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93 Chapter 5 Taking Life by the Reins Steps toward Self- and Social Betterment They [SAT students] seem more self-confident and are taking the reins; . . . they aren’t just waiting. —Alejandro, SAT coordinator Leticia walked across the lobby of the hotel in Tegucigalpa where we had agreed to meet. I was delighted to finally see her in person after multiple rounds of telephone tag. Leticia had been living in Tegucigalpa for the last year, and I traveled to the city for our interview. She was enrolled as a student at one of the top national universities. Her goal is to become a social worker, because “it is a career oriented towards service, and that’s why I like it.” She explained that the SAT program played an instrumental role in her life: “Here I am now in the university because of SAT.” Leticia’s case illustrates that while one of the main effects of SAT is a “different mind,” women have benefited from their studies in more visible ways. Leticia was older than many of her classmates when she entered the university, for she finished high school at twenty-seven. As a young girl, she said, “I wanted to study, but, well, since there wasn’t a centro basico in the community and my family couldn’t afford to send me to the city, there wasn’t a possibility for me to continue studying.” In 1996 when the SAT program started, she was one of the first to enroll. Neither of Leticia’s parents studied beyond the third grade. Her father worked as a fisherman, and her mother worked in subsistence agriculture. Both Leticia and her mother told me that one of the challenges Leticia faced growing up was that her father drank heavily. Leticia explained in 2004: “My father hasn’t been a good father. He is not responsible at home. When a man dedicates himself to drinking, well, sometimes he fails at home.” During our 2010 interview, Leticia revealed that her father had stopped drinking to help support her university studies. 94 Opening Minds, Improving Lives Leticia was in no rush to marry or have children, for whom she wanted to set a different example. She intentionally put off getting involved with anyone because she did not want it to interfere with her plans to enroll in further study. “I didn’t want to [marry] because this would have caused problems because I wouldn’t have studied.” When she does marry, Leticia wants the relationship to be one where “we share the housework and share ideas—to me this is important for a couple.” Before moving to Tegucigalpa, Leticia was one of the most active women in her community. For many years she was the president of a youth group in her village, sponsored by the Episcopalian group Pastoral Social. She also served as treasurer. In 1999, she was elected by her peers to go to Rome as part of the Jubilee 2000 celebration. She explained that she was selected because “I was active in groups and they elected me as coordinator.” In this chapter I describe how, closely linked with their increased self-confidence and critical perspective, women who participated in SAT (including Leticia) were taking steps toward personal and community improvement. Their perspectives and actions, when viewed through the lens of social capital (Bourdieu 1993), may in the long run contribute to community development because they strengthen the social fabric of the community. Furthermore, in some instances women were creating new structures in the form of income-generating enterprises. These initiatives improve women’s lives through increasing their access to income and allowing them financial independence from their male partners. These small businesses may also improve the community by providing needed services and goods. Nevertheless, the context in which these women live places serious constraints on their ability to contribute to self- and social change. They are geographically isolated, and there is little access to a market for their agricultural products. While education has begun to expand their outlooks and actions, education alone cannot change the social structures and physical conditions that constrain their lives. However, in the context of where these women live, the small changes that do take place should not be overlooked. Sociability and Relationships with Others SAT participants frequently mentioned improved relationships with others as a direct consequence of their participation in the program. For example, before her participation in SAT, Sonia rarely left her home. She described how through SAT...

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