A Closer Look: Jody Paterson

Un dia grande para mi.  I'm feeling overwhelmed - in the best of ways - to have this fine honour bestowed upon me by the University of Victoria. And isn't Facebook just the perfect medium at a time like this, when I get to revel in all the kind comments of my FB pals back home even at this great distance. Home for a week June 9 to receive my honourary degree and catch up with my family. Until then, nose to the grindstone here in Copan Ruinas, where the rainy season has set in and the new task of the day is to batten down the hatches sometime around 4 or 5 p.m. before the hard rain starts falling. And oh, the thunder - sounds like the sky's ripping open. 

Moments ago, I sent the following email to Louis Bachicha, executive vice-president of sales for Sealy Inc. in North America. I don't know if I found the right email for him and I have no idea if he's the right man to ask for help, let alone if he'll even read this. But I came back from my usual weekend craft day at that sad, fetid foster home that I have had the great misfortune to stumble upon and I just felt like I had to do something.  Sealy is the biggest manufacturer of mattresses in the world and has plants in El Salvador and Guatemala, both of which border Honduras. Like I told Mr. Bachicha, better beds for these kids will not turn their lives around or save them from what I fear will be much sorrow and deprivation to the end of their days. But it's something, isn't it?  If you read this and know of a better way to make this happen, a better person at Sealy Inc. to contact, a better mattress or grade of plastic that I should be looking for, I welcome a...

Update: A reader pointed out this May 18 story in the Georgia Straight - certainly adds some interesting B.C. context to my post!  The organization I work for here in Honduras took me along to a rendición de cuentas yesterday – loosely translated, a surrendering of accounts. It’s basically an exercise in accountability intended for the people who are receiving services. The practice is common in Honduras, where non-profits like the Comisión de Acción Social Menonita are considered to be serving an impoverished population in a near-constant state of crisis. CASM and its major funders belong to an association that requires its members to adhere to strict standards of accountability and transparency, in recognition of how important those are when delivering aid to impoverished communities during times of crisis and disaster.  Things could go badly wrong after an earthquake, for example, if aid agencies gave first priority to friends and family. It’s not a process tha...

This is "home" for one ill, impoverished woman in my community Every day brings new revelations when you live in a foreign culture. And when it's a developing country, the learning curve is just that much steeper.  Even calling Honduras a developing country  is something of a misnomer, seeing as the country has actually lost ground in recent years. Perhaps a more apt name is an “unravelling country.” But at any rate, I had a certain expectation of what it was going to feel like to live in such a place, and I was wrong. Back in my Canada days, I would have presumed all impoverished countries needed stuff. Indeed, stuff is what countries with money most like to send to impoverished countries: Notebooks and pens for youngsters; clothing; medicines; school desks; blankets. And in times of natural disaster - when access is severely limited or there’s a need for huge quantities of certain things all at once - I’m sure such donations are very useful. But having wan...

In my next life I hope I get to make movie soundtracks, because there are few things I like better than finding the perfect song to fit with images. I have a little hobby of putting some of my photos to music - here's my latest work, which combines photos from the orphanage/foster home I'm helping out at with a fine tune from U.S. singer-songwriter extraordinaire Mary Gauthier.  Hope it breaks your heart just a little, like that sad place breaks mine every time I go there. No happy endings in Angelitos Felices, I fear, but there are more smiles and love radiating from those little faces than you'd ever think possible in a life that difficult. They hope, and I hope with them.