Why I Like TES

What is TES?

Trabajo Educativo Social, or TES, is a requirement of every soon-to-be graduate in any Honduran School in order to receive their diploma of Baccalaureate in Science and Humanities. It is to instill the principle of giving back to one’s community.

In the case of the American School, TES consists of` hard work in el Parque Cerro Juana Lainez. Nearly every Saturday we head to school at 7:45 in the morning and board a bus up to the park. We eat breakfast on our way up the mountain, and then we are given a task to complete for the day. Whether it be digging holes, planting trees, filling in potholes, or raking leaves, we do a variety of jobs to earn “TES” hours. This might sound tedious and grueling, but for me, it makes me feel alive.

Why Spend Your Saturday this Way?

Apart from it being a requirement for graduation, there comes the question of why would I enjoy spending my Saturday morning under the sun working four to five hours? Well, think of it this way: Monday through Friday I spend most of my time in school from early morning until late at night. Having to be always at school makes life very repetitive and boring in my eyes. So when I am given the opportunity to have a radical shift from that environment to green pastures and windy air, something changes. Things feel less claustrophobic, less monotonous.

Hard Work Feels Rewarding

It may not be for the faint of heart to spend multiple hours under the sun completing laborious tasks, but in my case, I live for this kind of work. I may not be the strongest person in my grade or the most athletic, but getting to see the fruits of my labor when we leave is one of the best feelings. Seeing a once empty hill filled with tree saplings, or seeing part of the road with a massive hole only for it to disappear, are accomplishments of the teamwork we all put forth that day.

A Service to the Country

The most important thing to remember when doing this work, and something I constantly remind myself of when the work is gruesome or exhausting, is: This is all to help my country. The purpose of this activity is to give back to others and aid in the betterment of our country. It teaches us that for us to help develop our communities and make them better places for everyone, we have to make sacrifices and give back to others the same way we had opportunities and help given to us in the past. In the end, the system of logging hours in order to graduate is only a secondary incentive to me. Instead, knowing that what I do helps my country in some small way is more than enough reason to get to work.

(Photograph via El Heraldo)