A home visit, as described by Dr. Barbra McCune, missioner physician in Honduras, and medical care provider for El Hogar Projects…

Padre Rich Kunz and the El Hogar staff make home visits in order to evaluate potential new boys for the program and to assess the feasibility of allowing a boy to return home for a brief visit during vacation times.

As I sometimes have patients in the same homes or neighborhoods as El Hogar families, Padre Rich and I sometimes travel together on these home visits.

We usually plan these visits for early morning as many of the homes are far away and travel time is significant. In addition, one must always be aware of the road conditions, know which bridges may be washed out, or where some group may be on strike and staging a protest thus blocking traffic for several hours. And it’s usually the case that the home cannot be reached by car or truck so the last part of the trip must be on foot.

I always try to get as specific directions as I can but that is often impossible in a country where most directions are given in terms of how far the destination is from the nearest Pizza Hut, McDonald’s or neighborhood puperia (a type of tiny corner store.) It is rare to find street signs or numbers.

Last week Padre Rich had directions which said to turn right at “the chicken place”. He proceeded to look for one of the small places that grill chickens and often have a few tables and chairs set up for customers. No such place to be found! When he asked around, he learned that “Yes, there is a “chicken place” but it’s not really a” place” “as the guy just sells chickens from a wagon and is only there at 7:00 am and then moves on to another locale after about an hour!

His next landmark was the “auto repair shop”. Again, no such place to be found but he did see two men working on a used car up on blocks in somebody’s yard and this was the correct turnoff.

Once you arrive in the general area, you start to ask the neighbors if they know so and so. Very quickly, the word spreads that La Doctora and/or El Padre are in the neighborhood and it’s not unusual to have a small band of kids lead you directly to the home. Perhaps “directly” is not the right word as none of these places are easily accessible. Many of the homes are literally built on the side of a hill so one is always walking, sliding, or stumbling either steeply uphill or down to get to the home. Often, one needs to cross a body of water to get there.

Finally, we arrive at the home. Although each home is different there are some characteristics, which many share in common.

I am always struck by the smallness of the house, shack, or room in which anywhere from two to twelve people may be living. (Often, when I first go into a home, I see so many people in varying states of need and poor health that I have to tactfully inquire as to just who IS the patient I am to see.) Usually it is just one room, sometimes with a wood burning stove in the middle which of course, adds smoke and pollution to the room. There may be a latrine outside but not necessarily close by and it may be shared by several families.

Families have little or no privacy as there may be only one bed with other family members sleeping on the floor. Often, a family will attempt to create some privacy by hanging a blanket or sheet to serve as a room divider. There is little, if any, furniture, sometimes a table but no chairs. The family’s few possessions are usually neatly stacked off to the side in a corner and covered with a faded blanket or towel. Despite the many children who may be living there, one rarely sees any toys or books.

Some homes do have electricity but I am always leery of this when I see bare bulbs and exposed wires hanging overhead often covered over with lots of duct tape.

Almost all families display family photos and certificates of achievement from school or church activities. It would be rude to rush through a visit without listening to the Mom or Grandmother describe the importance of each photo or certificate.

Many families share the house with a few animals so it’s not unusual to see some chickens, ducks or the occasional pig wander through and scratch up the dirt floor.

But that’s just the physical description of a house. What can I tell you about the folks we visit?

First of all, let me be very clear that for the majority of the families I visit, poor does not mean dirty. The women make an incredible effort to keep the small spaces clean and tidy despite lack of water, constant dust, and smoke from an open fire. Although there is no real storage space or closets, the few belongings are neatly arranged along the sides of the room.

The children usually have clean if threadbare clothes and are curious, friendly and polite to visitors. I am always touched by the obvious pride the Moms have in their kids and how they encourage them to embrace me, to carry my medical bag, or to shake hands with Padre Rich. The Moms who want their boys to go to El Hogar usually have all the necessary vaccination records, school documents, and recent grades in hand and shyly proffer them as if to say, “My boy is ready and can do well in El Hogar, please give him this chance.”

Often, each family wants to offer some bit of food or drink even though many of these families have not eaten for several days. One senses a gracious hospitality, which conveys the family’s pleasure in the visit. Although I sometimes feel awkward eating saltines and drinking juice when I know this family is without food, I also understand that they need to be hospitable and thus can accept their refreshments with humility and gratitude. (Padre Rich and I both admit, however, that it is sometimes awkward to be offered a Coke and then drink it while all these little dark eyes are watching your every swallow!)

At the most recent El Hogar visit, a single Mom who has two boys ages 6 and 7 said, “These boys are my life, I want them to have a better opportunity than what I can provide for them”. When Padre Rich asked one of the boys why he wanted to come live at El Hogar, he said, “If my brother and I were in a safe place and were taken care of, then my Mom could go to work and she could buy food every day”. When asked when they wanted to come to El Hogar, the youngest boy said, “Could we come today in time for supper?”

I am happy to say that both of these boys were accepted in El Hogar within 48 hours. When there is exceptional need, the staff, with the cooperation of the courts, can expedite the admission process so these two ninos will spend Navidad at El Hogar and their Mom will be able to visit.

And that, I hope, gives you a glimpse of what we see here on a home visit. I have tried to convey the physical description of what we see and hope that I have also given you some idea of the spirit of the families here. Could you sense those more hidden qualities of humility, resourcefulness, hopefulness, love for kids and family, hospitality and a deeply rooted faith which are as much a part of the Honduran home as flour for tortillas and the open fire for cooking.?

Padre Rich often refers to the way in which Honduras “just keeps breaking your heart”. I, too, often feel that just when I think I’ve seen the worst, some patient walks in the clinic and breaks my heart all over again. But, perhaps our hearts need to be broken; sometimes over and over again in order that we can soften the hardened parts, piece ourselves back together, and be open to those truths, which give us hearts of compassion.

We pray for all who are broken-hearted: may they be restored with hearts filled with love and compassion for all who suffer.

We pray for God’s blessings on all the families in Honduras. May their homes be safe and may they share in the world’s abundance.

Dr. Barbra McCune
Tegucigalpa, Honduras
December 2005

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