Marlin Osiris Aguilar-Guevara

Growing up in a mud-and-thatch hut in the mountainous village of Lorencito, Marlin (pronounced mar-LEEN) was the middle child of a subsistence farmer who farmed corn and beans on a small piece of land given to him by his brother. It was Marlin’s responsibility to help with the harvest in addition to the daily chores of fetching water for the family, making tortillas and washing the clothes.

As a young child Marlin earned an academic scholarship to attend school, where she excelled. However her family’s lives changed dramatically when Marlin was eight years old. In late October 1998, Hurricane Mitch slammed Honduras with Category-5 winds and rain. The village of Lorencito, like most of Honduras, was ravaged with flooding, causing devastating mudslides. When the winds and flood waters subsided, both the land and crops of many of the Honduran people had been washed away, plunging them into a new level of poverty.

There arose hopeful news of a land reform movement beginning in another portion of Colon Province.  The news held promise of possibilities:  land, jobs, education, programs! When Marlin was ten years old, she and her family excitedly loaded their few belongings onto the back of a large cattle truck for transport to their “new home” – the village of Guadalupe Carney, located on a tract of land granted by the national government as part of the land reform. What greeted them however were hostile ranchers firing their guns to warning them to stay away from “their” land!

In the nearly ten intervening years, there have been on-going confrontations between the families who have settled in Guadalupe Carney and the ranchers, who claim “ownership” of the land. A number of villagers have died in these altercations and many of the village men (and more than a few women who dare to become leaders) have had their lives threatened should they leave the village. This loss of freedom greatly diminishes their earning power, keeping their families in poverty. Had sweet-spirited Marlin known that there would have been years of fighting and unrest, she would have chosen to stay in Lorencito where they were poor, but life was calm.

Not that Guadalupe Carney was any big “prize”! There is only one stream in the village area. The lack of water has presented many challenges for the village’s initial population of 10,000 people who all needed to bathe and wash clothes. Women would stand in line for hours waiting for their turn at the stream. Eventually the men in the village dug three wells to help meet the crucial need. However, the area could not sustain this population. Eventually Marlin, her family and others packed their belongings moved to the other side of the road where there was more space, more water, and fewer fire ants!

Marlin completed sixth grade in the village of Guadalupe Carney. She joined the youth group which was led by volunteers from Belgium. It was in this setting that Marlin learned how to make crafts such as necklaces, earrings and “dream-catchers”. Although she is no longer a youth, she continues to create delicate pieces of jewelry which she sells at the Made in Honduras craft co-op. Marlin is grateful for the opportunity to help earn money for food for her family. She said, “I have a 1 year old son who cries lots when he doesn’t have any food.”

Marlin, Rolando and their one-year-old son reside in a one-room, mud-and-thatch hut in the village. Marlin’s happiest day of her life was when her son was born. She shares, “I can’t tell you how amazing this miracle of life is to me.  He is precious and I thank God for him everyday.”