World Vision

The feeding program at the school.  Called community pot, families bring along vegetables from their gardens to share with the other supplies from World Vision.

A boy climbing up a tree to tie up the rope for the pinata.

Some of the boys at the playground.

I asked this boy if his name was Zacchaeus, he said his name was Jose.  The joke didn't translate obviously.

The one swing set was busy the entire time we were there.

Doug getting involved in trying to get the sound system working.  Our guide Odeir to the right in the white shirt and sunglasses.

Bonita (beautiful).

''

"Take our picture with you."

Elizabeth and Jeremiah in the back of the truck watching the pinata.

A piece of the first pinata lots of the kids were wearing as a hat, including Elizabeth.

Pinatas can look like fun, but don't always end well.

Girls working on their jewellery.

The band of musicians ages 14-17. 

The new woodworking project that is starting up. 

World Vision took us to the Teleptan project in Nicaragua which is done in conjunction with World Vision Canada. 

Our escort Odeir made an excellent guide, and interpreter.  Staff are passionate about the work they are doing and the differences it makes in the community.  They were articulate and well spoken of the goals and objectives for World Vision.

We visited a local school which housed a community shared pot (feeding program).  The schools are funded by the government but are very basic.  World Vision helps with the community to improve buildings, teacher training, library resources and school supplies for students.  The principal and teachers were happy to express the improvements made.  To all the Canadian teachers out there you have lots to be grateful for.

The feeding program helps families understand the importance of nutrition; giving them recipes for food newer to their culture (soy beans) that are good sources of protein and nutrition.  Families are encouraged to plant small gardens to help subsidize their food sources.  Lots of kids were looking in on us with our visit.

We went to a community playground where a basketball court and a swing set have been established.  They tried to get a sound system working and Doug got involved of course.  They were setting up some piñatas for the kids.  Piñatas are very big and serious competition.  It was uncomfortable to see how aggressive it got with the piñata.  There was throwing of fists with some boys and some older boys ran off with the head full of candy.  Elizabeth had a few suggestions on how that could have been handled differently. 

There were also other children there wanting to talk, have their pictures taken and a little boy who offered one of his 2 candies to Doug.  Having a place to play and playgrounds are something we often don’t think about. 

We saw a craft group for girls who have learned to make necklaces.  They were efficient and proud of their work.  We saw a music group who have learned to play instruments and now mentor other musicians.  We didn’t understand all the words but we recognized the song "We want to see Jesus lifted high" by the tune.   Many of these kids play at their local churches.  Another group is learning to do wood working.  They put the 3 groups together in one area for our tour.  They spent a lot of time setting up all the things for us to see.  One of the boys said he would normally have been in school at this time.  We told him de nada (your welcome).

The last group we visited was a group of men who have been taught how to tend bees and sell honey.  The group is forming a co-op of 80 bee keepers.  The program started with 30 and has since been able to multiply.  They are working to export honey to Europe.  The difference this makes for their families is a steady income and more time together.  The men spoke before of long hours and having to work away from home during the week.  They would make a few hundred dollars a month or less to support their families.  One man had travelled 2 hours to come out for our visit.  They presented us with some delicious honey before we left. 

We are humbled by how much effort was made for our tour.

World Vision is intentional about building stronger communities and doing that by working with local leaders.  They establish goals and certain criteria need to be met before a program is initiated.  The monitoring is a huge task; in this community alone there were over 2000 sponsor children. 

This visit has made us even more aware of the impact World Vision makes.  It makes us more certain than ever that our donations are being put to good use.  Stronger communities make for strong families and healthier children.    Communities can sustain themselves when World Vision moves on to work with another community.

Tesoros and ramp building.

The youngest little guy at Tesoros, very cute.

Elizabeth cleaning a chair.  With all the dust that blows through the building cleaning is a big part of what happens at Tesoros.  Keeping things clean for the kids.

Doug, Jeremiah and Emma on the ramp project.

Jeremiah adding on the railings.

Emma and Jeremiah painting the project.

This shop is a beautiful space to have to build the ramp.  It functions to train local Nicaraguans in trades that help with employment opportunities.  The shop is located on the same grounds as the Nehemiah Centre where we have been staying. 

The space that they use for the equestrian therapy.  The stool that Nancy is sitting on is what they use to help kids get on and off the horses currently.

A room full of stuff soon to have a shelf built to help with the storage of all the bins.

Elizabeth interacting with one of the horses. She loves to feed them her apple core after lunch.  Has had a few opportunities to groom them and to have a short ride.

Lifting the older/ bigger kids will hopefully be much easier once the ramp is in place.

Our time at Tesoros is soon coming to an end.  The girls and I have mostly spent our time interacting with the children whether that is helping them stretch with therapy, make a craft, playing whatever game we come up with and other tasks as asked.  They have prepared craft material, and cleaned.  I am proud of the attention, care and nurturing they have shown.  The moments of connection are precious slowing us down and reminding us we are human beings not human doings.  I love the writtings of Henri Nouwen and he spent many years living in community with those who are differently abled.  His reflections have added new depth to the experience. Below are a few quotes from Henri Nouwen:

"A waiting person is a patient person. The word patience means the willingness to stay where we are and live the situation out to the full in the belief that something hidden there will manifest itself to us."

"You don't think your way into a new kind of living. You live your way into a new kind of thinking."

"Christians should put survival of the planet ahead of national security...Here is the mystery of our global responsibility: that we are in communion with Christ- and we are in communion with all people...The fact that the people of Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador, Russia, Afghanistan, and Ethiopia are our brothers and sisters is not obvious. People kill each other by the thousands and do not see themselves as brothers and sisters. If we want to be real peace-makers, national security cannot be our primary concern. Our primary concern should be survival of humanity, the survival of the planet, and the health of all people. Whether we are Russians, Iraqis, Ethiopians, or North Americans, we belong to the same human family that God loves. And we have to start taking some risks- not just individually, but risks of a more global quality, risks to let other people develop their own independence, risks to share our wealth with others and invite refugees to our country, risks to offer sanctuary- because we are people of God"
— Henri J.M. Nouwen

Doug and Jeremiah have had a more tangible project with building a steel ramp that will improve the therapists ability to get the kids on and off the horses.  It will be interesting to watch this get moved over.  I am interested to see the staff's reaction.  We will also present them with the computers my brother-in-laws company donated and a sound system will come later.  It is currently waiting for them a the airport.  Praying that all goes through smoothly when the director Michelle gets back. 

We are so impressed by the staff and families at Tesoros and the community of care and support they have created.  The mother's mainly and a few fathers and siblings interact and care for each other and the children in a truly beautiful way.  The moments we have experienced are privileges that they share with us allowing us access to their children.  Sometimes we wonder if they feel obligated, but more often we experience grace that is communicated despite any language barriers.  Smiles shared between parents, children and staff all speak of joy in a moment shared.  We have experienced a lot of joy.  Thank you Tesoros. 

Random thoughts and observations

*Seatbelts are optional and often not available.
*$5 is not enough to bribe a police officer, but $5 and a piece of chicken is. (or so we are told)
*added in August 20th*Doug found out first hand phone a friend who speaks Spanish and $10 is enough to bribe a police officer when borrowing a friends motorcycle to run an errand yesterday.
*The bus may not be going to the stop you think, even if you asked and they said “Si”.
*licenses are optional if you stay off the main roads.
*Lemons in Nicaragua are green, what we would call limes in Canada. “Fernanda you were correct.”’
*We are pretty sure “to code” does not exist down here. When it comes to the electrical and plumbing we have seen.
*Cold showers are all we have had but usually the water is “tepid”.
*I have yet to have a “good” cup of coffee down here. The search continues.
*August 20th good coffee found !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
*Bring the big package of Imodium.
*Pizza and subway are the closest thing to North American food we have had down here.
*The girls never want to eat at Tip Top Chicken again. The McDonald’s of Nicaragua.
*Loose dogs are common but tend to be harmless.
*Loose chickens are also common.
*Muffin tops are alive and well. The tighter the pants the better.
*Bars and locks are common on windows and entrances. A necessity it would seem.
*You never know what might be in a backyard. Beautiful pizza place found beyond an unassuming gate. Pizza is really good down here but does not replace our desire for deep dish pizza from Chicago. (our stop on the way home)
*Nicaraguans take carpooling to a new level. Back of trucks loaded down, motorcycles carrying families of 4 and their groceries, bicycles with 3 people at times.
*Horses and carts do travel everywhere with the rest of traffic.
*A mototaxi can and will overtake a taxi cab.
*After sucking back major exhaust we are thankful for clean air emissions testing in Ontario.
*People are generally friendly and helpful.
*Our Spanish sucks.
*With uncertainty come many more questions from one’s offspring.
*Remember to bring your passports when checking into a hostel.
*People speak English at a hostel. We are the only family we have seen there.
*Hostels have cool names lazy bones, monkey hut, surfing turtle and many others.
*Frozen chocolate bananas are awesome.
*Gallo pinto can and will be served for breakfast, lunch and dinner some days.
*We are all tired of Gallo pinto.
*Nicknames include Gringos and Chele.
*Being the minority makes spotting each other easier in crowds.
*People like to touch my hair (Elizabeth), but I hate that.
*Malaria pills can turn into full out drama, and test a parent’s patience.
*People sell beverage pouches without the drinking straw, just bite off a corner.
*People use machates to cut grass, trees branches and whatever else needs hacking.
*At home we take for granted the ease of jumping into one of our 2 vehicles.
*Couches are rare and funky smelling when found.
*Plastic lawn chairs are the furniture of choice.
*Hammocks are awesome. The kids want to purchase one for home.
*When calling the taxi to go to Laguana Apoyo it is important he understands that you don't want to go out to eat poyo "chicken".  Miguel our taxi driver is awesome if we haven't mentioned this yet.

Buses and other vehicles

Elizabeth's version on bus rides. This weekend we went to Leon on what we thought was an expresso bus. At the bus terminal we saw 30 some odd people come on the bus and try to sell stuff to us. Mostly food, pirated movies which we don't think is illegal in Nicaragua but we don't know. Also we saw flashlights for sale and stuff like that. It was really like a mall that was coming to you.



What we thought was an expresso bus stopped alot and when I say alot I mean alot. On our ride we saw lots of loose cattle and volcanoes.






In Leon we saw some interesting vehicles. Here are some examples:












On the way back we tried to get on an expresso van but there were none going to Managua left. So we tried to find an expresso bus but there were none of those left either. Then a chicken bus came which mom was lined up for. Then everyone rushed and ran onto the bus, so much for the line. Dad told us to get in through the back of the bus.

In Canada you would have to buy a ticket but in Nicaragua you don't. Once the bus is moving a person comes through the crowd and gets the money from you. It is very cheap here to ride a bus. Chicken bus's are old school bus's not real bus's like we have back home. Some of them would not be allowed on the roads.

Dad tried to clarify that we were going to a certain stop in Managua. The person there said we were but really he was just saying yes and nodding his head. We got off at a different stop than we thought we were suppose to. Thankfully an amigo Miguel our taxi driver was available to come and get his son Miguelito to pick us up. A family helped us call and explain where we were.

San Juan del Sur-school, family, bus ride

We all graduated from language school but we're not sure with how much additional Spanish. Hopefully it will click and we can help each other out. We are grateful for the patient teachers and hope for more patient informal teachers along the way.

Our host family consisted of Susanna the mother and head of the family. Her son William his wife and two children. Along with two other girls who live with the family. We never did figure out their relationship to the family.

Glenda a family friend would put up a stand each night selling, were not exactly sure, refresca (drinks) and some sort of fried plantain with a topping that resembled coleslaw. We didn't try it.

Good bye to San Juan del Sur and all the people we have met there. Our language school was in the second storey of the directors house. Right next to the Pali which is a local grocery store.

Our bus ride to Managua was an adventure. We caught the wrong blue bus direc to Managua. Ours stopped about 15 times and for the first 20 minutes we were standing squished in to a very full bus. We saw the nicer two colour blue bus whiz past us with a bathroom on board. Which Elizabeth would have loved because she had to pee 5 minutes into our two hour trip. In the end we got seats, and it only cost us about $3 per person.

Managua

Managua has been an adjustment with our transition here. Much less freedom and many more warnings regarding safety. Nehemiah Centre is lovely and secure but strange to see armed security guards on the compound.



Tesoros is celebrating Santo Domingo at the school with parties all week. This is fun, confusing and a little hard to know where to help. The parents are very nice and smile and try to communicate with us but our lack of Spanish gets in the way. Michelle the director there has been great with helping. Next week she is away to South America. Another volunteer Derek has better Spanish so he can help us translate.

The boys are working on a metal ramp for use with the horses. Jeremiah is putting his welding skills to use.

We can't walk very far for safety reasons so we need to hire a mototaxi or a taxi to get to places. We fit all 5 of us in the back of this little mototaxi. By Nicaraguan standards that is not impressive. We stumbled on to the end of the horse parade on Aug.10 for the Santo Domingo celebrations. We watched from our restaurant. On our return home we saw about 30 people load into the back of a truck. They were stopped but only to check for insurance and then off they went. People hanging off the sides holding onto the railings.

Miguel the taxi driver we have is excellent and very accomodating. He is most understanding of our lack of Spanish. We didn't think our language teachers had a lot of english but by comparison we realize how much they did. Certainly more than our little Spanish.

Last night we went out for dinner and spent the most so far not realizing we were talking American dollars on the menu not cordobas. Our salads cost us $10 each. We went to the movies and saw a movie in English with Spanish subtitles. Elizabeth said it didn't feel like we were in Nicaragua last night.

Please pray for this part of our journey. Safety, a sense of security for the kids and knowing that what ever part we play makes a difference.

Village living outside of San Juan del sur

These are the smart people of the village right here. they know that it is freakishly hot so they go down into the river to wash their clothes instead of sweating their butts off doing some labor intensive work.


Sarah was happy to pose for us. Probably happy that she isn't mowing the lawn with a knife (machate) instead, or thats what I would be thinking

This is ''the lady on the hill'' as I call her because I forgot her name. It is very hot, on a hill, no electricity, and no running water, let's not forget the sweaty hike up the hill it takes to get there and that is how they have to bring everything in. She had 10 children by the time she was 28 years old.

That's her hut/house (I have no idea what to call it) where she cooks and she has another one that I'm not sure what she uses it for. It had like zero ventalation and was really smokey. No trees around for shade either so extremely hot.

That is mom pretending she would be even remotely competent with nothing but a makeshift stove and whatever they had to cook (probably rice and beans)

That is a families house, no nothing just something to call home. Our shed in the backyard is bigger than many of the houses. This is the worst poverty we have seen.

Submission by Emma.

catching up and surfing

Well I think all the sun and beaches are catching up to us. Myself, Jeremiah and Doug have all had a some intestional issues. Glad that I packed Imodium.

Friday night we went to a nice hotel in the hills for happy hour, ordered frozen chocolate milk(different than a milk shake but delicious) and swam in chlorine. You long for chlorine after so much salt water.

Despite feeling less than stellar we went to the beach for the surfing lessons we booked. I opted to be the photographer for the day. Everyone got up at some point but lets just say surfing is harder than the pro's make it look.