Are You Listening?

asks Mary Egan, volunteer, pictured here (2nd from right) with Sisters Mary, Renee and Rita along with Fr. Noel.

Honduras, 2003

Juan wears his radio hanging around his neck as he walks the mountainous, winding road with his machete in its scabbard and his hoe on his shoulder, as he makes his way to the coffee plantation where he will spend the day. Angela, his wife has one hanging in her humble home of one large room. As she grinds the corn, kneads it and lovingly makes tortillas to feed her growing family, she listens.

The radio links Juan and Angela as they both enter into the routine of daily life here in Cierro Verde, one of the many small villages in the mountainous outlying area of Marcala. In all of these villages there is no electricity and hence no hot running water nor televisions nor telephones nor computers! The radio is what links people to Marcala, to the rest of Honduras and to the world.

So while a large percentage of the globe’s population is pre-occupied with its Personal Computers and how to access the latest Website in order to shop from home, the people whom we visit and work with concern themselves with cultivating and producing enough corn to feed their families and ensuring that they can buy a few AA batteries to guarantee contact with the horizons beyond their own neighbourhood.

Through the medium of the radio, Juan, Angela and family learn about the up-coming events in the town and surrounds, the deaths in the wider community and have numerous opportunities to learn from the educational and informative programmes. Members of multiple organisations are convoked to meetings and when travel is impossible due to the frequent floods, muddy roads or landslides the news reaches rapidly and efficiently those who are waiting! The radio is truly the bulletin board of all the homes, most especially for those who cannot read or write, the illiteracy rate being particularly high in this region of the country.

Just 13 years ago, Radio St. Michael, the Parish Catholic Station, came on air. Now all the movements within the Church such as the Basic Christian Communities, the Womens’ Pastoral Programme and the Delegates of the Word have their regular slot. The many festivals and religious celebrations within the area are also transmitted; the forms of evangelization are many. In a recent homily, the Parish Priest, Fr. Noel reminded us of the importance not only of feeding the physically hungry but also of sharing the pan de saber (bread of knowlege), with our hungry brothers and sisters.

Juan and Angela have both started going to school at home by way of a radio programme called Maestro en Casa (Teacher at Home). They are participating in the classes of 2nd and 3rd primary grade respectively. The 3 older sons of their 7 children attended the local primary school (2 hours walk away over the mountains). But having succeeded in attaining their Primary Certificate, they had to terminate their formal education. Living 14 kilometres away up in the hills from the nearest secondary school in Marcala, their very limited economic resources prohibit temporary residence in the town.

However, Israel, Antonio and Pablo have now entered secondary school by way of this radio programme. So Mum, Dad and the 3 boys each have their books for the various levels and at 4.00 p.m. tune in to follow their respective classes (20 minutes each). As a family they study together. Then once a week they attend a local centre where a voluntary animator holds a class to reinforce the learning and to throw light on any doubts or questions. Exams are held every 2 months. The success of the programme depends very much on individual motivation and the competence and commitment of the voluntary animators.

My work is to coordinate and facilitate the implementation of this programme throughout the parish and most particularly to the members in the outlying areas, which extend within a radius of 55 kilometres from the centre of town.

The radio also plays a pivotal role in the work of Renee, Rita and Mary (the 3 MMM sisters with whom I live) who are all working in Primary Health Care with special emphasis on Natural Medicine. They have a weekly programme on Health on Radio St. Michael and in this way their message reaches thousands of campesinos and their families.

As we approach Christmas, I think of the shepherds who were the ones chosen by God to bring us The Good News of Jesus’ arrival amongst us. Let us reflect together on what we listen to:

Are we tuning into the wavelengths or websites where we might hear and listen to the Good News? Where can we meet and listen to the modern-day shepherds? Maybe they are closer to us than we imagine.

Last modified: Wednesday, March 4th, 2009