As students prepare to graduate from the CEDIF this fall, we are reminded that it has been five years since the first CEDIF graduation. Those initial participants are now finishing 5th grade, and many of them are star students in their classes. Just as those young people have made so many successful transitions, it is time for us to think about transitions within the organization as well. Emily Montgomery is beginning a doctoral program in Latin American history, while Ben and Leslie Roth are balancing careers and life as new parents. As a result, responsibilities here in the U.S. are shifting. We are working together with ANDAR to determine the future direction for both the scholarship program and the CEDIF. We look forward to sharing more with you about these changes as they develop!

– Emily Montgomery

Reflections on a year in Cedeño
by Mariah Beaman and Kaya Shell

Mariah and her daughter Kaya returned to their home in the U.S. in late August. The other volunteer this year, Matt (or Mateo as he's known in Cedeño), is staying on to help with the CEDIF and the scholarship project through the end of the Honduran school year early this fall. We thank all three for their hard work this year.

Mariah: I may not miss waking up at 6am each morning to do my laundry by hand, but I will miss looking around while I am doing laundry, seeing the other moms doing the same, the kids saying good morning as they do their chores, and the ducks, chickens and dogs that surround me for a handout. What I will miss the most is the community. Everybody looks out for each other, lending a helping hand when needed. I will miss going to the CEDIF every morning, where so many kids shouted "Buenos Dias Mariah" with their huge smiles. I will miss seeing those kids learn – one month they can hardly draw a circle, and with some time and attention, the next month they are writing their name. Or when I read The Gingerbread Man, and they all said the story with me, singing my silly tune to the gingerbread song. I will miss teaching parent education, when afterwards several parents told me how much the classes helped their families and that now they do not hit their kids because they have other tools. I am going to miss it all. I have learned what a true community is.

Kaya:

• My favorite thing about the CEDIF: when the kids ran around when they were done playing a game, and doing homework.
  
  
• My favorite activity: making a rocket and flying it in the air.
  
  
• My favorite songs: "Montar en un Camión" y "Un Elefante".
  
  
• My favorite thing about Cedeño: when my friends went to the beach with me, and riding behind the donkey. Favorite food: fish, and beans and tortillas.
  
  
• My favorite animal: pigs and cows when they flop their ears.
  
  
• The most interesting thing that happened to me: a mama dog snuck into our house, and when my mom and I came home from the CEDIF the dog had had four puppies in our house. It was cool.

The Impact of Migration
by Ben Roth (Volunteer 2005)

I don't think there are any statistics on the impact of migration on the village of Cedeño, but there is no question that it has an influence on the people who live there. The most noticeable influence is that families with connections to a relative in the U.S. often have a nicer house with a Spanish-tile roof or a cell phone with Salvadoran service. Evidence of migration is sometimes more subtle, however. Among some of the youth, for instance, there is a growing mindset that trying to earn money working in the U.S. is the only way to "get ahead." When I asked what this meant to them, I was never told that it meant getting rich or owning a fleet of fancy cars. "Getting ahead" means owning a well-built home or having enough start-up capital to launch a small business. And migration is seldom seen as a magic bullet. The families in Cedeño know from experience that migrating to the U.S. is a sacrifice.

Getting ahead in Cedeño is not easy. For those who do not fish for a living, the limited jobs available are largely seasonal: working in the sugar cane and melon fields or on a shrimp farm. Seasonal jobs in these industries are physically grueling or dangerous (or both), and unlikely routes to financial security. Because such jobs are scarce, competition is fierce. Without a high school education and the right connections – both are hard to come by in Cedeño – it is difficult to land a decent job.

With their dual emphasis on education and community service, the CEDIF and the scholarship program are helping to make "getting ahead" in Honduras a more attainable goal. The scholarship program has left an indelible mark on the community by equipping numerous students with a secondary education. And the CEDIF is a model program respected by public school officials throughout the region. It is staffed by trained volunteers from Cedeño; parents are involved with their children's education and participate in workshops on parenting and child development; and the community has cohered around the construction and use of the new facility. These two programs have helped to put quality education within reach for dozens of families. They have also fostered leadership skills and instilled a new commitment to the local community among many youth and parents, ultimately creating new opportunities and role models who hope to raise the quality of life for everyone in Cedeño.