One of the best things of being out in the field is how unpredictable it can be. You can arrive somewhere with an idea of how you want your story to go but sometimes you end up with something completely different.

Noluvin Mauricio Perez Erazo

When I arrived to the small city of Nueva Frontera in Honduras I was hoping I’d find a teacher with a compelling story. I did. But, I also found someone I didn’t expect- a 14-year-old deportee.

Noluvin Mauricio Perez Erazo spent 15 months in the U.S. before he and his dad were deported. Interviewing children and teens can be a challenge simply because they can get nervous or just aren’t as well spoken as an adult. You also have to have to be sensitive to the fact they’re just kids and try to keep it simple.

At one point during our conversation I asked Noluvin what he wanted to be when he grew up. His answer left me surprised and saddened.

Waleska’s dad, Carlos Humberto García Zelaya

Waleska Yamileth García Coello

Then, there was Waleska Yamileth García Coello whose father had a massive stroke and was being treated at the Hospital Escuela Universitario (HEU). The HEU is one of the largest public hospitals in the country. It serves as a point of reference for the rest. If they can’t provide services for you chances are a private hospital can’t either. 

However, that’s exactly the problem these days. HEU is part of a larger crisis of the Honduran healthcare system. There is a mass shortage of everything from medical supplies to water. Waleska told us how she and her sisters buy everything her dad needs while he’s at the hospital, and even bring the chair they sit on.

Waleska Yamileth García Coello

Noluvin and Waleska were two of the voices that stuck with me. Their stories left me speechless.

I never imagined meeting a 14-year-old deportee and a woman who brings her own chair to the hospital to watch over her sick father.

– Victoria Moll-Ramirez