My Mission Chronicles

February 16, Wednesday
Mariel, Helena (the translator) and I took a cab to Juan Pablo today. First, I asked the driver to stop at the food store so we could pick up some food to bring with us. We purchased fruits, vegetables, milk, eggs and cookies. The bill was $50, about 1000 cordoba. The conversion rate is 22 cordoba to 1 dollar so needless to say, I only had a portion of the cash that I brought down converted. I’m not comfortable with taking that much cash with me.

We arrived at Juan Pablo and after unloading all of the food and presents, I immediately looked for my Allison. I called her name and she immediately ran over to me and gave me a big hug. I asked if she remembered me and she said she did. She also showed me her teeth. If you remember, about 6 months ago after my June 2010 trip, I was very concerned about the black buildup along the gum line on her teeth. I kept following up and she was taken to see a adntist, where she received a much needed cleaning. Apparently she has been brushing her teeth because they looked fine to me. She also must have remembered that I was asking and made the connection because she grinned at me like a cheshire cat. I was very pleased, both that she remembered AND that she was brushing and taking care of her teeth.

The head nun, Sister Andrea was not there – even though we had made an appointment, but this is typical Nicarauga style – so instead we spoke with Sister Carmelita who was about 4 foot tall, hence the “ita” at the end of her name. I was told there are 41 children there, 5 orphans and the rest are daycare. The typical running and screaming chaos that I had found on previous visit to Juan Pablo reined but we were able to speak with the children as they were all interested in what we brought with us.

We sat down to talk to the Nuns about the orphan children to find out if there were any changes. Three of the children are no longer at the orphanage: Angel, the little red headed boy, Luz, his mother who stayed at the orphanage with him and baby Francisco. Apparently Angel and Luz went to live with Luz’s father, I can only hope they are in a better place and safe.

We talked to each of the other children including little Rosita who was originally at el Crucero. Rosita, like Allison and another little girl Orquedia Guadalupe, are all 5 and ready for preschool. We encouraged the nuns to send them to El Crucero so they could go to preschool as they are all old enough and really need a more suitable, age appropriate environment with older children. I will continue to press this issue when I go to El Crucero.

After the picture taking, we gave out presents which the children were happy to receive. A few of the children received presents from their sponsors, but I felt badly that we didn’t have something special for everyone. We did get out other gifts but it wasn’t the same. The children didn’t seem to be upset though and I told each one of them to be sure to “share” with their friends. I noticed that one of the Nuns pulled some of the sponsor gifts to the side as I think they ultimately share them with all the children anyway which is the right thing to do.

Afterwards, I was able to spend more time with Allison than I have in the past. She sat happily on my knee while I read to her, at times reading along with the words in the book. She really is very bright. She has adapted herself to the environment well however, this is one of the reasons I want her to go up to El Crucero. She needs to socialize with children her own age because at Juan Pablo, she is obviously the little queen. But she really is a charming and sweet little girl, friendly and smiling always. She followed me around while I was there and I frequently found her in my arms.

The children were fed lunch which consisted of a bowl of rice with a piece of a plantain. They sat at a low table and as children do, some fed themselves neatly, others stuffing food into their mouths with their fingers. Allison finished hers neatly and in short order and was done before the rest. She hopped up and asked me for a glass of water and I found myself reminding her to say “ Quiero agua por favor”, making sure she added the “por favor” or “please”. Some habits die hard as I always did this with my own 3 girls.

I was very surprised when Sister M and M came in with 2 other nuns. Apparently, M and M had mixed up the days we were supposed to meet with her (which is tomorrow, Thursday) but we got to talk to her for a little bit. Before I had come down to Nicaragua, I had asked whether we could take Allison out of Juan Pablo for a short time, not really sure what this would mean or how long we would be able to have her. I was shocked to hear that, with Allison’s mother’s permission, we may be bringing her to El Crucero with us from Thursday through Saturday. If so, she will be “mine” for the duration. I’ve already thought about what it will be like to sleep with a 5 year old….I’m really excited and hope this all works out.

After about 2 hours, we had to leave. I was able to tell Allison “hasta manana” or “see you tomorrow” and really hope that this will be the case. In my secret heart, I have already thought about bringing her to visit us in the United States when she is older (not sure how this works, but anything is possible) so having her for a few days now would be a wonderful way to begin.

Tuesday – February 15, 2011

Up early, I was excited to start the day. Although I wasn’t doing anything specific for the Orphan’s Hope Project today, I was eager to get out and moving in the community. I spent the first part of the morning sorting out all of the things that I brought down for the two orphanages. I had to separate them into two piles; one for each orphanage. I also had to put all 20 of the donated Barbie dolls back into their boxes. We took them out to fit them in the suitcases, but I wanted to give them to the children inside the boxes since they were new. I imagine they don’t get a lot of new toys.

Mariel arrived with Helena the translator. They went down to the school ahead of me as I had to make a quick stop at the new facility NiCasa to give a message to one of the woman there as well as move my bags down. I’ll be staying in the dorm there for the next two nights with the Advance Team. This team arrives early so they can prepare everything for the arrival of the big mission group on Thursday. Sr. Debbie is coming then also. This is the first time a Mission will be using the new facility. It’s mostly completed from a construction perspective but there is a lot of sorting and moving things around as everything finds it proper place.

I left NiCasa to walk to the school. The day was very beautiful; the sun was shining brightly, a strong breeze that you could hear as well as feel was with me as I walked. There weren’t many cars on this dirt road but when they did come by, I had to be sure to jump out of the way. They don’t believe in slowing down for pedestrians. They kicked up huge clouds of billowing dust as they went by.

At El Nino, I was asked to help with the preschoolers. I had originally planned to observe Mariel as she worked with the children in the classes, but I was happy to go see the little ones. They were all about 3 years old and very cute but I was dismayed to see that the class was total chaos. There were about 15 children and there was very little structure, if any at all. The teacher, who was very nice, seemed not able to do much with the children except keep them from hurting each other. And with my limited Spanish, there wasn’t much I could say to them. I did read to them, probably butchering the pronunciation in Spanish, but the children didn’t seem to mind. They were all quiet for about 10 minutes, the time it took me to finish the 4 little books that were available and then it was back to the chaos.

We left the school for a long walk to the House of Hope, the facility that helps prostitutes get off the streets. The Mission had only recently found out about this place. It provides vocational training and a safe place for these women to live with their children.

It was a long dusty walk, easily over a mile and a good part of it along the main highway. Cars don’t slow down for pedestrians here either and at one point, I slipped and smashed my knee into the broken concrete and dirt as I was moving over to avoid a speeding car. With blood dripping down my leg and only one squashed tissue in my pocket to do anything about it, we continued on.

We left the main road and turned up a dirt road that seemed impossible for a car to drive on. The pot holes would hide a small child and the road was very narrow as the sides were filled with brush, some of it being burned as is the practice here for getting rid of it. Unfortunately, no importance seems to be placed on the pollution factor caused by this burning and we had to walk around the black smoke snaking up the side of the road.

We arrived at the House of Hope. The women were all in groups at tables working on jewelry that they would ultimately sell. We walked around a bit and sat down to talk with a volunteer that Mariel had met on her previous visits. Shirley gave us some eye-opening information. Apparently, the woman and her husband that run the facility do so with an iron fist. They do not have a Board of Directors, all decisions are made by them so they can’t be a legitimate non-profit organization, a 501C3, in the US. And most distressing of all, we were told that whenever a mission group comes to offer help or aid (and apparently there are many), the director of the facility, April, parades the girls out in front of everyone to tell their “story”. Despite the fact that these girls have already been victimized, some of them sold into sexual slavery at the age of 8, they are made to stand their silently among strangers while their stories are told.

It definitely sounds like this facility is not being run well and while they might do some good work, their methods are very suspect. I had planned on helping with money for uniforms as we had been told that they were in dire need but now I’m not so sure. After what I heard today, I hesitate to give them any money for fear that they will not spend it wisely. We came away feeling that this woman and her husband are benefiting in inappropriate ways from the generosity of others and at the expense of these poor women and their children.

We are gathered now for dinner and I’m starving. I’m also dirty, dusty and tired. It will be an early night for all of us. End of Day One. Tomorrow I’m off to Juan Pablo and to see my Alison.

Monday – February 14

I arrived safely after two uneventful flights to get here. I was met at the airport by Mauricio, Mariel (the psychologist) and Alyssa ( a fellow missioner I had met last year) which was a surprise, I was expecting just Mauricio. We all went out for dinner which was nice and although I was tired, it was nice to be welcomed to Nicaragua by people that I know.

Tonight, there is a beautiful breeze blowing through the window of the room I am staying in. It’s relatively quiet but I know the barking dogs and roosters should start crowing around 3am. I think I’ll sleep anyway, I’m tired and we have an early day tomorrow starting at 8am going to the El Nino Jesus de Praga school. I’m going to just watch and talk to the kids. I’m here! Awesome!

Dr. Mariel Juliano, a psychologist who wanted to volunteer to work with orphans has found her way to the Mission of Hope and the Orphan’s Hope Project. She is going to Nicaragua in early November for a year to work exclusively with the children at the orphanges and some of the local schools. Many of the orphans must deal with abadonment issues and some have the added trauma of sexual abuse.

I’ve had extensive conversations with Mariel and I know she is going to be a great resource for us and the children. A recent article with all the information was recently published in the Press Republican. Read the details here. Volunteer to spend one year in Nicaragua

When I see how long it’s been since I blogged I dispair that I will ever stay on top of this! I have been in limbo for a while now trying to get information from Nicaragua on so many aspects of the Orphan’s Hope Project – I am very frustrated.

There was a break-in at the orphanage a month ago and I still cannot confirm what was taken. I do know they took clothes from the girls (who would do that!), some or all of the food and totally gutted the small truck that the Mission of Hope had just repaired for the Nuns. I am hopeful that the computers, which were only just set up in August, are still intact. We purposely put them in an inside room (with no outside wall) just for security purposes. I don’t know if internet is connected yet, but probably not.

Nicaragua is also getting slammed with torrential rain. Even though this is rainy season, the rain has been extrodinarily bad. There are mud slides, roads washed out, loss of homes and some lives through out the country. This affects our orphanages as I am not sure that the food we are paying for is getting to them on a regular basis as it is supposed to.

We did send two packages down and although I know they made it to Nicaragua (this time Customs charged us $250 to get them into the country or else abandon the boxes – nice), I still don’t know if they’ve arrived at the orphanages. I was hoping it would get their soon since I know the children will like the books and toys that I sent plus the other necessities.

So hence, my non-blogging. I just don’t have enough answers. Steps are being taken to improve this and we are planning a trip in January at which time communication will be discussed as a top priority. We must establish regular communication that doesn’t rely on the current process, it just doesn’t work.

I’ll be sending out a newsletter to all of my sponsors within the the next few weeks with this information plus additional updates.

On a recent trip to Plattsburgh to give a presentaion to the Mission of Hope’s Leadership board on my Orphan’s Hope Project, I also met with Suzanne Moore, the Features Editor from the Press Republican, the regional newspaper for the North Country (aka upstate New York). Suzanne is a big supporter of the Mission of Hope, and her enthusiasm and skills provide the opportunity to keep the Mission in the newspaper on a regular basis. Our conversation turned into an impromptu interview and Suzanne wrote an article about my efforts to start this program.

Feel free to read the details at: Mission of Hope program helps orphans

While I’m pretty excited that I’m in the paper, I’m REALLY excited that we can continue to let people know about the program and how they can help.

On July 6, we held a Mission of Hope presentation at POP Displays in Yonkers, NY. This was facilitated by my sister-in-law, Sonja Stahl who has gotten the “mission bug” and now sponsors two orphaned children through my Orphan’s Hope Project.

Sr. Debbie gave her presentation to about 7 people, including my sister Jeannie who also attended, which meant alot to me. Although the crowd wasn’t very large, everyone was very interested with one person asking to become a sponsor. I was thrilled!

I would love to arrange more of these presentations for Sr. Debbie to speak, especially in this area as the MoH is primarily known upstate in Plattsburgh where they are based. To help spread the word, we need to hold more of these events down state. If you know of any companies or groups that would be interested in hosting a presentation event, please be sure and contact me.

I have written about the nuns that we met when we visited El Crucero in early June. One nun in particular, Sr. Maribel Marchena Martinez (they call her Hermana emma,emma,emma or MMM, but I call her M&M) really made an impression on me. She was both calm and centered yet determined and engaged all at the same. For me she seemed to be what grace in action is all about. I think she is probably the same age as one of my daughters, but she has led such a different life.

Sister MandM

When Sr. Debbie visited the orphanage last week, I sent with her a list of things that I wanted information about. Things like costs for children’s medical care, repairs to the car and oven at the orphanage, water irrigation systems for the farm, needs for the children and the nuns, you name it, I asked it. The list was a page and half long and I asked Debbie to begin discussing with them how to move forward on obtaining these things for the nuns – of course with their agreement. In my list, I explained why I wanted to find out about these things and how I thought they might help. My hope is with this information, I can reach out to sponsors and other donors with specific costs to solicit help.

I also included a letter that I had written to M&M. One of the difficulties, besides the language barrier, is that there is no way for me to communicate directly with her or any of the others at either orphanage. There is no rural mail delivery, it is difficult to call and right now, no internet for email. Since Debbie was going, I asked her to deliver my letter personally.

I was thrilled when on June 24, Debbie called me on her cell phone and handed the phone off to M&M. I was so excited to have the chance to talk to her!

M&M and I exchanged hello’s and how are you’s in Spanish (about my limit) and Elona helped translate the rest of our brief conversation. I asked if she had read my letter which she said she had and then I asked if she would write back, which she agreed to. And although our conversation was short, I felt as if I’ve opened up the direct communication link that I had hoped for. Despite ongoing mail issues, we will find a way to talk to each other.

There is also a good possibility that the internet connection I so badly want for the orphanage may be in place soon. A donor has come forward to pay for the services, at least temporarily, and if this is so, we can begin making arrangements to make this permanent. Not only can we communicate with the Sisters but also directly with the children. My hope is that I can put some of the children in direct contact with their sponsors, wouldn’t that be a wonderful way to encourage the special relationships that I have imagined? They call us their madrinas (godmothers) and padrinos (godfathers). What better way to make a real difference in their lives than to talk to the children and let them know we care?

Sr. Debbie is back in Nicaragua. She has brought the gentleman that donated the funds to build the new MoH facility down to see the progress so far. It will be really great when it’s finished.

She also visited Juan Pablo, the baby orphanage today. This is where my little Allison is, the little girl that I am sponsoring. She told me that Allison kept asking for the pretty “madrina” (godmother)! I am so absolutely excited that she remembered me, I can’t stand it! It just made me so very happy! What a wonderful, wonderful thing to know that Allison remembers me, I am so excited.

Allison has a problem with her teeth, I noticed some dark decay along her gum line when I was there earlier in June. Debbie mentioned this to the Sisters today and they will get me information and cost on what can be done to get her to a dentist.

I have continued to work on the Orphan’s Hope Project since back in the US. There is a lot of paperwork I am trying to keep straight that has the information for each child we are sponsoring. We continue to receive sponsors which is great, and we are now doubling up on each child and providing 2 sponsors for each where we can. I hope soon to have a database to keep track of the information, I have been over my spreadsheet so many times, I think I’ve memorized it.

As I work and enter each child’s name or some piece of information that we have gathered about them, I find myself talking to them. “Hello Felix” I say to a small 5 year old at El Crucero, “and what are you doing today? I hope you had something to eat.” Or hi to Silsa, the 14 year old who helped me read Dr. Suess to the children in Spanish. “Are you practicing your English as you promised me you would?” I say these things out loud not because the children can hear me of course (although my daughter Alix thought it was pretty funny when she sat in the room with me) but because it keeps them very real in my mind and my heart. Talking to them keeps them close.

I am almost ready to send out the personalized letters to each sponsor with a bio and picture for each child. It’s taken me weeks to put this together and I feel badly that it has taken this long.

Sr. Debbie is returning to Nicaragua tomorrow – I really wish I could go. One of her tasks will be to speak with the Nuns at El Crucero with my very long list of questions about costs, availability, needs, etc; all my ideas and plans for different ways to help them. I even wrote a letter to my favorite, Sister M&M, reminding her that I hadn’t forgotten them. But any effort we make on their behalf, whether to help provide a water irrigation system on the farm or get internet capability for El Crucero, must be approved by the Sisters. They must be in agreement with what we are trying to do for them and with them. These conversations can really only be had in person and that’s why I’m disappointed that I cannot go myself. I know that Sr. Debbie will be able to do this though; I only hope we don’t overwhelm them.

I’ve created a photo album of all the sponsored children and other pictures from Nicaragua. The pictures really do tell the story better than I ever could. I recently showed the book to Vince’s aunt and uncle and their family, (they are sponsors of a 14 year old girl) and I was really pleased that they wanted to see each picture and asked questions about many of them.

Whenever someone asks me about what I am trying to do, I just cannot give a short answer and often feel I need to apologize for giving a long answer to a short question. Most people though are very interested and really want to know. This is very gratifying for me because I feel that I am helping to spread the word about conditions there but also, based on the look on the people’s faces, that I am getting my message across clearly. This is so important to me and is really what my mission is all about.