I feel fiery and frenzied as I fiddle with whatever I can get my hands on…anxiously waiting to return to Nicaragua, the country I started to know and love summer of 2009. I am ready to return!

About a month from today I will be ever so lucky to return to Nicaragua for a second CPGC internship, entitled as a “continuing connections” grant. I can’t describe the pent up excitement that is causing me to wretch around in my desk chair every day while doing psychology research at Haverford College (for the two months preceding my internship). So the 2009 blog starts here!! Please read below if you are interested in my last year’s adventures. My favorite 2008 blog entry being the puppy story (read if you are an animal lover:)).

I will be working with Asociación Los Quinchos, an intricate program for former glue-sniffing street children. It serves more than 200 children in residential programs and even more in street outreach programs. A part of this program includes a farm for young girls outside of a small town called San Marcos. The group of girls in the program is referred to as “The Yahoskas.” Many of the girls who live on the farm were at risk of falling into prostitution. The farm provides a residence program for the girls. Besides receiving a home, care, and food, these twenty-five girls, ranging from five to fifteen, go to public school during portions of the day. They also participate in cultural activities such as folkloric and modern dancing. Games are frequently played and activities such as sewing and soccer are offered.

I worked with the Yahoska girls last summer and I attempted to tackle the issues of illiteracy and the lack of love for reading. I helped the girls build self-esteem and set life goals, and I also introduced them to the idea of animal rights and the fulfillment they can feel when caring for animals. I raised $1700 outside the CPGC funding and re-organized and added to the main ‘Quincho Library.’ I ended up buying over 600 books to contribute to the existent 200. My elders in Nicaragua were very supportive and innovative when I was brainstorming and carrying out my ideas.

This summer, I plan to work with the same group of girls, by carrying out poetry workshops, journal-writing activities as a way of expressing life experiences, and by conducting discussions about violence (incorporating this topic into the poetry workshops and working with the older girls in the areas of domestic and public violence). I met a great psychologist during the Red Sox/Phillies game about a week ago who is eager to help me plan the workshop. This psychologist has written a book for adults regarding the process of surviving ‘rape and sexual assault’ and is also on the review board for a known psychology journal which publishes research surrounding rape and sexual assault studies. I also hope to continue my activities surrounding animal rights and I also plan to start a small library at the home of the Yahoskas, of which I have already raised sufficient funds for (thanks to a few generous donors).  I am lucky enough to include my ‘homestay mother,’ Doña Ivania, the Quincho librarian, to help me carry out the project.

First of all I would like to thank Jeffrey and Christina Lurie, who have been ever so generous as to donate a generous sum of money to my upcoming library project. They are dear friends and role models for me as I take on a new project. The plan is to start a library at the Yahoska complex (read below for a description). This week I will be sending out numerous letters to friends and family in order to raise more money for books and library supplies. Library project #2 is getting way!

The race is on to plan as much as possible in the next month before I head down south. But as those of us who have visited and lived in Nicaragua may know, plans need to be malleable if any implementation is desired!

Many of the Yahoska girls have never been asked to discuss their inner feelings about their personalities, but project Somos Bonitas Adentro y Afuera prompted some of these sentiments. 

Two weeks ago I took individual photos of every girl and had them printed in Managua. It was an entertaining process to get the girls to pose for me, but we all ended up having a good time and laughing quite a bit. It was an even more incredible process to find the hard-backed board I wanted to mount the photos on. I had to take a bus to a neighboring town to find a large Styrofoam piece one might put in the trash. The workers at a Refrigerator store were glad to hand over their extra packing material. I painted the board red and pasted the photos of the girls in order of youngest to oldest. Below every photo I wrote ADENTRO: and AFUERA:. I brought the poster board to the home of the Yahoskas, and was immediately surrounded by smiling faces and screeching voices saying, “ENSEÑA!” (which means show me!). After every girl got a good look at the poster I began the two day process of discussions.

I discussed what I thought was beautiful inside and out about the personalities and faces of every girl. We talked about how the media often emphasizes outer appearances, and how it is important to realize there is more to a person than the clothes they wear or makeup they put on. A few of the girls blushed and smiled nervously as we talked, but eventually they all warmed up and enjoyed talking about their favorite personality traits and physical features. A few of the older girls became a bit teary. I think it was refreshing for them to be able to express their love for themselves to someone who truly cared. With the older girls I emphasized how much I loved it when they were positive, and I told them how important it is to maintain their positive attitudes (although much of the time the girls are grumpy or whiney). They need to receive encouragement and positive feedback as much as possible.

It is hard to truly view all of the tradegy and extreme problems of Nicaragua, and I came to this realization when I accompanied 15 of the Yahoska girls on vacation to a northern town called Posletega. For two weeks the girls school had vacation, and about half of the girls went home to their families to visit. The interesting part of the trip started with a bumpy ride to the North of Managua, which eventually caused the old, rickety bus to break down. The Yahoska workers played this off well and pretended it was merely a stop for lunch. After the bus cooled down, we chugged on to our destination.

The Quincho program doesn’t have exuberant amounts of money, so they travel to places where they can sleep for free. About eight years ago a volcano erupted and killed thousands of people in and around the town of Posletega. The Quinchos reached out to the devastated place and built a school about three kilometers from the main town. This was where we stayed. 

The first day was full of Frisbee, soccer, a piñata, and story telling. Before bed I read the girls a meditation from a book I was so lucky to find on our latest trip to Managua. It was so exciting because this book was one that was read to me when I was little, so it was crazy to be able to find it in Spanish (it was found in the used books section). Despite the older girls listening to their Reggeton music not a 100 meters away, the younger girls enjoyed the story and were intent to have it read to them every night they were on vacation.

We all slept in the two roomed school, the girls and their teachers in one room and the volunteers in the other. The rooms were divided by what seemed like a cardboard, wood collection. We slept on the Nicaraugan version of sleeping bags, which were merely cotton filled mats for the floor. Right as I was about to fall asleep the bats came to life and began to swoop in and around our room from the storage room to our left. Between the girls talking in their sleep in the next room and the “murciélagos” yapping, I slept very little the first and second nights.

Left in my funding for the library was 650 dollars, of which DonaIvania, Gloria and I put to good use. With 650 dollars left to use, DonaIvania, Gloria, and I ventured into the great city of Managua to purchase more books for La Biblioteca. We spent five hours in three stores debating over what books to buy. The library needed a few sets of special text books for the children to use after school, several types of science books, music books, poetry, more “learning to read” books for the smaller Quinchos, and libros in various other subjects. It is amazing how far 650 dollars can go in a third world country. We filled two backpacks and six bags full of books to lug back on the “MicroBus” to San Marcos.

Amongst our favorite purchases were books about physical and sexual child abuse, homosexuality, and a book about “all you need to know about your period.” We also chose some books about animal care and animal rights, along with a children’s meditation book (of which I used to read when I was little…only in English). Below are some photos of us with our favorite books.

Thank you so much to those who contributed to this project. Itssuccess is evident by the smiles on the children’s faces when they walk into their newly renovated and liberated library. DonaIvania, the librarian would also like to make a special thanks to those who donated. Your contributions have brought tears to her eyes on several occasions.

It was an instant relief to be reunited with my group of friends from Haverford who are volunteering in Nicaragua. Fourth of July weekend was celebrated with laughter and story telling. We ventured to a southern beach called El Coco and filled each other in on our internship experiences (while taking in a bit of sun). It was the perfect get away in the middle of our 10-week span in this fascinating country. It was a bit difficult to play tourist after volunteering for so long, but we comforted ourselves by realizing our money was going toward the improvement of the tourism business. An increase in tourism would greatly help Nicaragua’s economy. It has as many beautiful sights as does Costa Rica but lacks the economic stability to advertise. It is hard to publicize and improve the tourism business when forty percent of the population is in extreme poverty.

In the Southern part of Nicaragua exists a beautiful sanctuary for the mothers of the ocean, who once a year travel thousands of miles to lay their eggs in the same sand from which they originally emerged. La Flor is a natural turtle reserve in which over 20,000 turtles come to between July and September to lay their precious, valuable eggs. About one in every hundred of their babies will survive to become procreative adults.

Besides birds and small mammals, humans are their most detrimental predator. Turtle eggs are a delicacy in Nicaraguan restaurants; so many poor residents will sneak onto the reserves and steal the turtle eggs after they are laid. But how can we blame those who are merely trying to survive and feed their families by digging up a few eggs to sell on the streets? Humans are slowly destroying nature, but poverty and corrupt governments are slowly destroying humanity. Who is at fault?

Our group was lucky enough to witness one of the great giants lay her eggs deep in the sand. I can’t begin to describe how incredible the mother turtle looked as she struggled to lay and bury her 100 some odd ping-pong like eggs and then flop back to the ocean. These incredible creatures can live up to 200 years old and have been around since the age of the Dinosaurs.

My group also arrived on a night when nine eggs had hatched, so the workers at the national reserve allowed us to set them free into the ocean. It is much safer for humans to bring them down the beach than to let them travel on their own, because many predators are constantly on watch in hopes to grab a bite to eat. It was quite a sight to watch the tiny beings scamper away to the distant roar of the waves. Sometimes we forget to appreciate the beauty beyond human kind. Nature has so much to offer.

It is amazing what will make a Nicaraguan child smile. Normally new tooth brushes are fun for a minute or two, but the Yahoska girls looked as if it was Christmas when I distributed new tooth brushes that Dr. Obannion and Dr. Stein & Shannon graciously donated. They all carried their new possessions around their property for at least an hour, holding them while laughing and completing their chores. They were all eager to keep the packaging the brushes were wrapped in, but their teachers said that wouldn’t be necessary. For many of them it is nice to have a brand new posession.

If a small fraction of the dentists in the United States could donate tooth brushes yearly, there would never be a shortage in Nicaragua. We can all dream. Fire starts with a spark, so thanks again to the dentists who supported Los Quinchos and the Yahoska girls in lighting a spark. You brought smiles to their faces, and from now on their smiles will be brighter!

Every day a smile comes to my face as I approach my volunteer site. The outer walls are decorated with pictures and bright colors, proudly displaying the Yahoska title. The Yahoska property is like a small farm, with two goats, a pig, and a dog and cat. Mango trees scatter the acre sized piece of land and the girls frequently scamper up the tree trunks to throw mangos down to their friends. Daily life includes meals, school (the girls travel to and from the town of San Marcos for school — either in the back of a pick up truck or by foot), and various activities, including daily chores.

These girls are very well behaved and are constantly running from activity to activity. I’m always amazed when most of them jump up with a smile to go sweep a floor or wash dishes. They hand wash all of their clothes and suffer through their homework when not dancing or running about. Every day is different. I try not to get in the way of their daily routine, but instead entertain the girls that have nothing to do.

Two days ago was Gloria’s birthday (Gloria is another Haverford Volunteer). I went to the Yahoska’s early so the girls could make birthday cards for her. It is amazing how excited they get over the smallest projects. I whipped out paper and markers, and they immediately squealed with delight. It was the cutest thing watching them make their cards. “What do I say?” “Is this pretty enough?” “Will you help me write my card in English?” were some of the many questions they posed. I was touched when a few of them wrote me cards, explaining how much fun they’ve had with me and te quiero mucho! I want to take every one of them back with me to Kentucky.