our Community House fund, WE ARE ALMOST THERE!!!! Let’s finish it off so that we can start repairing!!!
https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.donors.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=519-124
"Those who seek absolute power, even though they seek it to do what they regard as good, are simply demanding the right to enforce their own version of heaven on earth. And let me remind you, they are the very ones who always create the most hellish tyrannies. Absolute power does corrupt, and those who seek it must be suspect and must be opposed."
From the interesting Legislator of Arizona, Barry Goldwater
Lots of crazy things to talk about, so let’s just start one at a time. About a month ago, Mauricio Funes, the first “leftist” elected to the presidency of El Salvador, became President. Everyone is very interested to see how it all works out, and how different of a government he will run from all the previous governments.
Also, in other political news, the whole Honduras “coup” is and has been ALL over the news here since it happened. It has really hit home here, because in a military that is traditionally conservative and a leader elected who is liberal, there is a latent fear of something similar here. To me, this has all been VERY interesting to see how the media plays it, as well as the US. For those of you who haven’t stayed upon it, here is a quick recap. Now former President of Honduras, Miguel Zelaya, will end his term in office this January. The Honduran Constitution, as do many Latin American Constitutions, limits the terms that a President can be reelected due to the recent history these countries have with military dictatorships; one person who slowly acquires all/majority power in a country, as Chavez is doing at the moment. Former President Zelaya decided that he wanted to change the Constitution, so he asked the Honduran Congress support him in a ballot to call a Constitutional Assembly, to rewrite the Constitution so that a president could be reelected (ring any bells there, Chavez). He then wanted to hold the referendum himself with the military, but the Supreme Court ruled it illegal according to the Constitution. Both said it was illegal, even his own party who later called for an investigation into his mental fitness, so he turned to the military to get help in the referendum to put on himself. The head of the military said no as well, so….he fired him. In the end the Supreme Court ordered the General’s reinstatement and the Attorney General ordered the confiscation of the ballots sent from, you guessed it, Venezuela. The Attorney General also said that he would issue an arrest warrant for anyone who continued the illegal ballot. Zelaya then supposedly organized the break in of the air force base where the Venezuelan ballots were housed of the said referendum. End of the story, the Attorney General eventually issued the warrant for the arrest of Presidente Zelaya and it was signed by the Supreme Court. The Court sent the military to remove him from office, and then sent him to Costa Rica. None were hurt in the process. The arrest warrant was based on “acting against the government, treason, abuse of authority, and usurpation of power.”
http://www.libertaddigital.com/documentos/orden-de-captura-de-la-fiscalia-17057381.html
There are articles roaming around as well that the Honduran confiscated from him were modified to the point that it would have allowed him to stay in power with the making of the new Constitution all at once. They say that this was why the government acted so quickly to arrest him. But once again, nothing concrete as of yet on that account.
The Congress then appointed the next in line, President of Congress (the Vice had already resigned in 2008), member of the same liberal party as the ex-president, as President.
Here comes my personal opinion in a few words, what a TRAGEDY, for the Latin American people. Honduras had a primetime chance to legally remove a President from power who wanted to defy the Constitution and remain in power without the assent of the rest of the ELECTED/CONSTITUTIONAL government. And, Congress and the Court blew it. They were so concerned with keeping the peace after his arrest, that they sent him to Costa Rica, and that’s when the arrest basically turned into to a coup/kidnapping in the eyes of the international community. The government says they did it to keep down the bloodshed, but they didn’t think out the consequences fully of sending a citizen out of the country. For this reason this is a tragedy, the Congress should have removed him in due time and due process, however difficult because of his actions, and proved to the world that Democracy can work in the face of Presidents who don’t want to heed the law they are sworn to protect. The tragedy is that they had correct motive and faulty procedure. Reading en El Heraldo, one of Honduras’ newspapers, and listening to many commentaries in El Salvador, public sentiment seems to be pretty much in line with what I just described….ok maybe they didn’t use the word tragedy, but seeing it basically like I said.
That being said, was this a coup as many “leftist” Latin American Presidents are calling it? Here is the supremely erudite definition of coup d'état from Dictionary.com:
“The sudden overthrow of a government by a usually small group of persons in or previously in positions of authority.”
In reading the actual definitions, in the basic, generalized sense, I think it has to be admitted that it there was a forced change of EXECUTIVE, but not of STATE, and up until the final sending to Costa Rica, it complied with Honduran law. So, the branch of the government with the power to remove the president, stayed intact, as well as the Supreme Court. Was the change affected by a small group? Nope, everyone but the president and his guards participated. Was it performed by a group by a group that previously held power? Nope. Was it sudden? Well this whole controversy started months ago with the Congress and the Supreme Court ruling against it, so I’d say no. Was the political catalyst a force already in a position of less power? Here is a Yes, but they were ELECTED, so we are now talking IMPEACHMENT and not a COUP….Bill Clinton anyone?
I hope in the end that the Constitution is upheld in Honduras and that they hold out until the people elect their new president in November as was originally intended. This story is huge all over Latin America, because it is a litmus test for how future governments will put up with power hungry executives, and how a country can follow its Constitution and fight off the sanctions of the international community at the same time. If only he’d gone to jail instead of Costa Rica.
Check out a decent article here from the Wall Street Journal:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124623220955866301.html
This ended up being much longer than I expected….I’ll post on the rest of my stuff here with my life in the next few days.
Thanks to all who have donated to our Community House fund, WE ARE ALMOST THERE!!!! Let’s finish it off so that we can start repairing!!!
https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.donors.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=519-124
"Those who seek absolute power, even though they seek it to do what they regard as good, are simply demanding the right to enforce their own version of heaven on earth. And let me remind you, they are the very ones who always create the most hellish tyrannies. Absolute power does corrupt, and those who seek it must be suspect and must be opposed."
From the interesting Legislator of Arizona, Barry Goldwater
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)