I'm HERE!!!

I know it’s been a long time since I’ve written. I’ve been crazy busy and was hoping to get an e-mail out to you all before I headed back down to Nicaragua. That however, did not happen, and well I’m here! As you know it’s always hard for me to adjust but it’s been a few days now and I think I’ve got the hang of it again. Classes are to start this week so I will be walking the kids to school every day! I’m hoping this will increase the motivation in the community which appears relatively low this year. It’s sad but as always the issue is well mom and dad just can’t afford the supplies. I’ve been on the lookout for materials and need to speak with all teachers about the sponsorships. So if you sponsored a child last year and would like to continue the cost is still a mear $60 for the primary school attendance. Nate, the owner of Rancho Esperanza, and I have been playing with the idea of sponsoring secondary school children however costs would be $175 per year and bus fare is required by each student. The secondary school is still only a thought, but we really like the idea of giving more opportunities to the students. The main reason for not attending secondary school is the cost of the bus.

The ambulance has only been used once this year, which is a good thing as it is in major need of repairs. Current problems include new rear brakes and a new clutch. Nate and I just repaired the supports and had the car re-aligned. The road really seems to be taking it’s toll on this vehicle. This years ambulance run was for an elder gentleman who had broken his arm and dislocated his shoulder in a fishing accident. Nate transported him to a local healer, who set his arm and spent an hour massaging his shoulder back into place. Therefore, a successful trip!

Kids club has been going strong and Nate has informed me that a new generation of children are now joining the ranks. Therefore we need to find something to do with our older kids who feel silly still coming. I’m hoping to help support a Saturday baseball league which has begun to pop up! However, club attendance has been averaging at 20 kids per day. A far cry from the 40 to 60 which we had earlier, but I figure with school starting up again, word will spread fast and the kids will return in full force.

Donations are still being excepted so if you’re interested we could always use a hand. Please make checks payable to the Assist Jiquilillo Fun and send to:
Assist Jiquilillo Fund
284 Range Road
Cumberland, Maine 04021

So Finally, You May Say

Ambulance/Vehicle

Updates on the Ambulance are amazing.  We’ve put sooo much work into this darn car and we just can’t seem to get it right.  I’ve recently decided to change mechanics, so we’ll see if this makes any difference.  The vehicle works and we have been able to do lots of runs.

Just prior to my departure and Nate’s, the hostel owner/co-driver, departure we were able to complete an average of 3 runs per month.  Thus far nothing has been life or death; however it’s been quite a relief to have the ambulance available to everyone in the three surrounding communities.  We’ve managed a total of 3 births; a diabetic attack; a major cold/flu epidemic amongst children; a large mass forming on a man’s knee; several runs to the Red Cross for three hemophiliac children; and a run to a hearing specialist for a young boy whom we thought was losing his hearing, thankfully it’s turned out to only be a mild learning disability.  Sadly we’ve also had to use the ambulance as a Hurst on two occasions.

As both Nate and I are away, I am unsure if the ambulance is being used.  We’ve left a set of keys with the staff of the hostel, and they have permission to use it in a dire emergency as they do not have a license to drive, nor can they drive a standard very well.  Jamie, Nate’s right-hand-man is still learning.  Man I’ve forgotten how hard it was to learn/teach how to drive a standard.

Costs have remained low for the repairs, which is a plus.  Nate, Jamie and I will be learning car repairs.  We have obtained a new mechanic who we hope can fine tune everything and get this vehicle up to U.S. standards, ha-ha we’ll see!!  In total we’ve spent a total of $8,575.28 including the original purchases, several major repairs, and gas purchases for emergency runs only.  Currently $1,000 remains specifically for repairs and gas!

Community Center

At the time of my departure the community center was up and running for kids club projects only.  We are patiently awaiting a carpenter to come through the hostel who would love to volunteer his/her time to make some tables and benches for the adult classes and for the kids club (hint hint!!).  Currently, we’ve only had kid’s club meetings and the kids help move furniture over if necessary or we’ve enjoy the outdoors!

Now that it is rainy season, the center will be closed until November and used as staff housing for the hostel, as it is the most secure and dry area on the property.  This works fine as the kids tend not to come often during rainy season.  When I’m talking rainy season I mean it pours everyday!  I’ve recently heard that the village is shin to knee deep in puddles and what we would consider vernal pooling.

Future plans for the community center still include adult education classes.  Since I’ve been back and have had technology at my fingertips at all points in the day, I’ve begun to do some research for project ideas.  As Nate, the owner of the hostel, and I are very focused on renewable and reusable options I’ve discovered some projects, which I’m hoping the community would enjoy to learn; including making recycled paper and using old glass bottles to create beads for jewelry.  These two would be great craft projects for the adults and young adults in the community as Jiquilillo is becoming a tourist spot, and well we all know tourists need to buy gifts!!  I am hoping this will work.

The original idea was to get sewing classes spearheaded; however, we are finding it difficult to know if this will be a sustainable project as it requires such a large start-up fund.  Nate and I have discussed, and have decided to hold off on this aspect of the adult learning until we can see some real want in the community.  This way we don’t buy 5 sewing machines which just sit.

As Nate is on vacation now, upon his return he plans to look into getting a local teacher to come once or twice a week to give adult literacy classes.  We are hoping that in the future we will also be able to hold English classes for the community members as well!  They have all shown a great interest in this but, we’ve made them promise to show that they can read and write properly in their own first.

As for kids club we’ve been having an amazing time.  The kids just adore coming to play, read, watch movies, eat popcorn, color, write, do homework, and do arts and crafts projects.  These kids are just so beautiful.  Occasionally we’ll play bingo and give prizes, the kids always have options for prizes.  Generally it is between a type of toy such as a water gun, or a toothbrush or pen/pencil.  It is so funny to see kids take the toothbrush or the pen over toy, because they know it’s their only way to get what they really need.  Kids here learn need is more important than want at a very young age.  What a difference from the states!

As for expenses associated with the community center only a total of $653.34 was spent which has included $500 for the structure (this was used for several of the bricks which Nate ran short of funding for) and the remained was used to purchase materials and necessities for the children.

School

As most of you know my real focus is the children, especially as I am a teacher, thanks to Plymouth State University.  Therefore, the school is one of my main passions.  I’ve been able to provide many many many supplies for the children and teachers, including basic supplies including maps, paper, staplers, photocopies of textbooks, dictionaries, pens, pencils, chalk, etc…  The teachers have been very receptive as has Save the Children, which has been working in the community for the past year, more or less. 

Another main project was teeth.  It is so hard to watch a 12 year old pull out one of his adult teeth, just because it is rotten.  I’ve worked hard and have been able to add a teeth brushing activity to the daily regiment of school.  Now just after the lunch (provided by a program from the Save the Children) and recess are over all the children congregate outside and brush their teeth together.  It is amazing to watch.  I’ve provided the school with toothbrushes for each child and toothpaste!!  (I never realized how much toothpaste was needed for five months for an entire school; I’m talking a lot here!)

With brushing your teeth well you need water!!  This was one thing which has disturbed me about the school.  They have been lacking water.  I’ve set up a program with the local “chicken bus” system and now have 10 gallons of water per week trucked in for each class!  Upon my departure the teachers were very pleased with this quantity.  When I return in January I will be able to check on productivity and make sure the program has run smoothly.

In total including supplies, teeth, and water I spent $657.42.  Next year, as long as the budget is there I’d like to do more!!

Children being Sponsored

As you’ve all been informed I was able to sponsor a total of 14 children to attend school.  This included all necessities, backpack, uniform, shoes, paper, pens, pencils, rulers, etc… The kids and teachers alike were very excited at the onset of this program.

I am pleased to say that upon my departure the program was still running relatively smoothly.  I’m not sure however how things have been recently as I’ve been away since August, however I am hoping for the best. 

The school runs year round in Jiquilillo with only half of December and all of January off.  Therefore, who really knows if the children are still using the supplies for the intended purpose, however, when I left in August all children who were sponsored were doing well and attending classes on a more regular basis than most!

This is a great step in the community of Jiquilillo, which has had a rather pathetic school attendance since I’ve known the community.  It’s sad to see, but I’m glad that with the help of Save the Children and Nate, owner of Rancho Esperanza, I am able to see change!

Hostel life

As for life at the hostel, when I was there, it was amazing.  Nate has been a visionary of change and has been creating new updates like they are going out of style.  He’s finished his garden bed (which I’m hoping to get my hands in in January), he’s redecorated his cabanas (they are sooooo cute now), he’s built a volunteer house, he’s changed the roof on his hostel, he’s created new furniture, and tons more…

He’s also not stopping there.  His new plans include Eco Tours, Adult Ed classes, a new kitchen, new bathrooms, and who really knows what else when you are dealing with such a driven and amazing person. 

Now that I’m gone, I realize how many things at the hostel and in the community of I seem to take advantage of while I’m there.  I revel in the lack of communication (sorry as much as I love these e-mails I’d rather spend time in the school or giving Nate a hand with his projects), I pray for warm days to keep my joints limber, I think of my puppy all the time.

Basically I’m just thankful that I was able to reconnect with such an amazing friend and entire community who showed me the world, a community in my backyard I may have never seen, and the realities of poverty and happiness all at the same time! (This I think we can all agree is priceless!)

New Projects

As for new projects, I think Nate has the best ideas and he seems to be doing great things with the community.  Also, we have an elusive faith based organization coming in perhaps in February (whom I am curious to meet).  Therefore, this may be my last hurrah, I’m currently in touch with Dentists without borders (yeah teeth!!), and am filling out an application with Engineers without Borders (trying to get water into the community).  I think these two projects on top of the several I’ve started will keep me more than occupied through this 2009 trip.  I plan to leave on January 27 and would love to meet up with anyone who has time before I go.  Please e-mail me at stephanyguyot@gmail.com

School, School and More School

So I’ve been working alongside the school now since January as you are all aware of. I’ve been making photocopies of textbooks, purchasing supplies specifically for the teachers, purchasing supplies for the classrooms and for students, new locks have been added to the classroom doors, bathroom doors have been fixed, and dictionaries and new updated maps have been bought. All in all about $1,000 will be spent. I’ve managed to spend just over half and am going to make the last large donation of supplies to the school right before I head out so that way the supplies will last through the remained of the year. The above photo shows all the teachers in the school and all the supplies which have been most recently purchased and distributed.

As for updates on my life living at Rancho Esperanza, well, well where to start.

Nate has had a birthday back at the end of February where all the kids from the community came of and threw eggs at him. Don’t worry they really like him a lot it’s just a funny custom here. What a sight though, 30 plus kids charging Nate each with at least one egg. I think he smelled for about a week. Afterwards we did a huge piñata with the kids. I’m talking huge it was bigger than me!!! As it was Nate’s birthday he was able to have the first swing at it. All in all it took about an hour to break it open. Then there was cake with the kids and festivities with the adults in the evening!

Next Nate and I got a puppy. He is sooooo cute. Don’t worry Mom and Dad I still love my cat and can’t wait to get back and see him. The puppies name is Roñoso, which means scabby. Funny thing is when we got him he was about one to two months old and he had this huge scab on the tip of his nose and well the name just sort of stuck. He’s now about four months old and he’s really lived up to his name. He loves to dig holes in the Rancho floor as it is a sand floor however the sand flies love to dig holes all over his body. Therefore he is always covered in scabs!! But he’s still cute as a button and healthy as a whip I just got his last vaccination Wednesday morning so he’s up-to-date for the year!!

Let’s see, Semana Santa, the huge celebration week leading up to Easter was insane here at Rancho Esperanza. Typically Nathan and I are dealing with crowds no larger than 25 daily. We have communal meals and people just pitch in with chores, it’s simple and really homey feeling. However, during Semana Santa Nate runs Rancho Esperanza as a fully functional hotel with a bar and restaurant with several menu options. Let me tell it was insane. We had four chefs, two waiters, we had a live musician, and three people running both the bar and doing the compost runs. And yes don’t forget we run on a composting toilet system so we were running about 40 to 60 five-gallon buckets of kitchen scraps and human waste to the compost bins daily. We averaged about 150 people on Friday night alone, which we severed at the bar and in the restaurant. I don’t think I sat down all week. Every night starting on Wednesday we had at least 100 people per day. At nights we had all six cabañas full with up to six people in each. Although, we found out later some had 10 to 15 people. However, the beauty of Semana Santa was Nate was able to raise enough money to change the roof on the main Rancho which was falling apart.

So after one week of nothing but sleep literally, Nate commenced his roof changing projects. It was fun to watch but I’m glad it only took a week to do because I’m sooo sunburned from not having any roof over my head at any point during the day and the rains have finally begun. We now have our roof back on and a nice carport for the ambulance. Check out the pictures. They actually put the palm on the roof at night (because it was cooler) by lights run from batteries as the power company cut power to our village for about almost the entire week at night.

Last but not least I’ll try and tempt you all to come for a visit with the best sunset shot I think I’ve ever taken!! It’s beautiful, peaceful and just the way of life here!! Come visit I’ll be here till July as you all know, the great thing is it’s a hostel so there is plenty of room to stay!! Check out the website http://www.rancho.esperanza.bvg3.com/ if you want more info (it needs a bit of updating which we are working

Now for what most people are most interested in the School!!!

Rancho Esperanza and the Assist Jiquilillo Fund have been working on getting attendance to increase in the school so our idea has been do something special for the students who have perfect monthly attendance. This is a new project which we started this past Tuesday. We offered a piñata to the students who had perfect attendance for the 18 days of February. It however, was not just a piñata with candy, Nathan and I stuffed them full with pencils, erasers, and pencil sharpeners. It was really exciting to see the children’s faces when not just candy but pencils and other things fell! They were actually fighting over the pencils, erasers and pencil sharpeners and just letting the candy fall. I must say it was nice to see kids who wanted things that they would use for school! Since we are slightly behind on the months we will be doing March next week but may switch it up and give all the kids notebooks instead of doing a piñata! Only time will tell. We’d like to keep it as exciting as possible and do something different every month. Rancho Esperanza is very excited to tackle this project solo which works well for the Assist Jiquilillo Fund which has its funds tied up in other educational projects.

Actual attendance levels for February were fairly pathetic for First grade out of 45 students only 10 had perfect attendance. Second grade out of 23 students there were only 7 who were able to participate in the piñata. Third grade was better with 20 out of 23 and Fourth grade was good with 19 out of 21 students. Fifth grade was not as successful with only 7 out of 20 and Sixth grade had only 6 out of 18. Preschool did not participate in the piñata’s as the teachers herself was rarely there. It’s hard to see such low attendance levels but we can only hope that this project which is essentially bribing kids to come to class will work. Then the education itself is left only in the hands of the teachers.

As for sponsorships it is still a hard battle with the teachers. As of Tuesday at the suggestion of Nathan I’ve changed my scope of work with the teachers and I will no longer be basing the sponsorship on the four categories of attendance, participation, homework, and need. I will be meeting with the teachers over lunch next week, to discuss only attendance of the children and their levels of need. Once the Assist Jiquilillo Fund chooses 4 students from each class with the teachers I will begin a walk through the community to verify the level of need of each of these children. For those whom I find have the most need they will be sponsored. It will be a difficult decision but I am hoping to also get some helpful insight from Dona Francisca, the local health promoter. If all goes to plan, please cross your fingers that it actually does, all will be up and running by the end of the month. Then the last thing I will have to do is trips to Chinandega the city with all the children to purchase the uniforms, shoes, supplies, etc... And finally write the bios of the children and send them out to you the loving sponsors! I think the city trip will be a challenge, just imagine, little old me walking around a big city with up to 14 Nicaraguan children in tow. What a sight to see. I may need to reassess and just get measurements of all the children. I’m not sure on this part yet.

As for the purchase of materials for the schools, the Assist Jiquilillo Fund has purchased 6 dictionaries, 2 atlases, 5 puzzles of the muscular and skeletal system, 6 backpacks for the teachers, 6 notebooks for the teachers, 2 100-piece boxes of chalk, large paper for posters, 4 locks for the doors, crayons for each classrooms and pencils for each classroom. Currently only one more lock needs to be put on the door which I have a carpenter and friend scheduled to do next week. This one lock turned out to be way more complicated as the last lock was snapped off the cement as a result of someone kicking in the door. Hopefully this new lock will do the trick. After the lock is put on and the children are sponsored the Assist Jiquilillo Fund and Rancho Esperanza will be looking into getting a well built for the school and repairing the bathrooms. Pictures’ will come soon so you can see the current conditions.

Community Center Updates include lots of new things.

The Community Center is finished. Nathan ended up being sort for the construction of the walls so the Assist Jiquilillo Fund donated $500 to complete the construction of this wonderful facility!
Currently the Center is being used for Rancho Esperanza’s Kids Club project. This is the after-school program where the kids in the community can come and just be kids. It is such a nice change to see some of the kids in the village who normally work all day long get the occasional break and well just be a real child. All week BINGO has been the most popular game. I’ve got a small white board set up and I’m using this game as an amazing learning tool. I’m working on letters and numbers with all of them. It’s hard but Nathan has two volunteers who have been staying at Rancho Esperanza who have been wonderfully helpful with this aspect. They sit with the kids and keep them focused on the letters in BINGO and then the numbers. It’s been only one week of BINGO and all the kids now know these four small letters and can shout out Spanish Words with which start with each letter. They also have been able to recognize the majority of the numbers which range from 1 to 75. Supper exciting, since most of the kids even those who are 14 are still in 1st grade and before the game didn’t know their numbers nor letters very well. Another favorite activity is drawing and coloring which the children are enjoying in the above photo. Don't worry we are in the process of making tables for the community center too!

Another activity we are currently using the Community Center for is movie nights. Every other Sunday I help Rancho Esperanza put on a movie for the kids. Last May, with personal funds I purchased a projector and made a screen for this sol purpose! We are working on the Harry Potter series right now and the kids and adults as well love it! Movies start at 4 and go either till they end or until the power goes out, which has been happening a lot and is really putting a damper to this project. Rancho Esperanza will hold movie nights twice a month and offer them free to the community!

As for future plans of the community center the first projects the Assist Jiquilillo Fund and Rancho Esperanza will begin is empowering women here in the community. We will be offering Sewing classes to start. Currently, we are looking for a teacher and may have potentially found a woman who is certified. She is the neighbor of our friend Boris who lives in El Viejo, a city about an hour outside of Jiquilillo. We just need to do an interview verify her credentials and then purchase the machines. If everything works out right (which it very rarely does here in Nicaragua) we will have this project up and running by the end of May!!! Classes will have a very small fee associated with them which will be used to purchase the necessary material and thread. The Assist Jiquilillo Fund has been planning on assisting with this project and will be able to donate $500 for the purchase of several machines including both electric and petal sewing machines (for when there is no power)! This still leaves $500 more to be used for future classes which Rancho Esperanza and the Assist Jiquilillo Fund will be spearheading.

Updates on the Ambulance/Vehicle

So we’ve done it!!! Finally, after months and months actually more like a year of searching for the perfect used vehicle in good condition we’ve found one and it has been purchased!!!! I can’t belive it Nathan, Moises (our mechanic), and I are trilled to show you the truck which we are now using as an ambulance and teacher transport. It doesn’t look like much I must say but this is it. We are still finalizing all documents because our Moises had to purchase the truck for us, so the vehicle is still being transferred into our names however we’ve got it and have been using it. Funny story about the purchase is it had to be bought in Moises’s name otherwise the original owner of the truck would have sold it to us for $10,000; however since Moises is Nicaraguan and not a Gringo he was about to talk the price down to $7,300, which is totally within the budget. The original plan was to be able to raise $10,900 however I was only able to raise $8,300. So this leaves an extra $1,000 for repairs and such.

Since the purchase of the truck we have made three runs to the hospital. The first being for Nathan himself, he had an ant which tried to build a home in his ear so we had to bring him to the hospital for an emergency ant removal. It sounds really funny and disturbing at the same time, however it is true, scary but true! Second trip was for Maria Jose Asetuno Carrbio, our neighbor. She went into labor only about 10 days after purchasing the truck so I rushed her to the hospital and an hour later out popped Junior Jose Lopez Carrbio. Please note the above photos. He is soooo cute and small and well he’s a baby what more can I say. Out most recent trip has been for Elizabeth Oviedo who was also pregnant, however, she is not originally from Jiquilillo and was just visiting so I’m unaware of the turnout of this trip.

The truck is also being used to bring the teachers into the community so they arrive to school on time. This project has been hard, because we need to leave Rancho Esperanza at 6:15am in order to get them to school on time. I have a feeling unless we find another driver this project will not remain a daily thing, as when I’m not here Nathan has a hotel to run as well. Yes, for those who know me well it’s amazing I know I actually get up willingly between 5:30 and 6:00 here to work. Scary hugh?

So far the truck has held up well and we’ve only had one major repair of replacing one four-wheel drive unit the part itself cost $52.50 and Moises has a deal worked out with Nathan at the moment so labor was free. Otherwise, it’s just a few small tweeks left of the back windows sticking and one door won’t unlock. Simple (I think) but not necessary to be functional!

I’ve worked out a deal with Rancho Esperanza for them to cover the majority of gas consumption. This is working by The Assist Jiquilillo Fund renting the vehicle to the hostel for use during the day when it is not being used for emergency runs (after 3:30) or for transporting the teachers (early morning). So far it is working well, and I’m sure this will continue to work in the future.