Pure Water for the World: Week #37

This week had us on the edge of our seats. We thought we were that close to having everything we had worked for being wiped clean.

Let me start by saying how much I hate politics and how it can drive good people to make stupid decisions. Moving the filter workshop opened up an opportunity for some people to raise a fuss about the project. This, unfortunately, was directed at our site manager and health promoter, Enelida and Keyla respectively. At 'issue' was their ability to manage the project and how poorly they had done, for example, letting the workshop fail. I don't agree with this at all and thankfully many other people didn't either. I think what happened here is that these two girls speak their minds and in a macho culture they stepped on some toes so they became an easy target to implement a bigger plan.

This larger objective goes back abouttwo years when the La Ceiba project was first put to paper. A contract was drawn up allowing MAMUCA to make, install and follow-up everything to do with the filters, the local Rotary Club would pay them for each filter completed and Pure Water would provide MAMUCA with the technical support it lacked. By the time the grant money finally arrived in October 2006 all the players involved had changed except MAMUCA, so they were still expecting the work and money. When they were told this would not happen a lot of people weren't happy, especially so after we left the filter workshop MAMUCA is still using. This gave some MAMUCA loyalists the perfect opportunity to try and reclaim what had been lost.

Hence, the big meeting this week. All sides were called in and taken to account for what had happened. Rasa and I opted to stay as uninvolved as possible because this decision is for the La Ceiba club to make. They pay Enelida and Keyla out of the grant and it is their Rotary project. Besides, to build sustainability after we leave all decisions need to take place between the people who will stay here and continue the work. As hard as it was to keep quite on this matter, it is ultimately not my project (the mantra of Peace Corps) and the La Ceiba Rotary club has to live with the results. So with four hours of talk, each person was able to give their side of the story as to why we changed workshops and why they are unhappy with our girls.

The result of the meeting took a week to work itself out. This hanging shadow of the girls being fired was extremely damaging to our team moral and for the rest of the week, they were difficult and quarrelsome with Rasa and I. Lashing out at the ones closest to you I suppose. Rasa and I were sick with the thought we might have to go through the whole process of finding and hiring two new people again. Not to mention the possibility of having to work with an ex-employee of Pure Water who might be hired back on by MAMUCA. So not relishing the thought of this, I tried all the Machiavellian options I could think of to turn the situation in our favor. I was tired of being outmaneuvered and smiled at by the same people.

Stay tuned to see how it all turns out. I'll give you a hint: this whole episode ended not at all how I planned but much better than I could have imagined.