The SBCC 2010 Nicaragua missions team is at Casa Bernabe this week … and I’m not.
I’m really sad for me, but really happy the kids down there are being loved on and cared for by so many of my friends. I will be checking their blog for updates!!!
Meanwhile, I’m hoping to get back down there at the end of September 2010! I hope I can make this happen!
XO Laura
I don’t post here often, but my involvement with the kids at Casa Bernabe and ORPHANetwork hasn’t stopped.
I communicate with Stanley and some other kids at Casa Bernabe regularly. Believe it or not … via Facebook. I chatted with Stan yesterday and he confessed he’s struggling in school. So, I did the same thing I’d do with my own sons. Talk to him about getting help (other students, adults), and putting in more effort after school, and getting off of Facebook and going back to his books (c: , and encouraging him to hang in there, dig in his heels, and strive for improvement.
He’s also asking me to send him some pants.
I keep in touch with ORPHANetwork and help out with a few things like regularly checking one of their email accounts for any incoming inquiries, as well as posting pictures on their Twitter account (about once a week).
I’ve really come to realize that whenever you start to get involved in any situation that is a situation that needs improvement, you’ve got to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. You are basically guaranteed to NOT have full success. Some things will improve, and some will slide. You will never be certain that your efforts are doing much to help. You will wonder if the people you are helping will truly step up and out of the bad situations they are in, or will slide back down despite all that you and others are doing. In the end, I am not God. I’m just a little human that will try, and fail in many circumstances and hopefully succeed in some too.
It’s a very difficult position to get comfortable with … getting comfortable with being uncomfortable.
Bye!
Some of this year’s team came up with this idea, and it’s happening, soon. We’re having our first ever “PIG FEST – The more we eat, the less kids on the street.” The goal is to raise $40,000 which will specifically be used to get ten more kids OUT of bad situations in Managua (maybe even out of the dump), and INTO Casa Bernabe orphanage. This orphanage has only about 60 of it’s 100 beds filled, because of lack of funding (both from the Nicaragua government, and more.) ORPHANetwork is sending funds monthly, but they stil fall short. So this Pig Fest, is to create the funding for ten more kids … their housing, food, education, clothing, medical care – for two full years.
EVEN IF YOU DO NOT LIVE in Tidewater, you can help. So don’t stop reading yet!
Tickets are $25 each, which includes all you can eat BBQ and the fixins, and soft drinks. There’ll be 3 bounce houses, music, a cornhole tournament, a 50/50 raffle, beer (separate ticket purchase), and free admission to the aviation museum (we’re holding the event in their hangar).
Kids 12 and under are free.
IF YOU DO NOT live here and want to help, you can purchase a ticket anyway (email me at CONTENTEDLB@yahoo.com) and while you won’t be able to attend, you’ll be contributing towards our goal – OR - contact ORPHANetwork and make a donation, but tell them this is specifically to go towards the Pig Fest event. It’s our first event, but hopefully, not our last.
If you do live here, I also NEED VOLUNTEERS on the day of the event:
October 11, 4 pm. – 8 pm
I’m trying to get about 24 – 30 volunteers, all of whom will work only HALF of the event, so they can enjoy themselves during the other half of the event.
Thanks for considering helping out.
- Laura
I’ve finally begun to uncover the ‘block’ in my head/heart that’s made it hard to write about this year’s trip. I have sort of boild it down to this: apathy. I have been really saddened by a few things, but one of them is that with all that I’ve seen and experienced down at this orphanage, with all the time spent with the kids and feeling strong connections (and caring) for many of those terrific kids, I have a weight in my heart that is related to the never-ending struggle to know how to make a difference down in Nicaragua (both with the kids at the orphanage as well as with the children at the garbage dump and all around Managua) – AND – what I feel like is a reluctance of those back here in the U.S. to hear the stories of what we saw and did and felt while down in Nicaragua.
I think that maybe, for some, it’s difficult to hear about such poverty and sad stories like those that live at the garbage dump. Even I struggle with the “what can I do about that situation” sadness, when I return from the trip. So I can imagine that it’s very difficult for those who feel they’ll never be able to make a trip down there .. what can we possibly do about these terrible situations?
I think that for some, it’s just easier to NOT hear about the trip. And I try to accept that with grace. But the truth is that I want to TALK to folks about what we saw, the kids we met and snuggled and rocked to sleep. I want to show my pictures and try to share everything I can. And when I feel like folks really just don’t want to hear it, I get very very sad.
Well, once I finish this post, I am going to write a short one about something very specific we all can do that may have a huge impact on the lives of a few of those kids that need rescuing. Stand by.
Now, onto other stories from our trip this year:
To me, there was one very big piece of evidence of improvement, specifically related to La Chureca, the garbage dump. Since we were there in 2008, a new project (which was in it’s infancy in the summer of 2008) is now well-established and definitely a sign of progress. A new childcare center has opened, close to the gates of Managua’s garbage dump, La Chureca. This facility is a place where mothers who live in the garbage dump, can bring their babies and toddlers, to stay for the day, while the mothers are out in the garbage dump, picking through the trash for recyclables, etc. Prior to the opening of this facility, the mothers either had to bring their babies with them, or leave them home with young siblings.
During our trip this year, we went to this facility. We were there to help out where we could and encourage the staff. We were asked for some of us to help wash the facilities walls, some to help with preparation of lunch, others to help tend to babies and toddlers, and our two doctors on this year’s team were evaluating the health of each of the babies. We found out (too our pleasure) that there was an American nurse already visiting this center daily, helping to secure health care for the babies that had medical problems, keeping very detailed records on each child’s health.
I was one of the wall-washers. Hot, tough work, but it got much easier within just a little while, as several little boys (maybe 3 or so years old?) came over, wanting to “help” us. They hijacked our scrub brushes and happily scrubbed away, but they soon discovered that they liked the rinsing part much better! (These were textured exterior walls that were surrounded by a patio on all four sides, all filled with playing kids, who were now running around in puddles of soapy water.) It got quite messy. These little helpers filling up bowls and pitchers of clean water, and throwing it at the walls to rinse off the soapy water. In the end, we got the job done (and I felt like I lost five pounds in pure sweat, working in the sun and heat), but while I’ll probably forget how hard it was, I’ll never forget those adorable little boys who were our little ‘helpers.’
After the walls were done, I found my way to an interior room (the entire facility was probably about 750 square feet I’d estimate), where two young toddlers were sleeping on mats on the floor. There were fans in the room, moving the air around. But still I noticed the flies landing on their faces, gathering around their eyes. I sat down on the floor, and fanned away the flies. As I did this, I got really upset. I was so mad and sad that while I could sit here and fan away the flies for a short while, the reality was that these babies lived IN A GARBAGE DUMP … where the chance of a positive future was slim. If these were little girls, they were nearly guaranteed a life of forced prostitution, as young as age 10. And if they don’t contract AIDS, almost certainly would be pregnant at a young age. (Hell, probably even if they do contract AIDS, the pregnancies were almost a certainty.) So I sat there and fanned flies, knowing that I really was wasting my time. But I really was not wasting my time. I was here in Nicaragua to do whatever I could do, at any moment. At this moment, all I could do was fan flies, cry, and say prayers for these two babies. Pray that the government in Nicaragua would change, improve. Pray that their families would see that they could do better for themselves than to live in a garbage dump, living off of Managua’s waste. Pray that our church or ORPHANetwork, or another church, or anyone would do something that offers these families a way OUT of their horrid situation. And even pray that maybe these babies would somehow end up at Casa Bernabe orphanage, safe from malnutrition, or piecework healthcare, or poor or non-existent education, or drugs or prostitution. That’s all I could do.
While at the childcare center, the staff (and a few of our team members) prepared meals for about 150 kids, that we then delivered to the garbage dump. This ALSO was a new development! The kids that were too small to go to school, were getting at least one decent meal per day. On this particular day, it was a thin soup that I think contained chopped liver, and a potato. (There probably was more … I just didn’t get a close look.) Our team drove up to the garbage dump, and there was a new large tent-of-sorts, made of plastic sheeting pulled over giant poles, and there were maybe 30 young kids there, waiting for their meals. They received a small bowl of the soup, along with a soft tortilla.
Oh gosh, there’s so much to tell about those kids. I won’t be able to do it. Many were smiley, many were very shy. There was one woman there, holding a naked baby boy, maybe about a year and a half. Joe, our trip leader, talked to her, and later told us that she was quite upfront … she earns her living as a prostitute.
We were really excited to see one girl (young woman really) who was amongst the 25 or so kids that we took out to Tip Top restaurant during the 2008 trip. We were SO excited to see her. It was confirmation that she was OKAY. I don’t know the mortality rate in Managua or in the garbage dump, but it’s gotta be pretty bad. It was wonderful to see this smiley girl doing okay … well, okay for someone who lives in a garbage dump … in a third world country.
Oh … and I brought with me, two photos I’d taken of Santiago, the young boy I was able to hang out with at Tip Top during our 2008 trip. Two young girls asked to see the photos, and when I showed them, they babbled a lot of Spanish I couldn’t understand, but I COULD understand, “Santiago!!” They called over another girl, who also babbled. I got one of our translators to help, and found out she was saying she was Santiago’s cousin! I asked where Santiago was, and the answer was out in the trash. So I gave her the pictures and asked her to promise she’d get them to him, and she said, “Of course! I live with him!” So cool. Wish I could have seen Santiago, but this was good too.
So, I can’t remember the details, but I’m aware that ORPHANetwork is somehow supporting this feeding program, where a hot meal is prepared at the daycare center each day, and delivered to the little ones at the garbage dump. I really do need to get the scoop on that.
Okay … that’s all for today.
Please consider going to ORPHANetwork’s website, and making a donation:
- Laura
I am so sorry for not updating this blog. I have a million excuses and all of them are bad. So, just please accept my apologies.
I was affected by this trip in many different ways than last year’s trip. Some good, some not so good. But let me write a bit about our time down at Casa Bernabe.
Our trip’s pace was altered a bit this year because several of the mission team members brought their children on the trip, so the pace was slowed down just a bit to accomodate the fact that their were kids participating. For our 2008 trip, the youngest participant was 19. This year, there was my 15 year old son, and three other kids, whose ages I believe were between 8 and 12. While I enjoyed the company of these kids, and often enjoyed watching their reactions to the orphanage’s kids (they really all seemed like peers) or their comments when we talked about our day’s adventures, I also felt that it placed some limits on the trip that I preferred to not have. But I’m sure the parents of those children were very excited to have their kids experience all that we saw and did, and I’m sure it changed those kids forever, as I’m sure it changed my 15 year old son.
Let me reiterate some of what I’ve written when I wrote about our 2008 trip. The goal of this trip through ORPHANetwork and Spring Branch Community church is mostly relational. Our primary purpose is NOT to paint walls or clean or dig ditches or build, but to form relationships with either the kids at the orphanage, or even the support staff. And also, once we’ve seen what we’ve seen, we really feel pushed to share the story of what these kids have experienced in Nicaragua, or how their lives have changed since they arrived at the orphanage (which is supported by ORPHANetwork), how dedicated the staff is at the orphanage and school.
When we arrived at the orphanage, the school was closed and many of the children had left the orphanage to spend time with family members. It points out to us that many of the kids who are at the orphanage do have family (it may be an aunt or grandmother or older brother/sister), but these family members are, for one reason or another, unable to properly care for the child that is at the orphanage. Even Stanley, whom I’ve grown quite close to, was gone for a few days, spending time with his grandmother, who took him and his younger brother (who is no longer at the orphanage due to behavior problems) to the east coast of Nicaragua to visit family members over there. I met Stanley’s grandmother this trip. She’d brought Stanley to church on Sunday, and from there, Stanley would ride the orphanage bus back to the orphanage, so his vacation was over. I walked up to the table where Stanley, his grandmother, and his younger brother Angelo were hanging out. I introduced Ryan, with me speaking Spanish, hoping I wasn’t butchering the few works that I spoke. Stanley’s grandmother turned as I introduced Ryan and said, “He favors my nephew in Holland.” !!!!! Perfect, and beautiful English. I had to blink, and think for a minute. I was not expecting such beautiful and perfect English. But then, I had forgotten that Stanley’s family was from the east coast of Nicaragua, where English is widely spoken. I’m sure that’s why Stan’s english is so great.
While at the orphanage, we did do some work projects. We de-constructed some pallets (I’m guessing maybe 100 or so?) so that the wood could be used to build these special planting boxes to be used for a hydroponic growing system that was in the works. I hear that the team that went to the orphanage after ours did complete those boxes and I’ve been told that the rice has been planted in those boxes and is now growing. We also had some team members tear down some old cabinets in the kitchen, which had become hideouts for way too many insects. (They said it looked like a scene out of Indiano Jones when they knocked down the cabinets … thousands of insect scattered …. eeh gads.) The women of the kitchen preferred open shelves vs. new cabinets, so those were put in. Also, some team members put up doors on the boys’ bathroom stalls, repaired screens, etc.
It’s easy to arrive at the orphanage and see so much that we think needs to be “fixed.” But, especially after last year’s trip (and making some mistakes), I now understand even better that it’s best to ASK the orphanage director what THEY need most. We may think fixing broken tiles is high on the priority list, whereas they may think that the broken tiles are just fine.
Ryan and I were on the team who tore apart the old pallets (and had to remove every single nail and staple, as they new planting boxes were to be lined with plastic, so there had to be no nails left to potentially rip the plastic.
We spent lots of time with the orphanage kids, which is the best part of the trip, of course. We once again took all the kids to the beach, which is something that the kids really like. This year some of the team had arranged to rent surfboards, which were delivered on a little motorbike, and many of the kids got to try surfing. The oceanfront property that we rent for the beach trip has a covered patio, and a tiny swimming pool, so many of the littlest kids just spent time in the pool unless some of the team could take personal responsibility for that one child, and take them out into the ocean but keep a close eye on them to make sure they didn’t get in too deep, or pulled by the undertow, which was quite strong at times. I took out three little girls (it was supposed to be two, but someone another one joined in) and I have to admit, with their free spirit, it was really hard to keep them all within reach when those waves were tumbling over us all. I kept moving us back, into the shallower water, and slowly they’d move us all out into deeper water.
We had another mini-version of last year’s “girls’ night” where we did nails and hair, etc., and the girls did our hair etc. It’s a bonding time where you can get to really get into a conversation with a child (or teen), share your life, ask about their dreams, encourage them to work hard in school, etc.
One of the most fantastic evenings was when the women of the mission team took the older girls out to see the Cuban International Ballet perform in downtown Managua. The theater had a strict dress code, so we all had to scrounge up a skirt and respectable blouse, even if it meant borrowing clothes from one of the girls. We realized quickly that most of the girls and none of the mission team had the appropriate shoes (as you could not get in with sandals, sneakers, or the like). So one of the team members went out into Managua and (after acquiring everyone’s shoe sizes) bought shoes for ever one of the older girls as well as the women of the mission team (we had the choice to pay for them or allow them to be donated back to the staff or community).
Back to the important stuff. Going to see a real ballet was a big deal for all of the girls in the orphanage, and a very bonding event for us all. For many of us Americans, it was OUR first ballet ever as well. (That was the case for me!) When the bus arrived at the team center, we piled on and drove over to the girls’ house to pick them up. As they boarded the bus, we could tell they had really “dolled up” big time for this exciting trip to the ballet. As they got on, we all whistled and said “WOW” and “So beautiful!” Their eyes and faces lit up and they looked so excited and happy.
We’d asked to take the girls out to dinner, and we did, but due to finances (and the money we’d spent on the ballet tickets, we sort of had to go “less fancy” than we wanted to … so we ate at Pizza Hut. It turned out to be great fun. Some of the other mission team told me that one of the girls, a 12 year old, at six pieces of pizza herself. Others told me that some of the girls were astonished by the (tiny) salad bar, and that they were allowed to go back to the salad bar as many times as they wanted to. Lots of fun.
When we arrived at the VERY FANCY theater (where the woman at the door handed us our program and instructed us to spit out our gum), it was so cool to see the more elite Managuans, all dolled up, alongside our Casa Bernabe girls, who were equally dolled up and fitting in perfectly! Our seats were up in the third (top-most) balcony. So up and up and up we walked, seemingly always finding ANOTHER set of stairs to traipse up. We would all start giggling and saying “Oh no!” as we approached the next set of stairs. And, we were “hushed” by the theater staff, reminding us that we were in a fancy place!
As we got into our seats, it really was magical. I had spent a lot of time the past few days with one of the orphanage girls named Melissa. I had had some connections with Melissa the previous year, when I had tried to help out with mopping the floor of the dining hall, and Melissa was trying (hopelessly) to teach me how to do it right, when I really was doing it wrong. So when we went to the ballet, Melissa was my buddy. And when we got to our seats, we sat down and held hands, I think because both of our hearts were pounding. When the lights went down, and the floor where the dancers came out was lit with magical lights , and the dancers began to fill the floor, I think we both held our breaths.
So the performances were beautiful, breathtaking. We would talk between the performances, saying which one we liked better, and why. After the second dance, the ushers let us know that there were so many seats available on the main floor, that we could ALL go down there if we wanted to. The lights dimmed then, so we had to wait until after the third dance to go down to the main floor. Melissa pulled me straight to the front row, but as we sat down, I showed her that the stage was now over our heads. We moved back a few rows. Still too close. Then back a few more rows and that’s where we stayed.
It was such a wonderful evening. It was special to share such a beautiful evening with the girls. There’s one girl at the orphanage, Jorlene, who has mentioned that she wanted to become a ballerina one day. So sharing this evening with her as she saw her first ballet that wasn’t on television, was beautiful.
I won’t ever forget that evening.
I am going to really try to write more this week.
Thanks for your patience.
I’ve been back almost a week. But I have to admit that my head is not necessarily “here” yet. I apologize for not posting to this blog sooner. I feel sort of foggy, like I left part of my brain (and definitely part of my heart) in Nicaragua.
Shortly after returning, I quickly uploaded photos to Walgreens.com, and printed out pics so my son Ryan, who accompanied me on the trip this year, could bring an album of photos up to DC. The day after we got home, I put Ry on a train to DC to spend a month with his Dad.
And being left in an empty house (which is something I am definitely not used to), particularly after spending a week playing and hanging out with dozens and dozens of kids at the orphanage, and after having a week of bonding with the 20+ members of the mission team (“Porch Time” each evening was our time for talking and processing all we’d seen each day), I am somewhat floundering in the swirl of thoughts and emotions I have.
A friend asked me what was my favorite part of the trip, and I had to come up with three favorites. (This may change after I’ve had more time to process the trip.) But for now, here are my top three:
1.) Last year I bonded with a (then) 14 year old young man named Stanley. (Further down in my blog, in the 2008 trip stuff, you’ll see pics of Stan-The-Man.) Stanley is now 15, just shy of 4 months older than Ryan, and it was so beautiful to see his smiling face again. Even more beautiful was to see Stanley and Ryan get to know each other, and before I knew it, the two of them were wrestling and laughing and goofing around like any two typical 15 year old friends. By the time we left, Stanley was calling Ryan his “brother.” That’s a sweet, sweet thing.
2.) Ryan had never seen anything like this situation before. Orphans (who spoke another language), poverty in the village surrounding the orphanage (we did a walking tour around the village, and were surrounded by dozens of village kids and adults too), and then the extreme poverty of the garbage dump, La Chureca, where thousands of people live – in the dump – to include hundreds of children. In each of these places, my son would within minutes, be surrounded by kids, and shortly thereafter have a kid on his shoulder. (They loved being on the shoulder of my 6’3″ beanpole.) Outside of the orphanage, these kids were often very dirty, some with scary sores on their bodies. But this never stopped Ryan from scooping them up and putting them on his shoulders. You’ll see pics of this too.
3.) This year, we had the opportunity to take 22 of the older girls to a ballet, a real ballet – the International Cuban Ballet – in Managua. This required much spiffing up, and Caroline on our team bought each of the girls pretty shoes including low heels, which was needed to get into the fancy theater (complete with three tiers of balconies). When the girls entered the bus, all dolled up and SO excited, we all whistled and said “Wow!” and “How beautiful!”, which made the girls smile with pride. At the theater, our girls looked like everyone else there – dressed to the nines, but perhaps with bigger smiles – and to the outsider, I’m sure there was no evidence whatsoever that 22 orphans were in attendance alongside them. The girls were on Cloud Nine when we all piled back in the bus to head back, all of us babbling about our favorite part of the ballet. It was a magical evening, for me too – it was also my first ballet. And I’m so glad it happened in Nicaragua, me sitting and sometimes holding hands (out of awe) with a sweet girl named Melissa. Pics on that later too.
So far now … that’s all I’m ready to write about. Let me see if I can get some photos up here. (I’ve attached three pics: Ryan and Stan wrestling, Ry carrying a village boy, Melissa at the ballet. Click on the small pics to see them larger. Need to get ready for work now.)
- Laura
Hi Everyone!
This WILL definitely be quick because 3 of us came down to the area of the orphanage where there is wireless internet (a picnic table out between two buildings of the orphanage), but a bunch of the “big” girls (who should be in BED!) are hanging out, wanting to get on Facebook to talk to their friends … so, will probably be off quickly.
First, it’s is beautiful and wonderful to be here again. The kids have grown so much!! I can’t even recognize half of them. My buddy Stanley is off visiting his grandma and won’t be back until maybe Sunday, so I have not seen my buddy Stanley since we have arrived here and yes, it’s driving me crazy.
Something really big happened at the airport (good stuff, really … God’s hand) but there’s too much going on at the internet-cafe to write about it tonight. It’s a long but cool story.
The weather is a bit cooler than last year and the food is better than last year too!!! We’ve had two relaxed days in a row, with not many activities other than hanging out with the kids and a walking tour of the village outside of the orphanage. (I’m really happy we did this, because I really wanted to see what the average home is like here.)
My man-cub Ryan is having a great time. He’s definitely NOT picking up any Spanish … but he’s having a blast playing with the kids who love him. He’s filling his stomach each day with mamon, a fruit that grows in a huge tree outside of the little kids’ building. I’ll put up a photo and description another day.
I will try to write more when maybe tomorrow when it’s a bit quieter out here.
Take care all! – Laura
Hi .. Ryan and I are heading out in just an hour and a half. We drive to DC (saved money on the trip, which means more money to the orphanage), then fly Dulles to Miami to Managua. Can’t wait!!!
I hope I’ll be able to add some updates during the week … it all depends on wireless access and access to the laptop(s) we will share!
Adios! – Laura and Ryan
A huge thanks to all that donated. It was a tough year for many folks financially and harder for people to be able to donate. I understand. But, I just feel like I can’t now decide to not go., just because I fell short of my financial goal. So, the rest of the costs will go onto a credit card, and I’m going! We finally got Ryan’s passport application settled and unless DC is really slow on their expedited passports, Ryan will be going too! I’m very excited.
Here’s a list of my angels who have made this year’s trip possible:
Empsy, Kim M., Jeanne W of CSBTS (whom I’ve never met), Jan G., Jan M., Michael B., Roz, my sisters Mary and Sharon, Kathryn and her parents (never met her parents!), Joe C., Sally Jo, LG, Dawn, Grace, Marian, Vicki, 2 anonymous donors at church,Charis (who set up a table of free mimosas with donations, at her yard sale … hilarious!), and Brenda!
I am 100% serious: without your donations, I would not be heading down to the orphanage this year.
I promise to work hard to help these kids down at the orphanage, the garbage dump and others, so that your money is well-spent. I may not update this blog until I return from the trip (will be at home July 10), but once I return I’ll get photos and stories uploaded.
GOD BLESS!
- Laura
A not-so-brief recap … for those new to this blog:
If you’ve seen “Slumdog Millionaire”, you have seen a piece of what I’d like to share with you. July 2008 took this Cape Story resident (and a few others from our small neighborhood) to one of the world’s poorest countries, Nicaragua , to see some sights I would never have imagined, and would probably have previously said I’d prefer to not EVER see. But along this adventure and with peeks at extreme poverty, came some big surprises.
As part of an ORPHANetwork.org trip, I spent a week at a children’s orphanage on the outskirts of Managua , Nicaragua . Casa Bernabe (House of Hope/Encouragement) is the home to about 75 or so children, ages 3 to 18. I was fortunate to go with about 17 other people, all of whom were total strangers to me. I spoke barely a handful of words in Spanish (my French and German did me no good down there), but learned the international language of smiles, and high-fives, and digital cameras (if I turned over my camera to those excited little fingers, they were happy to be my buddy, snapping photos of their friends, zooming through the pictures I already had stored on the camera, trying to explain who was who, and what was what). We lived on the property of the orphanage for the full week, and got to know these kids really well. But I’ll get back to the kids at the orphanage in a bit.
While in Nicaragua , we had some opportunities to visit a few other places, including a feeding center where hundreds upon hundreds of children are fed, for most, their one meal of the day. When we arrived, maybe a 100 or more kids were sitting in plastic chairs in a huge covered patio, waiting for us. Our instructions were, “Walk in, pick up a child, sit in their chair, and put them in your lap.” (You’re kidding me, right? Nope.) We did as we were told, and the singing began. They sang songs to us, played games with us (tie a balloon to your waist, and try to pop everyone’s balloon but don’t let yours get popped), had sack races, some pinata insanity and more. We learned from the fellow who ran this feeding center about the kids that they feed, where they get their funding (some of it is funded by ORPHANetwork), and lots more. Before we left, the kids at the feeding center asked us to sit in a circle on the ground, and we suddenly had many, a dozen or more, little candy-sticky hands on our heads, our shoulders, our arms, our backs. Then, their heads went down … and they prayed for us, prayed for our families and friends, for our health, for our safe return to the U.S. These kids, with so many struggles, living in tremendous poverty, eating perhaps one meal a day, many from dysfunctional and broken families, prayed for me, prayed for us. Oh my. If YOU are prayed over by kids in these circumstances, it really is powerful.
Earlier I mentioned the movie, “Slumdog Millionaire” with scenes of tremendous poverty as well. Do you remember the scene of the children in the garbage dump, picking through garbage. Hard to watch, wasn’t it? I now know that this scene is repeated many times over around the world. And yes, in Nicaragua too. One day we all piled into our bus and drove to the garbage dump for the city of Managua . We drove through the gates, and were instantly greeted not only with swarms of flies, but a smell that I really don’t think you want me to describe. Many of us held hands and t-shirts over our faces, as we drove on unpaved dirt roads through several stories-high mountains of trash. We passed shack after shack, most with dirt and garbage-strewn yards filled with barefoot toddlers and children, and I now know that well over 1,000 (some say 1,500 to 1,800) people including several hundreds of children live INSIDE Managua’s garbage dump. These families are the poorest of the poor. The subsist from the garbage brought to the dump; building their homes, dressing their families, even finding their meals amongst the trash that is unloaded from truck after truck arriving to dump their load. Can you imagine this life? As the trucks back up to dump out,children, teens and adults and skinny-cattle and oh-so-skinny dogs, and vultures all hover, ready to search for whatever it is that they need. This is the trash from a city in one of the world’s poorest countries. (If they could go through our trash, they’d be “rich” indeed.)
When our bus stopped, and we timidly got out, we were greeted by about 25 smiling kids, who didn’t look like they belonged in this garbage dump at all. Nicely washed faces, combed hair, decent jeans and t-shirts and shoes. (Beyond them, the not-so-lucky kids, who were definitely not looking that great.) For the ones greeting us (and getting ready to go on a little trip with us, their mommas knew this was a special day, and made sure the kids were scrubbed and ready to go. We each grabbed the hand of a child .. and my little buddy was a gorgeous young boy named Santiago . Want to see a picture of handsome Santiago ? Read further in my blog. We were led on a tour of the home (a shack) of the woman who is the unofficial “mayor” of this garbage dump. She was so proud to show us her dirt-floored home, where she cared for 13 children … we don’t know if they were all hers … some pigs, and also helped to care for the residents of the dump. Next on the tour; a brightly painted school! Yes, a school, INSIDE of the garbage dump. This school is so terrific, that many residents from the city of Managua send their children to this school … the school INSIDE the dump! We then walked up a hill where we could see over what appeared to be several square miles of mountains of trash, each dotted with kids and adults and cattle and dogs, vultures flying overhead, looking for food and more. (The families of the dump also earn a very small living, approx. $12 a month, from collecting recyclables from the trash, and selling it to … well, someone who pays money for recyclables.)
The best part is next. We gathered our 25 or so little buddies and piled back onto the bus and headed into town to a fast-food restaurant called “Tip-Top” … complete with playland and children’s ball pit. The party room was reserved for us, and we colored and played until the Tip-Top version of “Happy Meals” arrived. I know that I, for one, was excited to see the look on Santiago ‘s face when he saw the hot chicken leg, fries, (perhaps a biscuit?) and Tip-Top toy. Santiago ‘s eyes were quite wide when he opened the box, peered in … and then closed the box. What??? Surely this child is hungry. With the help of a friend who knew more spanish than I did, we said, “Eat! It’s for you!!” Santiago shook his head and said, “No … I must take it home to my family.” (Deep breath …. ) I did finally convince Santiago to have a few nibbles, only after I piled my bigger Tip-Top meal into his box … for his family. Then, delicately, Santiago pulled off the tiniest bits of the chicken, dipped just one small corner into a puddle of ketchup …. and ate, smiling. Later, when the sealed cups of ice cream arrived, Santiago tried to pack that into his box to share with his family too. We explained, “No … it will melt. You need to eat it now.” Santiago dipped his little wooden spoon into the ice cream and ate a bite. Then he dipped his spoon in again … and offered it to me. This sweet, angel-faced child, who lives in a garbage dump, was offering his ice cream to me.
There’s just so much to tell you about this trip to Nicaragua . We saw so much. Some would say too much. But let me get back to the kids at the orphanage. Every day, we hung out with these happy, spirited kids. We visited them in the morning as they prepared for school. Many of us walked the kids to school (on the property of the orphanage, perhaps a half-mile walk) and many went to meet our buddies after school, to walk them back home too. We helped to serve them dinner, we relieved the girls of their kitchen duty for a few days, washing the dishes, washing the floors. When they were in school, the orphanage director asked us to help paint the orphanage exterior, which we did (and many of us still had blue paint on our calves and flip-flops and under our nails as we flew home). We spent the day at the beach. We rode with the boys’ soccer team to watch them play their second game of the season (a WIN!) and as we cheered and yelled their names, I wondered if they’d ever had anyone in the stands screaming, “GO TONY! Kick it!!!” before? We had a girls’ night complete with manicures and hair-braiding and other girlie stuff. We played a version of paper-scissors-rocks, called kungfu-gorilla-cowboy. [Don't ask (c: ]
I made special friends with a young man named Stanley . To tell you about Stanley would take several more much-too-long emails, but you can read more about him and see his picture below.
(This blog starts with the most recent post first, so you may want to scroll your way to the end, and start from there.)
And finally, if you would be interested in sponsoring me and my son, as we excitedly return (well, my 2nd trip, his first) to Casa Bernabe for the 2009 trip, I am trying to raise $2,700 (before June 15th) to cover this year’s trip. I can’t wait!!!! **Update … now need just $2,460 as of 5/3/09**
I had one yard sale, and have also already received one generous donation from a friend, so I am on my way. There are several ways you can help out:
1.) Write a check payable to “SBCC” (this is my church, who sponsors this orphanage in Nicaragua ) and drop it off or mail it to me. Please email me for my home address (contentedlb@yahoo.com) ** This is a tax-deductible donation.
2.) Write a check to “”SBCC” and mail it to ORPHANetwork but PLEASE make sure that in the memo section it says “contribution to L. Baity’s trip” so that they know what it is for. Their address is 1500 N. Great Neck Rd., Virginia Beach, VA 23454 **Again, tax deductible.
3.) SORRY, as of 6/15/09, my CHIPIN.com account for donations is now closed.
I welcome your questions and emails about this trip and the kids down at Casa Bernabe, Nueve Vida (the feeding center), La Chureca (the dump), and anything else that is on your heart. (Go to YouTube and search for La Chureca and you’ll see many videos.)
Thank you for considering sponsorship. This has been a tough year and as of 6/15/09, I am short as far as funding resources. But at this point, I feel it’s too late to back out of the trip, and I’d lose about $700 from the plane ticket. So, I’ll put the rest on a credit card and hope that this summer brings me just a bit of extra moolah to pay down that card.
XO and God Bless,
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Laura Email: contentedlb@Yahoo.com
