Nueva Armenia Community Project

2006-07-07T12:00:00.000-07:00

July 2006

The first group of Operation Wallacea Staff and volunteers arrived in Nueva Armenia. After seven months of preparation, the town was very excited. People got a chance to try out some of their English skills by saying “Good Afternoon” and “how are you doing?”.

The group of 15 was met in the town center near the bridge. Initially, the idea was to welcome the bus with a Garifuna dance group awaiting them. However, heavy rains prevented this. So the bus arrived and the people of Nueva Armenia got their first glimpse of a group of English scientists coming through their pueblo.

Each person was given housing with a family. The families met the group and escorted them to their housing. After initially settling in, everyone had a fantastic time exchanging stories, even though communication was limited due to lack of Spanish.

Dinner started at 6.30. Guests were served a filling meal fried fish, tajadas (plantains), salad, and rice and beans. Next up was the big cultural event. There were two Garifuna dance groups and each one performed stirring renditions of traditional stories and legends. The dancing was followed by a play put on by local youth. The theme of the play was HIV/AIDS. The local youth are involved n HIV education throughout Armenia. The message of the play is that HIV is a change of lifestyle, not a death sentence, although the lead character dies at the end of the play. After the death, the funeral traditionally involves drums and singing and the entire town joined in. This turned into an impromptu dance event where the local youth showed off their talent accompanied by Garifuna drums.

Finally, Artisian products were brought out center stage for sell. The next morning, goodbyes were said and boats were loaded for the 40 minute ride over to Cayos Menor. It was a beautiful morning with the sun rising over the mountains. All-in-all, everyone from the folks of Wallacea to the locals of Nueva Armenia, had a wonderful time.

Community Benefits

The community is the beneficiary of all projects currently being implemented. The cost of the cultural event is $5 per person and the funds are divided up between the scholarship fund, the youth group, the school, and the dance group. Each member who participates in the small enterprises such as the cooking group or the fishermen who transports locals to the islands are expected to donate a portion of the funds received to the scholarship program.

2006-04-06T12:26:00.000-07:00

HAPPENINGS IN NUEVA ARMENIA

March 2006

Chachaguate

On March 11, 2006, a historic announcement was made that the government of Honduras is close to an agreement to award land titles for the island communities of Chachaguate, East End, and Cayos Balanos to the island inhabitants. All of the island communities have close ties to the mainland in the case of Chachaguate, the ties are to Nueva Armenia. This was welcomed news since at one time, the titles were in dispute and the people were to be removed from the island and the land was to be sold (as recently as four years ago). Since then, the Garifuna have been declared indigenous and as such rights were granted to them. This island is located across from Cayos Menor within marine protected area of Cayos Cochinos.

Medical brigade

A medical brigade from the United States arrived in Nueva Armenia March 29th and 30 to do vaccinations, dental work, general medical checkups, and to distribute highly needed medicine to the community-at-large. Also, the brigade assisted in HIV testing. People came from all the surrounding communities in order to receive medical attention. Since the event was held in the local school, no classes were held for two days.

El Bolario

This is an event unique to the Garifuna culture. El Bolario is a ceremony that celebrates life and death. A year after the death of someone prominent in the community, the community gathers to celebrate the person’s life by dancing traditional dances and telling stories. Instead of sorrow, family and friends rejoice and celebrate life.

English Classes

Michael Eisenhower, a Peace Corps volunteer who lives in Nueva Armenia began teaching English classes to community members. The classes are held twice a week and include games as well as helpful words and phrases. You can now here members of the community walking around asking in English “How are you?” and responding “I am fine, How are you?” The community is excited and getting ready for the arrival of so English-speaking tourists this summer.

Youth committee

There are actually two different committees that involve the youth of Nueva Armenia. One focus on community projects such as community cleanup. They are working closely with the Municipality of Jutiapa to solve the problem of transportation of trash to the neighboring community. The cost of transportation prohibits long-term solution and the youth are seeking an alternative form of trash disposal. Also to finance other projects, T-shirts will be produced with a Garifuna design and saying and will be on sale during the summer. There are 25 youth directly involved in this project. The second youth group is focused on the theatre event. In the past, they have traveled along the north coast doing a play on HIV and AIDS prevention. The group is currently developing other ideas.

April 2006

Upcoming events include the Garifuna Food Festival of Nueva Armenia, which takes place April 12, during Semana Santa. April 12th celebrates the anniversary of the arrival of the Garifuna to Honduras 209 years ago. This event will include traditional dances, a soccer match between neighboring communities, and traditional food such as casaba, sopa de caracol, fried fish and shrimp, chicken in cream sauce, platanos (a form of banana), and sweets such as pan de coco (coconut bread) and caballitos (another form of sweet bread).

2006-02-27T08:16:00.000-08:00

BIENVENIDOS A NUEVA ARMENIA

Welcome to the Operation Wallacea/Cayos Cochinos community project page. This site is designed to provide insights into community projects and to prepare visitors for their upcoming experience in Nueva Armenia, which will serve as the entry point to Cayos Cochinos. Operation Wallacea has worked with the Cayos Cochinos Foundation for the last three years. This will be the first year working directly within the community of Nueva Armenia. The purpose of the project is to provide direct support to the local communities while also serving to study and protect the ecosystems of the coral reefs of Honduras. Since this is the first time a project such as this has been initiated within the confines of Nueva Armenia, the community is very excited about the prospect and members look forward to meeting and sharing their community and culture with the world.

Community History
Nueva Armenia was founded in 1865. Located in the municipality of Jutiapa 42 kilometers from the city of La Ceiba, the community lies on the north coast of Honduras and is largely populated by Garifuna. Depending on road conditions, it takes approximately 1-1 ½ hours to arrive from La Ceiba.

Background
Garifuna first arrived on the coast of Honduras 209 years ago. There are several stories surrounding the arrival of the Garifuna but the prevailing sentiment is that the people originated from the island of San Vincent, which was under British rule at the time. Immigrants first came to the Bay Island of Roatan before eventually settling within north coast communities such as Trujillo and La Ceiba. The main source of income for Garifuna is fishing but fishing is not only the way to provide for the family but is also a way of life. The majority of activity is surrounded by fishing and agriculture.

Relationship with Chachaguate
There is a close relationship with the coastal and island communities. All residents of the island communities have relatives or small casas típicas located in the coastal areas. The island of Chachaguate is most closely tied to Nueva Armenia. In fact, you may recognize some of the children who travel back and forth to both communities upon visiting Chachaguate. The island community of East End, located on the largest island of Cayos Mayor, is more closely tied to the coastal community of Rio Esteban. There is a primary school for grades 1-6 located in East End. Most students have the desire to attend high school but since there is not a high school within the island community or in Nueva Armenia, the costs of furthering their education is most time prohibitive. For the primary school in East End, the only way for students to arrive from the neighboring communities is by boat. Many times, the motor or boat doesn’t function. In fact, school for the island kids has yet to start since the boat had to be repaired. The boat is currently in dock in La Ceiba and it is hoped that by the first week of March 2006, the boat will be ready to transport youth to and from school. When there are problems with the boat or the motor, students cannot attend school.

Present
The hardships of the community are many since they have been adversely affected by recent hurricanes and since Hurricane Mitch in 1998. However, the residents of Nueva Armenia are very resilient. There are 3,000 people living within and around the community. The community is a mix of Garifuna and Mestiso. Like most communities in Honduras, the government structure is one of a patronoto where a community leader is chosen to represent the needs of the pueblo (medical, infrastructure, etc) to the municipality. Along with the one elected leader, there is a panel of that assists the patronato in performing their duties.

Operating around this structure are various committees that affect the community: The United States Army assisted the community in building the medical center in 2004 and it provides medical assistance, albeit small, to community members. The health committee has approximately 30 members, mostly women and youth, which provide health education to the community-at-large. Currently, through the assistance of the Red Cross, the community has initiated widespread testing of HIV. This is a significant undertaking due to the significant population. However, given new and simpler testing procedures, the hope is to be able to test the majority of the residents. A recent study done by the UN suggested that within the Garifuna community, the presence of HIV is as high as eight percent of the total population.

There is a school for children up to sixth grade. Like most Honduran schools, the needs are many and resources few. But the teachers are skilled and committed to providing the best education possible. After sixth grade, it is necessary to pay for education. Expenses include registration costs, books, school uniforms, and other various costs, which most families cannot afford, even though the costs are modest by U.S. or British standards. Operation Wallacea, along with the Foundation Cayos Cochinos, has recently begun a scholarship program to assist youth in attending secondary school as well as vocational school. The web link is attached which highlights the project with information of each current recipient.

Agenda
Upon arrival in Nueva Armenia, you will begin to experience the Garifuna culture right away. Although the stay in Nueva Armenia will be short lasting only one night, there will be much activity. You will be welcomed into the community by members of the Garifuna Dance Group ‘Los Congrejos’ or ‘Primera de Mayo’. Both groups perform every year during Carnival in La Ceiba and also perform for private events. Thereafter, each person will be escorted to local housing where you will stay with a family of the community. Following a dinner of traditional rich Garifuna food such as chicken in coconut milk with plantanos ( a form of banana), beans and rice and salad, or fried fish, the highlight of the evening will be the Cultural Event which will last about 1 ½ hours. The next morning, you will depart from Nueva Armenia early to arrive in Cayos Menor, the scientific research station for the Honduras Coral Reef Fund. The trip will take about 30 minutes to cross, depending on the conditions of the sea and crossing will be safely made in boats used by local fishermen.

Cultural Event
After dinner, you will be treated to a cultural event that will include more dances, a short play presented by youth from the local school, and a presentation by local artisans. There will be a $5 USD donation with the proceeds supporting the community health center, the local school, a scholarship fund to enable students to attend high school and eventually college, and the community clean up fund initiated by the youth group.

The history of the dance
Like many ethnic or indigenous dances, each dance tells a story of a legend or a certain even in history. One dance called Mascara tells the history of the Garifuna people when the British came to colonize the island of St. Vincent. Mascara describes the battle that took place between the two groups. It is called Mascara (mask) because the men dressed up as women to catch the British off-guard. When the British saw what looked like a group of women, they let down their guard and the Garifuna men attacked and defeated them.

Youth Theatre Group
There is a group of 15 youth from the community who have formed a theatre group. The current performance focuses on HIV/AIDS and AIDS prevention. The prevalence of HIV is high in Honduras, especially amongst the Garifuna population. Given the recent studies, it is imperative for all members of the community to be involved in raising awareness. The youth took this initiative on their own accord and have performed in communities around the north coast of Honduras.

Local Artists
Local artisans make a variety of products, including necklaces and bracelets made from shells and other materials that can be found near the sea. Also, you will find dolls, tambores or drums typically used by Garifuna during celebrations, t-shirts, as well as an assortment of woven baskets and hats.

Summary
The communities of the Cayos Cochinos and especially Nueva Armenia welcome you. Members will do everything possible to insure your stay is fun and productive. Should you have any questions prior to arrival or should you like additional information, please contact Anthony Ives at luckyp49@yahoo.com.