(This post is part of the series,
"Chamba in Honduras." For more information see
Introduction)
Mario is a 27 year old studying education at a public university in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. He says that work means economic stability, a sense of satisfaction, being productive and in his personal case, the absence of depression, economic worries and feeling useless. Mario depends on periodically available painting jobs as his source of income.
Mario knows that his expenses are low; he does not have to pay rent or purchase food because he lives with his parents. When Mario does have work, however, it is expected that he gives something to his parents to help with the household expenses before he can purchase toiletries, books or other expenses related to his studies.
In order to have the flexibility of working in the morning and early afternoon, Mario only registers for evening classes. He says that the majority of his classmates do the same; arriving to classes as the sun goes down, often exhausted from eight hours of work. Only the “children of mami and papi” (daddy’s girl and mama’s boy) have the luxury of studying full time during daytime hours. These privileged few that do not have to work are on the opposite side of a divide Mario calls social racism.
To understand Mario’s contentious statement, it is important to hear his story. Mario lives in a marginal community that could be called a slum. At the age 12, Mario dropped out of school and began using drugs. In order to avoid stealing, Mario worked in anything he could: masonry, welding and finally painting.
Mario’s transformation occurred when God force him to reflect of his past and future. With the help of a local church, he became saved, battled withdrawal and graduated from high school.
Returning to work as a painter was something Mario refused to do for years. Not only to avoid the temptation of using the drugs that his former coworkers would gladly share with him, but also because of the social stereotypes of being a day laborer in dirty cloths. Finally, when potential employers refused him for his auspicious past, Mario was forced to work as a painter once again.
These days, Mario gladly accepts any painting job he is offered and hires former coworkers when more than one person is needed. Some months, he is able to cover the costs of the university and support his family.
Aside from ministering to his former coworkers by giving them work, he is a leader of the youth group in his church, and volunteers at an orphanage outside of Tegucigalpa. However, he continues to be looked down upon not for his past but because of his current employment status.
According to Mario, people are judged first by their social status. Social racism, or prejudice based on socioeconomic class, is as common as racial prejudice was and is in the United States. North Americans might first notice the ethnic features of someone new. Hondurans might first notice the signs of work. Calloused hands, sun tanned skin and the lean build of a worker cannot even be hidden by brand name jeans, shoes and cell phone.
Mario’s dream is to be an English teacher. He wants to help students learn, something he avoided for ten years. He is motivated in his studies by the “social racism” he experiences. If the Lord allows him to join the Honduran professional class, he wants to always be the same Mario. He wants to always treat others equally, regardless of their work.
In a small Honduran Christian high school, students are putting in practice the theory they are learning in class. The students, who are studying business administration, are going out in their community to help their neighbors implement and use basic bookkeeping principles. At the same time that the students help improve business administration, they are learning practicle lessons of how business operate in their community.
