My wife says enough with the development stuff - tell us what you are doing - more travelogue! More stories.
Today, I was privileged to go with the team to the new communities that Rotary has selected. They are in the same general area, but separated a bit, so the team split up. Luis and Pedro and I went to the one that is a bit further - and Elena, Oscar, Mayqueling and Aura Lila went to the other community.
The first thing that one notices on the way to 'our' community is that the road definitely SUCKS! It is 15 K from the highway, and it took us about an hour. That is about 6 miles an hour! Literally every street and road in Nicaragua has potholes and huge holes in it. I think the country could save a fortune in gas if they fixed the roads. But this one was INCREDIBLE. We were bumping and grinding along for quite a while, when we came to a paved section. Very cool, I think, they are just taking some time building out the road from the other end. That section lasted about 100 feet, and we were back to bumping and grinding and plowing through mud. Then we hit another paved section. And then another. So I pipe up - what's with the intermittent paving? "Oh, those sections were so bad that no one could get through, so they paved them." They are working on it!!
Well, we finally got there - and we stopped to visit with the household where we park the car. We could go a bit further, but there was no guarantee we could ever get back up that hill. All of the traffic we saw consisted of horse carts, people on bicycles, and a few tuk-tuks - 3 wheeled taxis that are slightly expanded motorcycles. I don't actually know what they call them here - the name I used is from Cambodia. And they were generally jammed with people, as always.
We parked, and Luis headed off in one direction, and Pedro and I in another. We stopped to talk to the first neighbor - who was sitting and watching his charcoal factory! I asked him what he was making - he said "black gold". They sell it in the towns. How they get it there is a mystery, but they do sell it. The next neighbor, Pedro told me, is 105 years old! We also talked with another gentleman on the street, who looked like he was 105 - but Pedro assured me he was probably younger than myself. Pedro says he lives alone in that little shack there - and has no family. I asked if he was often hungry, and Pedro assured me that the neighbors try to see that he has something to eat. That is the only safety net here - I've seen it in Teustepe as well.
We talked with quite a few people. They all asked about Luis - and Pedro indicated that he was in another part of the community. One of the older members of the community was ill, and he was off in search of that family. Luis is really good with these folk - it's clear he loves them and they know it. Pedro is excellent as well. He chit chats, talks about their crops, the rain, the family, etc. He also explained to them a bit that he is part of a school - AKF. He explained my presence by telling them that this "chele" is retired, and is volunteering at the school - trying to learn Spanish and about Nicaragua. Virtually all of them dubbed me Don Carlos, or Don Carlito! Someone must have spread the word!
Pedro talked with each one about the school, and the other communities that they accompany. He was very clear that we are not about projects, but just trying to help the community in any way we can. He has a better spiel than that - I am not doing him justice.
At one of the last houses, he and the head of family were exploring all of the family relationships - the family names and who is related to whom. Pedro had this all down in his head. I have no idea how people do that. A kid in the back was chopping firewood. I could hear a chain saw off in the distance, but not where we were. It's all machetes and axes. And people carry machetes everywhere - it's like a weapon, and they use it to cut everything. It's how they weed, trim the grass, etc.
The houses are made of whatever is at hand - old boards, bamboo, a few thatch roofs, but mostly tin sheets for roofs. As always the kids are beautiful. Pedro says, kids everywhere are beautiful. Well, yes - but these kids seem special. They look pretty well put together - they are loved, and they are not a problem. They sit on their dad's lap, or their grandma's while we are talking. They greet strangers with folded hands - as in prayer. The older kids play with the younger ones - they look really good. I am definitely a softy for the kids. I can't look at one of them without thinking what they might do with their lives.
So, that's how it is done! The team started back in March, just going out and visiting with people. They have suggested family gatherings, and networking things. The goal is to establish a relationship of trust with the people,and help them establish a network or community in their village. When they have that in hand, the school will introduce the idea that the community could work together on some things that would benefit them. They will get some help in learning how to "dream", as they say. And they will get some help identifying their own resources that go toward making that dream happen.
The plan is to invite these two new communities to join with the others that AKF accompanies in an annual celebration at the center. It will start the last day of my visit!
If I get a vote on a project for this community, it would be to build up the bleeping road - at least to the next town, if not the 15 K. They have no way to get their goods to any market, and no way to get themselves anywhere - especially in the rainy season. Honest, you would not believe this road. It was not frightening - just maddeningly bumpy, muddy, full of ruts and holes. The other challenge of that is that virtually all of the road projects I have seen are done by hand - picks and shovels and little cement mixers. There do not appear to be any bulldozers, or cement trucks.
The genius of this will be to see how AKF can help them identify the resources that they have to do something about it - if it is one of the things they identify as a need. I never thought about how to do this kind of thing. I guess I would start by approaching the city fathers in an organized way to ask for some repairs. Pedro tells me that they have done that in the past, with no results. There might be a way for them to do it again, perhaps with the idea of a matching grant, or a contribution from the community. I have no idea how one does this in such a way that they feel it is their work, and they own the results. But that is the goal. This is a quote from Lao Tsu that Elena used the other day to start a reflection:
“A leader is best when people barely know he exists, not so good when people obey and acclaim him, worse when they despise him. But of a good leader who talks little when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: We did it ourselves.” http://www.stevenredhead.com/quotes/ancient/Lau-Tzu.html.
That is the ultimate goal here - that they did it themselves! And they can do the next one, and the next one.
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