It is difficult to adequately capture the images and emotions that our team experienced on our first day of activity. Our evening discussion clearly illustrated the tremendous respect and humility we now have for the people and organizations that we visited today. We started the day traveling with Opportunity International. Most of us know about their micro-financing programs for small business owners and farmers in under-developed countries, but that is actually only part of what they do. Much of their work focuses on community development and education. In business we use the word "empowerment" quite a bit. Sometimes I wonder how well we know what that word actually means, but today we saw clear examples of how...with the right level of support and encouragement... people have the capacity to better their own lives and create a sustainable living situation. Empowering them to contribute in their own success.
After a brief introduction at Opportunity International’s headquarters, our van took us out to a remote farm. The dirt road was deeply rutted and pitched us from side to side. We gave each other uneasy glances and at one point we were certain that the van would go no further, yet our driver was undaunted. He kept pressing the gas until we eventually leveled out and found better traction. About fifty yards from a farm house we had to stop as the road was washed out by heavy rains. We entered the yard to scampering chickens and farm animals...and a beautiful, shy little girl who peered at us from around the crude brick columns supporting the roof of her house.
David, our OI guide, is a truly remarkable man. He came to Nicaragua from a much higher salary in Manhattan and has become an expert in Agriculture and Yuca production. During our travels he explained OI's mission with impressive passion. We were then introduced to Earnesto the farmer. Earnesto has been working with OI to learn more effective ways to grow Yuca root. Yuca root (not Yucca, which is different) looks like a large sweet potato and can be dried and ground into flour. Earnesto had been breaking from the traditional practices of his neighbors by partnering with OI and experimenting with more progressive farming techniques. He is now seeing a higher yield in his crop production, and that is impacting his family and his community. Earnesto was clearly proud of his farm and the fact that he was now helping to support his community by hiring a couple of local workers. We chatted with him for a while and he explained how Yuca is harvested and how producing higher quality Yuca improves his profit. He, in partnership with Opportunity International, has created a small model of how education and support, coupled with personal drive, can improve lives.
After leaving Earnesto, we were taken to a school that OI had started in January of this year. David explained that 47% of the children in Nicaragua never stay in school until the 6th grade. OI bought land and built a school that is home to fifty-seven kids ages twelve through fourteen. The kids can actually attend the entire five years and earn their High School Certificate as well as a Certificate in Agriculture, Technology or Tourism. We were permitted to walk in on an active classroom. The kids were learning to journal and speak English. Some seemed very shy and a little surprised to see the whacky Americans standing at the front of the room, sporting all types of cameras and electronics. They were all dressed in crisp white and blue uniforms and the classroom was very neat and orderly. Integrated into the process of learning agriculture, the school raises chickens and some crops. The production from their little farm actually pays about 35% of their school expenses. The concept is simply to educate young people on how they can be effective leaders in the future of their community. The school hopes to add fifty students a year.
One of our last visits for the day was to a small village deep in the jungle and down another somewhat challenging road. The story goes that the village was basically inaccessible due to severe flooding and erosion. The people in the village couldn't access the outside world, which includes medical care, supplies, and education. With the help of OI, the local people petitioned the government to repair the road. We met many of them on the front porch of a small house. They were so full of pride as they described going door to door to gain the level of support needed to confront the local government to fix their road. They actually have a plan and a list of other community development projects they hope to implement.
The dirt roads that we traveled today were full of life. People were actively doing chores or traveling by motorcycle, riding in carts pulled by bulls or horses, or dangerously hanging off crowded pick-up trucks or smoking buses. Loose pigs, chickens, cows and dogs were present in most yards.
Speeding by in our van all day we watched a world very different from ours. I am hesitant to say impoverished because poverty is relative. The people of Nicaragua seem to be proud, hard working and somewhat happy. They clearly live in a challenging environment. Many of the homes are little more than tacked together shacks with dirt floors. Children run the streets in bare feet, which leaves them vulnerable to worms that find their way in and cause disease. They need assistance, but they seem most interested in assistance that will afford them the opportunity to help themselves. They need a chance. Opportunity International is doing an excellent job of working with them...not over or through them...but with them, to provide support, not charity, and that enables them to find success while maintaining their dignity and sense of pride. It was an honor to visit with Opportunity International today. Keep them in your thoughts as you look for ways to share your financial resources.
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