Bienvenidos to my Blog!

Hello Family, Friends, and Curious Readers,

Thanks for stopping in to see what I am up to. This is my first blog, and I hope not to bore you too much with the details of my life. But rather hope to offer you some insights into development work, the highs, the lows, and well the boring.

But before I move away for 27 months, let me give you a little information about myself before I lose a steady internet connection.

So after graduating from Boston College in 2005, I decided I wanted to learn Spanish and "save the world" so I moved to Cusco, Peru. I began by volunteering for The Center for Traditional Textiles of Cusco by researching and writing a small business plan for the organization. I continued to work with the organization until February of 2008, when I returned to the US to prepare for my move to Madrid, Spain for 15 months to study an International MBA at IE Business School. And now, after a year of searching for the perfect development job, and taking odd jobs in the meantime, I have joined the Peace Corps and am volunteering again. So wish me luck, and PLEASE someone stop me from volunteering again!

Monday, February 25, 2013

The Matagalpa Dump and Susuman

A few Sundays ago, I went to a small, very poor community with a former student of mine, her mother, and her two younger brothers to visit her grandmother, who is also the pastor of a small evangelical church in that community. Susuman (the official name of this unofficial community) is located uphill from Matagalpa's dump, which is made apparent by the number of flies present at any given time, regardless of how clean the church was. Sarahi, my former student, had mentioned to me last year that she wanted to do a project in Susuman, and teach the youth in the community about how to save, start a business, and pretty much try to convince these kids that they have more options than their present condition.

Well this month we finally made it, and boy the phrase better late than never is most definitely applicable here. I am not even sure how to explain it, but basically, the people that live in this community are squatters, have built their homes out of government donated materials (in the past few years, the National Government has been giving out Zinc sheets which most of Nicaragua uses as roofs), and the families live off of $1 a day or less from materials found in the dump and then resold, or any other way they can make the money.

There is a school in Susuman, a three room primary school that was built from the salary of Sarahi's grandmother, as she is a teacher for the Ministry of Education, which at the time of my visit, had been closed down due to ownership disputes with a foreign missionary who had donated something or other and claimed it was then his/hers. But I got word a few days ago that the Ministry of Education was able to take it over, and now the school is up and running, saving the primary school kids a 5km walk to the next closest school.

Sarahi, her Grandmother, and her mom

The Church

Kitchen at the Church to feed those kids who don't have enough at home




The Church and its Pastor!

Kids watching a baseball game in front of the Church


The Matagalpa Dump

The Dump under 42X Zoom

Little boy walking with the dump in the background
Ok, so I didn't start writing this blog entry to make anyone feel bad, or pull at heart strings to get people to donate. Far from it. In fact, I wanted to write about it and Sarahi because I think she and her family are such an exceptional example of what charity means. They do not have much, and in relation to most people in the US, they have almost nothing of monetary value, but they know they are aware of the greater poverty that exists in their country and are actively trying to do something about it. They have asked me to do a few workshops on how to save, start a micro-business, etc. But in the process of the conversations, we also realized a need for much more. What turned out to be a single volunteer project is quickly becoming a multi-volunteer project, involving ovens, nutritition charlas, sexual and reproductive health charlas, psychologist visits, etc. It's a tall order, but hopefully we can make a small impact that will then ripple outward to make a bigger one. Stay tuned for more information, I have another meeting with Sarahi and family soon!

Monday, February 4, 2013

Tech Exchange in Rancho Grande!

Just a few days ago, I traveled to the small town of Rancho Grande. It is small in comparison with the city I live in here in Matagalpa, but it was rather large compared to the even smaller communities that surround it. The purpose of my visit, which was a 3.5 hours journey on a somewhat paved, and mostly dirt road, was to visit Anna, a fellow PCV in the health sector, with a project she started at the Casa Materna in Rancho. With the help of some donors from the USA as well as the support of her local health center, mayor's office, and community, she and the workers of the Casa Materna will be starting a milling business. Now, a milling business in the US might not seem like a good idea, but considering one of the staple foods in Nicaragua is corn tortillas that are made from freshly milled corn daily, it is a great idea. That and according to popular lore, women who have recently given birth are only allowed about 4 foods for the first 40 days after giving birth, one of which is Pinol, a corn beverage that needs... you guessed it! Milled corn!!

So after picking up the mill in Matagalpa, (which ironically has a Leeson motor powering it... small world right?) we headed off with the Ministry of Health Director, Administrator, Anna and I in their pick-up truck and made the long journey back to their community arriving at 11pm. The next morning, Anna showed me around town, introducing me to just about everyone we met, it's one of the blessings and curses of living in a small site... you know everyone and they all know about you! We then later had a meeting with the individuals that will be in charge of overseeing the mill and worked on record keeping. It was about all we could get through, because the little building that will hold the now present mill is still not completed. I will most likely need to return once the mill is fully functional, but in the meantime, we were able to clarify some things and make a plan for the running of the mill. Overall it was a productive exchange and I had a wonderful time in Rancho Grande.

On my last day there, Anna and I took a walk out into the campo and went to call on some friends of her's who live on a finca or farm. When we arrived, the mother and her three daughters were making fresh cheese which they later served us with a fresh warm tortilla. I even got some to take home with me! This family was truly wonderful, they showed me all over their farm, and I happily followed taking pictures and being amazed at seeing cacao trees, bean bushes, banana trees, and even a red headed woodpecker! I also got to try the fruit from a cacao tree. Little did I know that you can eat or rather suck on the creamy white flesh that surrounds cacao beans. It was sweet and sour, and slimy and very tasty. I have a feeling that my visit to this farm will be one of my favorite memories of Nicaragua.

Here are some pictures from that awesome trip!
Anna supervising the moving of the mill into the truck

Anna and her wet and dry mill

It fit!!!

Anna hard at work at her radio station gig! She talks about sexual and reproductive health weekly on the Catholic Radio station

Me in the back of the truck getting excited for the journey... we ended up riding in the cab, but it was fun to pretend


The Catholic Church in Rancho Grande

A beautiful view of Rancho

I just felt like striking a pose

Anna in front of the Casa Materna

The horse parking lot hahaha
Explaining the importance of recordkeeping... although I realize I look mad hahaha

Don Chico working on his record sheet

Anna watching the ladies enter their first "sale" of the day

Anna and those who will be responsible for overseeing the mill that can be seen in the background

A barber shop, but with an audience outside watching the tv

View from inside a beautiful chapel at the technical school

A picturesque view of a barrio of Rancho Grande, honestly, more what I thought would be my living situation in the Peace Corps... I am not complaining though!

Me in lovely Rancho Grande!

A man leading his horse up to graze

So pretty right?

Two young cows battling it out over a female! Or just goofing around

Anna and Dona Claudia at the finca

A river runs through it!

Anna helping to make fresh cheese, Cuajada

After they make the cheese curds, they have to mill it to form the ball ready to eat... I guess we could say they are Nica Cheese balls!

A Cacao fruit

A woodpecker

Not ripe Cacao hanging on the tree

Their bean field... gallo pinto has to come from somewhere right?

A Cacao fruit opened up... you can eat the white fleshy bit around the cacao beans and it is soooo good

Varieties of Cacao pods and their colors
PS, this is my 100th post! Awesome!!!