Have you ever been chatting with someone and as they tell you more about themselves and the words really start to sink in, you suddenly realize that they are such a bad-ass, you are completely caught off guard by your sudden admiration for them?
That has happened at least twice for me with Juana.
I first met Juana in 2021 in the small indigenous community where I was installing test wells for a water project. We needed to look around her property for the right spot and she was willing to help, in a very kind but firm kind of way. She said she had donated certain parts of her land to the community water project and wanted to help in any way she could, but she also firmly stated that it was her land and that she needed to be informed of any decisions and any work on her land.
Wielding her machete with strength and grace, she then proceeded to guide us through the jungle, rapidly creating a path through the vines and overgrowth with swift and agile slashes of her machete.
I was a little intimidated by her, but as we worked together for multiple days, we chatted more and more, and she began to confide in me. I learned that she was my age, which blew my mind because of her maturity as well as her sun-weathered face that had led me to believe she was older.
I remember being surprised that she had a daughter in her 20s and her youngest daughter was in primary school, and she had 4 other kids. She was considering going to a big city about 6 hours away to work where she could make a better income.
She confided in me that she had always wanted to study, but her father had said that only boys needed to study. So her brothers got an education while she didn’t even finish secondary school and instead got married and became a mother as a young teenager.
I remember being really impressed with her thoughtfulness, her strong and resilient spirit, and really grateful for being able to connect with her.
Fast forward 4 years later when I am in the community again to drill a water well. The group I’m with says they met Juana’s sister who is concerned about how our project might impact a reforestation project Juana is doing. With fond memories of Juana, I was happy to hear the sister say Juana was coming into town.
After a community meeting, a woman dressed professionally walks in. (This is notable because most people work in their fields and the most “professional” dress that I usually see at community meetings would be someone wearing an official vest over their normal clothes they use to work in the field.) I suddenly realize that the locals greet her as Juana. My brain is slightly confused (and I hope my face doesn’t show it), as I happily greet her and tell her how happy I am that we meet again. (It’s not so much that I don’t recognize her as it is that she looks so much younger and all dressed up professionally rather than being dressed for field work, and…well yes, I guess I hadn’t recognized her and was a little embarrassed about that.)
It turns out that she has a job at the municipality offices in the district capital an hour away and she had rushed here to make sure we don’t destroy her reforestation project. (A neighbor had already destroyed a few plants trying to make a path to his land, and she was still trying to get him to pay for their replacements.)
She explains that is working with some engineers from an international organization that provides funding to plant native trees in cleared areas and then tracks their growth and helps connects land owners with university and government projects that study forests. If the trees grow well, they also generate carbon credits, and Juana would receive funds from the credits. Someone comes regularly to count and inspect the trees and measure their growth so she doesn’t want any of them damaged.
She shows the well driller where her trees and saplings are planted, asking firmly that he don’t disturb them, and then she proceeds to spend the next hour clearing a path through forest undergrowth with her machete (she hasn’t lost her strength and grace wielding a machete despite her office job).
When I get a chance to talk to Juana, she tells me that she has been renting a place in the district capital, working days and studying nights, sometimes falling asleep in the bed with her notebooks. But last year she completed her GED equivalent, and this year she’s taking college classes in computation. She wants to learn how to use a computer and be able to prepare official documents.
Her house here is falling apart and she has purchased wood and roofing to build a new house. She wants to save up to purchase a computer and printer and then have a small business helping people with their documents they need to file with the government (insurance, death certificates, requests for government assistance, etc.) she loves helping people, she explains to me.
She only makes minimum wage at the municipal office and she pays for her college classes and rent, so she knows it will take time to complete all her goals. She tells me all this with neither great excitement nor overwhelm, but rather with a calm demeanor, giving off the vibe of an old soul, wise, strong and resilient, patient and hard-working. Someone who has weathered many a storm and knows that what will be will be and they will adapt to what comes, meanwhile working hard to try to make a decent life for herself.
Update: I had to travel to town and I met up with Juana in her work in the municipality office. They hadn’t yet given her a computer, but she had found a keyboard so she could practice. I showed her hand placement on the keyboard and printed out a drawing of a keyboard so she could practice typing without looking at the keyboard. When I had to return hours later unexpectedly, I found her in deep concentration, looking at the drawing of the keyboard and practicing typing on the real keyboard. The determination of this woman is inspiring!
Update 2: Today I had to return to town, and I found Juana in a new office, with a computer. Over breakfast she explained how frustrating it had been at first learning to use the mouse and type, but after the first few days, she started to get the hang of it and now can laugh at how frustrated she got.
