Student: 1; Profe 0. Chaguite 1; MANOS 1

The sign reports that the people of Japan, the mayor’s office, and the people of Chaguite worked together to construct this public well.  Compared to what we’ve seen in the past, this is amazing:  bright, shining, fully functional; a well, showers, and a clothes washing station.  The A-team learned about the well in our meeting with a community leader who was involved directly in the construction.  We finished the interview and traveled to the site, took a gps point, and did a brief interview of a woman using the washing station.  We later would debate what we had seen:  were they baneros (showers) or banos (toilets)?  Gabriela Arias said showers; the professor (ahem) said toilets.  It was a duel between field observers:  Gabi prevails.

The “B” team arrived on schedule to much adulation and celebration.  In a matter of minutes, they were unloaded, into rooms, and ready to hear all of the news from the work in the community.   Facing starvation, the more reasoned argued for a break for dinner and the crew moved next door.  True to custom, we managed to have food in front of us in a little less than two hours — and we were treated to local talent live music.

Sunday began with final preparations for the meeting with local leaders (called “CPCs”).  We struggled for the proper words and phrases, both in English and in Spanish, to say what we intend with regard to our mission and our relationship with the community.  More than ever, we face the crucial task of characterizing our approach, making plain the implications of our precepts, concepts, methods, and strategies; putting in practice our admonitions (such as  top-down, outside-in “helping” doesn’t help).  What will we say when we’re asked why we have done nothing other than the clinic (and field research) for the past four years?  How will we respond if they suggest that we should simply send money and let them decide how best to use it to improve health?  What if they want us to contribute to a road-building project when our focus is on community health.  Through careful, thoughtful, critical  discussion and review of our approach, team members (including those who would handle the presentation and discussion, and the note-takers and field observers,  prepared and achieved a keener ability to articulate and reflect the perspective, approach, and method that we work so hard to conceive.

The meeting was at 2pm, in the shade of a veranda.  A dozen or more community leaders were waiting for us when we arrived.  They began by introducing themselves and then asked that we do the same.  We turned then to details of the clinic that begins tomorrow.  We made some brief introductory remarks and almost immediately a community leader rose to ask about our intentions for doing a community project:  did the project have to be focused on health, or are we serious about taking into account what the community values most?  We explained that we have tried very hard to learn about the community and what residents values.  At the same time, we noted that our focus is on health and health care and that we are trying to enhance the effectiveness of the annual clinic.  A frank and honest discussion followed, with community leaders expressing their opinions and making clear underlying concerns.  Not the least of these was some anxiety about our commitment to the future.  With exceptional skill, Alex Ferraro (2nd year team member), Lester Chavez (1st year team member), Yardley Albarracin, and Gabi Arias responded to questions and described the core and the nuances of our approach.  The meeting ended with a community member expressing appreciation for the careful effort we’ve made to understand the community before offering ideas about projects.  The consensus among MANOS participants is that the exchange of ideas was honest, frank, and very productive.  Community members applauded our proposal to help in finding ways to get every household represented at the upcoming community meeting.  Our departure was delayed by some minutes as we posed with community member for photos and as we tried to accommodate their wish for photos with friends and family.

It is our grand hope that we have taken another step towards instantiating our conception of reciprocity and a genuinely collective effort.

P.S. Lester Chavez was the first of this year’s recipients of the second annual Tona-man award for his exceptional work in today’s meeting with the CPCs.  It is a grand accomplishment and a heavy burden.