By Amanda Estes
Staff Writer
    Instead of just writing a check to benefit families living in poverty stricken Honduras, members of the South Portland Cape Elizabeth Rotary Club recently took a hands on approach and traveled to the mountainous villages outside of Santa Barbara to aid local families and farmers in water purification and sustainable agriculture practices. During an interview at his Cape Elizabeth dentistry practice, club president John Eliassen recalled the March trip, pulling out photographs to demonstrate the group’s work and the local people they met along the way.
    According to Eliassen, the best thing about their trip was its function as a catalyst for other organizations to work together, a partnership that he said will continue to benefit the people of Honduras. Eliassen, along with club members Janet McLaughlin, Marge Barker and Jean Bugbee, teamed up with Pure Water for the World and Sustainable Harvest International (SHI), based in Rutland, Vermont and Surry, Maine, respectively. 
     In a project started by the Rotary Clubs of Freeport and Portland, Hondurans had the opportunity to purchase slow sand water filters. The South Portland Cape Elizabeth Rotary raised $7,000 toward supplying the filters. In all, Pure Water for the World received $150,000, including $12,000 from the Freeport club, $20,000 from Portland and matching donations from the Rotary District and Rotary International.
     The filters are roughly the size of  water coolers, but because they are made out of concrete, they weigh 300 pounds. Contaminated water is poured into the filter and it passes through several grades of sand and gravel, leaving clean and clear water. Eliassen said the filter removes 100 percent of the parasites in polluted water.
        Before paying for the filters, the families were interviewed and required to attend instructional seminars. Eliassen and his fellow club members inspected the filters to make sure the families were receiving clean water. Of the 900 filters distributed to homes in the region, Eliassen said the group checked on 40 filters in the Santa Barbara area. Eliassen said there are roughly 16,00 people living outside of the city with no access to clean water.
     The impact of the filters was most evident in the region’s younger population, Eliassen said. Children frequently suffer from diarrhea and stomach ailments from drinking contaminated water.  Eliassen recalled their first visit to a Honduras home as particularly rewarding because the family reported a reduction in stomach problems. He said one man “looked up to the heavens” as he expressed his gratitude.
    Eliassen said getting the children of Honduras healthy is a major step forward in stopping the cycle of poverty.
    “There is a lot less absenteeism just because they feel better,” he said. When the group first arrived in Santa Barbara, Eliassen said they bought 60 pairs of shoes and various school supplies for the elementary school children. “It’s amazing what $400 worth of school supplies can buy in Honduras,” he said.
    Teaching the local people about sustainable agriculture and environmentally friendly practices was also an objective of the SPCE Rotary club’s visit and their partnership with SHI. For example, Eliassen said many farmers use slash and burn methods, which not only leads to deforestation, but also removes a lot of nutrients from the soil.  Representatives from SHI teach local farmers about crop rotation and planting trees to combat erosion in the hilly land. By improving the conditions of the land, the farmers are able to maintain bigger, more plentiful gardens, which allow them to turn a better profit for crops like coffee, corn, and bananas at the farmers’ markets.
    “They’re poor people (and) they’re not going to get the best plots of land,” Eliassen said.  He said SHI hires local “extensionists” to help local farmers and families implement the practices on their land. Extensionists visit individual farms at least twice a month for a period of three to five years.  After a family goes through the process of working with the extensionist, they “graduate” and are expected to pass on their knowledge to others.
    Eliassen said a lot of corporations buy produce from the large farming cooperatives and the smaller farmers get pushed aside. He said if efforts are not made to teach poor farmers how to run sustainable operations, they will be forced to leave the area because there will be nothing left to live on.
    “If you don’t provide what people need, they’re going to leave,” he said. “The farmers’ plight is not much different than that of small farmers in the U.S.,” he said.
Within both countries, he said there is not enough help for the local farmers to compete with large, corporate operations.
    When asked if he ever runs into the attitude that more should be done to help people in Maine or the U.S. before helping people in foreign countries, Eliassen said it is difficult to pick and choose what people or cause is more deserving. He noted that 80 percent of the money the South Portland Cape Elizabeth Rotary raises, goes back into the community.
    He said his wife asked why he didn’t go to New Orleans to help Habitat for Humanity build new homes.
    “Why go to Central and South America?” he said. “For one, I like to travel and two, I like to help out.” Although he was hesitant to admit it, he said it is more exciting to help out in a foreign country. 
    Eliassen has a history of combining his love for travel with his passion for volunteer work.  About 10 years ago Eliassen left his practice in Santa Barbara, California and spent five months traveling around Central and South America, offering his dental services to people in need. Initially, he said his plan consisted of a desire to head south.
    In searching for a contact in Central America, Eliassen came across a 74-year-old man in Guatemala, who was running an organization called the Domingo Foundation, providing dental services to Mayans for 30 years. Eliassen headed to Costa Rica and on Feb. 12, 1997, Eliassen stood in front of a church, waiting to be picked up by his new acquaintance.
    In Guatemala, Eliassen set up a “demo unit” inside a Catholic Church. Two Mayans assisted Eliassen, who could speak a little Spanish, but knew nothing of Mayan languages. He recalled being shocked at the non-Mayan local’s predominantly negative reaction to his work. Eliassen said the locals, who had to take an hour-long bus ride to see a dentist, were upset that they could not take advantage of the new service.
    At one point, Eliassen said locals confronted his assistants and said, “You guys are nothing, but dirty Indians.”
    “It just goes to show you that prejudice is everywhere,” he said.
    Drawing another parallel between Central American countries and the U.S., Eliassen said there are a lot of people in regions that do not have access to a dentist. He said the federal governments are not providing enough support for dentists to treat lower income families.  
    After leaving Central America and moving to the east coast, Eliassen said the experience has given him a new perspective.
    “I can be having a bad day, then [I] think about a bad day for someone in Honduras or Guatemala [and] it’s all relative to what you’re used to.”