Alternative Realities

My 'coworkers' for the morning shovelling stone to
be used in the cement foundation of the new storage house.

The past couple of weeks have been crazy here in Jalapa.  However through the fog of all of the work and activity a few moments stood out.
This past Friday I went to Casa Hogar to help with collecting river rocks for the new driveway and to buy some school supplies for some of the girls.  However plans changed (surprise surprise) and I ended up having to haul loads of sand, stone and cinder block to the construction site of the new storage house that is being funded by a group from Spain.  I was partnered with two boys as my helpers for the morning.  After a bit of grunt labour, conversation started to pick up and I found out that the boys were 14 years old and had been working in construction full-time for the last two years.
When I asked about school, they stated that they complete weekend courses to keep up with their peers.  Looking at these two boys, who are a bit smaller than the average 14 year old boy in Canada,  I was amazed.  From our experience here boys don't work like this unless they need to support their family.  It was difficult for me to comprehend how at the age of 12 they stopped living like a 'normal' child and took on more of a role of a man.
These experiences make it hard for me to return to the comforts of Canada because this kind of story is exactly what it is 'foreign'.  It is not to say that these boys were pathetic in appearance, malnourished, being abused, or not receiving an education.  It just seems far from fair when we compare the standards and expectations for our children in North America to those children who live 2000 kilometres south of us.
I don't think that a child working a job is bad thing (depending on the duration and type of labour).  However, when the expectation is to be the provider for your family and forego elements of your youth to earn less than $7 a day, this is a reality I will try to but never understand.

This picture does no justice but while driving by with my young
co-workers I snapped off a photo of Eddie's house while some of
the women from the community lingered from the new cooking lesson.

The other moment was watching a group of women from Los Pinos collect at Eddie's house to learn how to prepare different foods that are more nutritious for their children.  Once a month this so called gourmet group collects at a different home in Los Pinos where the woman of the house instructs the others on how to cook the new meal or snack.  Food resources are limited, you have to bring your own plate or bag to carry out the new creation, it has to be cooked over an open flame or wood stove, and since many of the women in the village are at the party you bring your kids as well.  Great to see the community connect this way and have the opportunity to be creative with one-another.  Reminded me of my wife's gourmet group back in Canada, but this focussed on the practical production of nutritious foods at a low cost for children.