Shortly after, we started our journey to the town market, where we shopped to provide food to families in need.
Our next stop was to go to the school that we will be working at for the week, called José Artigas. They have informed us, that at this school we will be building a foundation to a kitchen. There is a need for a kitchen at the school because some families cannot afford to feed their children. In case a child does not have a lunch, a mother will be able to cook one for them there. After the introduction at the school, we headed towards the city dump. While driving into the dump we saw many children on the backs of garbage trucks, ready to find scraps of metal, or bottles to sell. As the dump has been growing for the past 40 years, the chemicals in the overwhelming amount of trash cause smoke, fires, and emit unhealthy fumes in the air. While at the dump, we drove past a little boy carrying a bag of trash, and only wearing socks. The people have no choice, but to expose themselves to these fumes as selling the scraps and bottles is their only source of income.
After our quick trip to the city dump, we made our way over to lunch. For lunch, we had the choice of either chicken or fish, with a side of carrots and beats, rice, plantains, with our choice of soda.
After lunch, we went to visit two families who we bought the food for earlier that day. First, we visited a man with severe diabetes who had his leg amputated. The man lived with his granddaughter and great-grandchildren after his house was destroyed from an earthquake in March. The government is currently building him a new home, but the building process has been stalled due to lack of materials. He struggles with his disease as he cannot afford the proper food for his diet. Although the government gives out diabetes medicine, there is such a need that this man may go months without proper medication.
After visiting this kind man, we visited a woman who has been off from work for a month due to an illness. She spends her time now working as a midwife. Although she doesn't get paid, she continues to do this service because she values the dignity of human life. Her house also was hit by the earthquake this past March, but she did not qualify for a new house to be built by the government. The lady was very kind and welcomed us into her home where we saw a very small room that her family of 4 lived in. Because we finished early with our duties of the day, we went sightseeing as a group. We went to the top of a hill that had a beautiful view of the city.
After a long day of touring the city, we decided to head to the mall and get some TCBY! Another great perk was the free wifi in the store so the girls could keep in touch with the outside world!
We arrived back at the retreat center and had a couple hours to relax before dinner! Some girls went running around the complex, others read and reflected about the day.
At 6:30, we sat down for a lovely meal of chicken and rice, pico de gallo, and plaintain chips with bubblegum juice!
We ended the night with a reflection of the day and the meaning of our trip to Nicaragua. See ya tomorrow night at the same time, folks!
-Molly "Michael Jordan" Walton and Sam "LL Cool J" Hill
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