First, I have to apologize. Yesterday I had blogged the incorrect cost of a Habitat House in Nicaragua. The correct cost is $6500. Please forgive me...it was late...I was Brick-Maker tired. But think about that for a minute. Imagine your council sponsoring a house? A house that gets children off of dirt floors? Yeah, that would be pretty awesome.
Our last full day in Nicaragua began with a wheelchair delivery to a small farmhouse in an overgrown field. The ride out of Managua was short, and we were not quite emotionally prepared for the visit. Reyna was our recipient. Lisa Lunsford-Jackson delivered the chair to Reyna who sat in her mom’s lap. It quickly became obvious that Reyna had severe cognitive disabilities and loss of control in her twisted feet and hands as well as an inability to speak. She sat restless until the chair was in place. 
As her mom was placing her in the chair, a pickup truck with a giant speaker on the back drove down the dirt road blasting looped political propaganda. Some politician was telling the struggling farmers just how much he was doing for them. The scene was almost surreal. Reyna is about twelve years old. She was born in good health but at ten months she developed a very high fever and her parents lacked the medical access to control it, resulting in brain damage. We all stood on and around her porch watching in silence...not knowing exactly what to say. We each were likely contemplating the incredible task her mother faces daily. Not only does she deal with the rigors of living in a worn down two room shack with an outdoor kitchen and a pit toilet, she has a child that will require constant attention the rest of her life. The wheelchair will definitely lighten her burden....but we all felt somewhat helpless and inadequate as we stepped off of that porch and headed back to the bus. Sometimes it just doesn't seem like enough.
We visited two more Free Wheelchair Mission wheelchair recipients. The wheelchairs were life changing and holding up great. Next was Teltpetlapan. All World Vision ADP's (Area Development Projects) host twice a week "Common Pot" meals. Local mothers gather together somewhere in the village and kids can come to receive a nutritious meal. The children's weight is tracked to ensure they are getting enough food. We spent an hour or so with the kids. We were invited to share the Common Pot meal so we all took a bowl and enjoyed it with the forty-something kids...sitting in a dark and damp room eating. The children are so beautiful, well mannered and sweet.
After lunch we went outside and heard from a group of village women who had formed an advocacy group called the Promoters of Justice. They work to bring justice to people who commit crimes against women and children, domestic violence, and causes that sometimes hide in the closets of communities like theirs. The women were confident and strong. We loved hearing them explain their mission with such passion. You don't want to get on the wrong side of these women.
The last leg of our day involved a very long ride up to an area called San Marcos Caraco. Before we were out of the urban chaos of Managua we spotted two cows walking down the sidewalk...with no present owner. The cows seemed to be confidently strolling to a known destination like they had just gotten off of a bus. The scenery was incredible as we trekked across the ridge of a mountain range. Often we could spot active volcanoes in the distance and the forest was lush and tropical. One of our team commented that it looked like a scene from Avatar. 
After an hour and a half of a bouncing steep dirt road we stopped and were welcomed to a village where an older ADP appeared to be having a tremendous impact. Children were learning to sew and do carpentry. The houses appeared to be in safer condition with access to drinking water. The children had shoes, appeared fed and most of the flooring was concrete.
The final event of our day was in a small Church where thirty children sang songs to us. We even coaxed our teammate Jennifer Collison to stand up and sing a song for the kids. Jennifer has a tremendous voice and somehow she even knew a song in Spanish. The kids cheered loudly for her while outside a heavy rain was making us all a little concerned about that deeply rutted, foggy and steep road on which we had arrived.
The ride home went smoothly, albeit a few stops for crossing cows, pigs, horses, dogs and the always present skinny chickens. We used the travel time as an opportunity to share our reflections on the trip. We all agreed that leaving Nicaragua was actually hard. In just four days we had fallen in love with the people. We had seen living conditions that we had never comprehended as possible. We had visited and learned about three organizations that are alike yet different...providing different levels of support to these amazing people. Opportunity International is heavily focused on sustainability...basically teaching business people/farmers/artisans to manage their businesses effectively, translating to an improved lifestyle. For Free Wheelchair Mission and Habitat for Humanity...the goal is centered on basic human need. Get people off of the ground. Lift them up and show them a life with dignity and free from dirt and parasites. Then there is World Vision. There are 40,000 World Vision employees around the world. They are present in villages you can’t pronounce in areas you have never heard about. They promote "Empowerment" in the truest sense of the word. Empower people with a little support, the right tools and education, and people will fix their own issues and build a better life for themselves. We saw it in action several times this week. The ADPs are staffed by Nicaraguans. The process is organic and the older ADPs showed clear and almost miraculous improvement. World Vision plays an extremely critical role in supporting the world’s poor, yet most people have no concept of their scope of influence.
As we all contemplate our Foundation Council contributions, we should think about Empowerment as well as basic need. All of us at some point in our life had some level of support to get where we are. Even if we are fiercely independent...there is someone, maybe even someone that we don't know...who gave us a little lift up...provided a basic need, gave us training or the proper tools to build the life we have.
Disadvantaged people across the world are not expecting their issues to be magically fixed by someone else. We have looked into their eyes. They want to do it themselves. In the last four days we have not heard a single person complain about their situation no matter how dire. We have only heard thanks for our small acts of support. Your contributions to the Foundation and subsequently our Global Partners...continue the process one child, one mother, one 375 square foot house at a time.
Thanks again for reading. Thanks to our new friend and partner Jim Fischerkeller and the wonderful staff at World Vision. Thanks for allowing us to take this trip. Thanks for being an amazing company.
Sincerely,
Your Nicaragua Travel Team
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