April 10th I held my first bead class here in El
Porvenir, Honduras. We now hold classes Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 2:30 in
the afternoon.
A few weeks back my spirits were low. I felt like the women
were never going to learn. I choose this location, Narciso Hernandez, one of
the poorest parts of El Porvenir, thinking this class could benefit the women
who would most likely need it. Little did I know, that several of these women
had never used a ruler before. Some couldn’t even cut correctly. One women
couldn’t grasp the concept of counting in two’s. I thought, this is never going
to work. Well we kept meeting and the women kept going to class. I was amazed
at their energy to work. Even though they couldn’t understand, they kept
trying, kept practicing. They were even taking material after class to practice
at home. The next day they would show me what they had done.
“Yes, ok, but you
still need to practice!” - - This was my
“polite” way to say you need to get better! However at times I had to throw in
a “This one is good, but this one is bad” so they could tell which ones they
got right and why.
Just this past week a few of the women have been bringing in
their finished bracelets, necklaces and earrings. They have taken the
initiative to come up with their own designs, buy their own materials and learn
new techniques. Their work is amazing! I am excited to bring their work back to
the states with me and sell them!
Here are a few pics:
This little guy likes to keep an eye on things
Working hard!
Drying beads in a makeshift "drying rack"
Just keep rolling...
