Last Day in Nicaragua

Today was our last day at the guest house at NPH, and in our usual style it was a very busy one.

Early this morning, the inaugural NPH Invitation Golf tournament took place on the newly created course, designed by our own David Knoppert.  Five avid golfers met on the new NPH Golf course just before 7:30 .  The test was, closest to the hole with everyone getting four shots.  Anne knocked out four seasoned golfers out of the competition  on her way to claiming the title.  Later in the afternoon, a ceremony was held on the school bus while we were in Jinotepe . Anne's prize was three chocolate bars which she graciously shared with everyone on the team.  The only question remains is "Will Anne return to defend her Championship in 2019?"

After breakfast, work continued in the little boys Casa, as we completed the decorating and setting up of the beds.  All the twelve beds were dressed with fresh sheets, all donated by our team's supporters, and finished with beautiful hand made quilts provided by ..........

Following another delicious lunch, prepared by our lovely chef Ava and her two beautiful assistants, we all took off on various journeys.

Several of the team delivered physio equipment, surplus medications, blood pressure cuffs etc. to the local hospital in Nandaime.  While there they toured the hospital and saw the lab, the obstetrical delivery room and the emergency area. Close by is the maternity house where expectant mothers from distant villages come approximately two weeks before their due date.  It is a lovely open concept house with room for eating and sleeping for eight to ten mothers, much like happens in areas in Northern Ontario.

The NPH bee keepers arrived to receive delivery of the bee keeping equipment that we had brought from Ontario, and the bee boxes that Cody, our resident team carpenter, has been constructing on site.  They were pleased to receive the equipment and support for their newly established bee hive project.

We delivered soccer balls to each of the children's Casas.  Stratford youth soccer had donated forty soccer balls and we had left four in each of the five schools at the  villages we have visited.  Soccer is big here and the kids loved the balls.

Pat, Cody and Bryan continued to finish the little boys casa with their carpentry skills, putting up new shelves, mirrors etc. 

While waiting in Jinotepe, Diane and Rebecca shared a magical moment.  They had found Hilberto the previous day and today discovered  him patiently waiting in the park as they had pre- arranged a meeting spot. His eyes lit up when they gave him a cane, sun glasses and a bag full of goodies.  Mark graciously donated his running shoes, which fit him like Cinderella's slippers.  He praised the girls with a song called "Jesus Is My Friend" as he cried tears of joy.

Tomorrow after breakfast we say our farewell to this amazing NPH experience.

David designed a golf course in Orphanage for the kids. We were skeptical but he did it,

Blog January 30, 2018

Lots of activity in the group today as we strugle to finish our tasks, So much to do and so much need,

One group went off to Nandarola to take out library and school books, games ,crafts, toys and computers for the school. They had no computers and the teacher could not contain his excitement at receiving the computers loaded with total wikipedia, many eductional games and over 1600 books all in Spanish to start their E Library. We found a teacher that had some computer experience and was willing to teach the children. We chose the Ubuntu operting system which World Computer Exchange where we got the computers  had recommended but it was challenging to teach a new operating system. We put them in a room we had renovated and secured and run electricity to . We demonstrated the toys, games and musical instruments we had brought along with other library books . They insisted we stay for a wonderful dinner they had prepared.  Before we left we distributed clothes, toothpaste and toothbrushes, suckers and sunglasses. We also brought wood for a shelter over the well but that was quite another story. As we left we had a really warm feeling about the village.

A field of dreams was created in the last two days. Today young boys from the orphanage used a whipper snipper and machetes to craft a green that could be the envy of many courses back home. Many kids appeared almost instantaneously once the clubs and balls were brought out. Everything was divided equally amongst the boys and girls. Hopefully this little green will bring pleasure to many children for a long time. 

Another group went to Jintope to do some shopping for the young boy's Casa that we painted last week, and purchased a wide variety of tools for NPH's gardener to help teach the children . After Janice, Rebecca and Diane finished shopping they enjoyed a snack and beverage in the park, when a man limped by using a stick for support, all three of us went into clinic mode and brainstormed ideas of how we could help him. We conversed with him and are meeting him tomorrow at 4:30 PM in the park with a cane, shoes, hat and brace for his severly arthritic arm. He indulged in the chips and banana, finished off by a cold bottle of water. 

Blog Post for 29 January 2018

It is hard to believe that this grand adventure is almost over.  And today's entry is being done by the still good looking trio of Bryan, Cody and Mark.

Bryan here.  We made it to San Luis for a second visit.  Cody, Pat and I started assembling the outhouse for a local family.  Shortly into the construction we noticed the recently purchased bolts were too long.  Our intrepid carpenter Cody prepared spacers from a stick we found on the ground. 

After supper Diane, Rebecca, Cody and I played basketball on the NPH outdoor court under the lights.  After Cody stubbed his toe and Diane had her glasses knocked off the taller men defeated the shorter women in a not even close contest.

Cody here.  Doug and I made a trip into Jinotepe to buy wood for the beehive and well cover projects.  The pricing and type of the wood were quite fluid.  After some intense negotiation the purchase was made.  It is hoped to have these projects finished soon.

While several team members painted the boys' dorm Bryan and I noticed that the washroom stall doors had locks on the outside.  To prevent any future bullying these were removed and placed on the inside where they should be.

Mark here.  After a frustrating trip to Nandaime to visit the Minister of Education who did not show up we took the mayor and her family to San Luis.  We found out the teachers were at a meeting so were not sure if anyone would show up for our presentations.  We went from "where are they?" to "where did they all come from?"  We were suddenly surrounded by children blowing on recorders, whacking xylophones and preparing name tags with stickers.

I was the official photographer for the "Days for Girls" presentations done by Jo-anne, Maxine and Anne.  The young girls all giggled when Maxine showed them how to put on the briefs over her shorts.  I offered moral support while the well was repaired.  This had been drilled last year by the previous COMMIT team.

This update was tarantula and scorpion free.

Blog Jan 28, 2018 Ometepe Island

Today was a free day for the team.  We rose very early at 5:15, and were on the bus for 6 a.m.  to catch the 7:45 a.m. ferry to Ometepe Island.  This is a large island in the middle of Lake Nicaragua, dominated by the visual cones of  two  semi-active volcanoes. The volcanic ash has made the soils of this island very fertile and the lush vegetation and crops and fruit trees that abound on the island attest to this.

The ferry, leaving from San Jorge, carried the team, along with dozens of Nicaraguan locals.  We enjoyed the view from the open top level of the ferry as we crossed for an hour on windy rough waters.

Fourteen of the team headed off on a kayak adventure on the mangrove swamps of the Rio Istian.  We loaded into sit-on-top kayaks and paddled through intricate meandering wetlands viewing turtles, howler monkeys, and a rare cayman viewing. After about a three hour paddle we drove to a beautiful waterfront restaurant to meet up with Mark and Jo-Anne for a late lunch.

Mark and Jo-Anne began their day at the Charco Verde Nature Reserve with a walk through the Butterfly Conservatory. Many species of butterflies were observed amongst the beautiful flower gardens. They continued after the conservatory with a relaxing walk around the lagoon. They saw many turtles and geckos and heard several monkeys calling throughout the many varieties of unique trees. Their expert driver Rui drove them to the restaurant meeting place. Due to adjusted time for lunch we decided to take the 5:30 p.m. ferry back to the mainland. The team enjoyed the beautiful sunset views and the exuberant Nicaraguans enjoying their return ferry trip as well.

The bus returned tired and happy team members back to NPH where they were reunited with Maxine and Rae who had a different kind of day. They were an industrious duo and organized the supplies for the sewing, craft, lending library, music and school programs/ projects for San Luis and Nandarola.

To be continued....

January 27th

Saturday, January 27.

Despite the fact that everyone could sleep in today most of us were already awake at 6am. Our bodies have gotten used to Nica time. Today was an exciting outing for us as we were taking 55 children and caregivers to San Juan del Sur, for a beach day. A few of the children hopped on the bus with us as their bus was full, and we started on our way. It was a treat to travel on roads tbat were paved, and not dusty, for a change. The little guy sitting beside Janice promptly fell asleep and spend the remainder of the trip sleeping on her backpack. When we arrived at the beach we quickly set up our gazebos, chairs and tables. The children were thrilled to each receive a new pair of sunglasses, donated by the Lion’s Recycle For Sight. We were all surprised when instead of running off to the water, the children all congregated together on the chairs under the gazebos. Even with coaxing most of them wouldn’t budge, until they saw how much fun we were having with throwing frisbees, playing soccer, swimming and building sand castles. Many than joined our groups and helped build or play games. A few of them even tried their hand at flying the home made kites made by Rae and Maxine. A delicious lunch of sandwiches, fruit and chicken and rice from the NPH home. Many team members wandered the streets looking at souvenirs, and Emma even found a bathing suit. The highlight of the day was the ice cream cone enjoyed by all at the eskimo shop. The biggest mystery of the day was where the 80 bags of caramel popcorn had gone, that took three hours to make last night. Doug was certain they had been loaded on the bus, but they were nowhere to be found. It turned out that they had been left behind after all We decided to deliver the popcorn to the children's casas so Doug, Diane, Rebecca and I headed out to do that We were about halfway there when we discovered that Doug had grabbed the bag of garbage instead of the popcorn. We had a good laugh about that.  All in all a fun day was had by all, and our team enjoyed interacting with the NPH children.

We capped our night with a delicious supper at the Rancheon Grille, after having given Eva and Edgar the night off. Another day in this beautiful country. Buenos Noches

January 26th

Blog Jan 26, 2018

Today started out like many other clinics : 6am rise and shine, load the bus, and chow down on Ava's fantastic breakfast. On our way to Ochimogo we stopped at the NPH Gift Shop. We will return to purchase embroidered bags, bracelets, and hammocks as well as our coffee (we have ordered 15 pounds amongst the group!). Profits from these sales help to support the kids here at NPH.

Once aboard the bus, we enjoyed our shortest, smoothest drive yet. Our final clinic brought several new visitors : dogs, chickens and a big, muddy pig (who did not impress the dogs!). Miriam and Larry (one of our translators)  assessed an 88 year old lady who had mildly elevated blood pressure. When asked if she was on any medications, she answered, "No. I'm afraid if I take all those medications I'll kick the bucket!"

A highlight for Janice and Bryan was to reconnect with her sponsor child of 3 years, Orlando, who is 7 years old. He loved his new sunglasses.

Overall the clinic ran like a well oiled machine. The only hitch came at the end of the day, when everything was packed on the bus. Mark, the pharmacist, had to climb up on the bus to retrieve medications for a newly diagnosed diabetic.

We finished the clinic around 3pm and most of us felt exhilarated and exhausted at the same time. The team worked very hard and never complained.

Today was our final medical clinic. We will be doing projects in villages next week and a couple of dental clinics that were missed. We will be dividing up our supplies and sending them to various places depending on need. The hospitals will be getting most of the meds , glucometers, hearing aids, and other equipment that they requested. A nursing home has asked for whatever we can send their way; some canes, other similar supplies and meds suitable for seniors will go their way.

After a fantastic dinner of rice, beans, herbed hamburger patties,  fresh mixed vegetables, an incredible salad AND a delicious fruit medley we distributed our maracas that we purchased from Larry.

January 25th 2018. Eye of Water

Today we had our best clinic so far. Ojo de Agua (eye of water) has not had a clinic visit before. Our first trip there was wildly successful, though we had to overcome the hurdle of schlepping all the stuff up the hill to the school because it was too steep for our trusty school bus. The school was clean and it is clear from the lessons and artwork on the walls and blackboards that the children are learning.  It was a smaller clinic with only 108 patients registering.  Ken and Pat did their usual excellent job of directing traffic and patient flow. The team is really working well together.  We were visited by a few families of chickens too!

Two patients resonated with many of us. We had one 93-year-old patient. She was pushed in a wheelchair by her son though she is in fact able to walk with a little assistance. She is of sound mind and has a wonderful smile. She is in quite remarkable shape for her age and needed little medical care.  She was outfitted with a good pair of shoes as the pink Crocs she wears are clearly a trip hazard! She also wanted good sunglasses and Anne found her a stylish pair that put a smile on her face.   Bev, our “closer“ who checks out all the patients at the end of the clinic, provided her with a crocheted lap blanket, some lotion and a washcloth. She was delighted by the care she received and we all were touched by her warm smile.

Another lady was assessed by Janice. She is diabetic and had a pretty significant finger injury. She had burned the back of her left ring finger a week or two before and had been unable to get her wedding band off. The ring was biting into her swollen finger  and the skin was breaking down and infected. This was affecting her diabetes as well. As luck would have it Miriam had brought some procedural supplies from home.  She was able to do a nerve block to freeze her finger and then use a small piece of rubber tubing (which is sometimes used as a tourniquet) to wrap the finger round and round and slowly ease the ring off. A successful removal and the ring and finger were both saved!  Rae then stepped up and provided excellent wound care and gave her some dressings to use at home. We had some extra glucometers so Emma gave her one with enough test strips to last for two weeks so that she could check her sugars while her finger is healing. As we packed up we noticed that the patient had forgotten her wound care supplies, so after we loaded the school bus Edgar found out where she lives and we made a house call with the school bus to drop them off. Talk about closing the loop!

The other thing we all noticed is the difference it makes when a community has a good well. This population is significantly healthier. They complain less of headaches, weakness, dizziness and bladder symptoms.  When we arrived in the morning there were several women washing their clothes at the sinks down by their well. The well adds to the sense of community in this very remote area.

We stopped in Jinotepe for groceries and then came back for a lovely dinner. We were joined by Padre Alberto and five foreign students who are here working at the orphanage for year. Another delicious meal and the evening was wrapped up with Diane giving Cody a haircut.  

January 24th

This was a day of work at the orphanage and preparing for tomorrow. A group of us painted one of the boys' casas (dormitory). The rooms started out a faded yellow and ended up a bright French's Mustard yellow. Not many came away with too much paint on them, even the two Bryans who painted the highest points from on top of the bathroom stalls. Miriam whipped up new curtains of red material and white lace, and some of two shades of blue. We wish we would be here to see the look on the boys' faces when they walk through the door. Pat and Jane toured the nursery and farming operation with Jose, the orphanage farmer. They were very impressed with his operation. In the greenhouses Jose and his workers grow tomatoes and onions, and in the fields, corn, rice, yucca and sorghum. Anything Grows from Stratford donated seeds, some of them completely new to Jose who is eager to plant them. Cody was busy preparing the framework for the beehives which will be assembled later this week. NPH is expanding the honey-making operation at another site. A lot of work was put in by some of our group in preparation for the weekend when we will be spending more time with the children doing crafts and games. Kite frames were made in hopes of flying them with the children we take to the beach on Saturday. We are now in the process of getting all our supplies ready for our fourth clinic at Ojo de Aqua tomorrow. It will be another early day.

January 23rd

Many people in this area eat beans and rice all year and so were pleased to receive the dried food packages from the Gleaners Organization.

Each day for us is a new adventure.  Yesterday was a tough day and today, working hard together, we all felt like a team that had really jelled. 

San Luis. January 22nd

6 o'clock, rise and shine. It looked like it was going to be another beautiful day. Team effort to load the bus had us ready to go at 10 to 7. It seemed like everybody was dragging their heels due to the hot weather. 7:30am the bus was on the road, to Nandaime to pick up translators and a doctor. There was another 20 min wait. The road to San Luis was much easier than to La Flor. For about 10 km of the one hour trip was through the reserve. Groves of Teek trees pressed in on either side of the narrow, dusty road. There's one road in and one road out of this remote village. There's only one bust that comes out here ones a week, so access to medical care is very limited.
We were surprised when we arrived that there were no patients waiting. However a bunch arrived quickly from around the bend. To our dismay the school buildings were all locked and we had to wait until the keys were located. Set up went much more smoothly than Saturday as we worked like a well trained team. We saw 200 plus patients, treating hypertension, diabetes, deworming, a malnourished baby due to the mother's diet, numerous headaches and dehydration, along with many aches and pain. Rae was quite busy teaching new diabetics. Janice had a patient with hypertension, and when her blood sugar was tested her it was 22.8. Through further investigation, she discovered that this patient had been diagnosed with diabetes by last year's team. Once her 2 month supply of medication had ran out, she had neglected to refill her prescription. Unfortunately this meant that she had had poorly controlled diabetes for 10 months. Returning with decreased sensation in her feet, and a general feeling of malaise it was definitely time for intervention.
Our biggest surprise of the day was a patient who was curious as to what his blood sugar would be and had a shocking result of 27.4 in addition to hypertension. Lots of little cute kids came through the clinic. Pharmacy felt like they were inside a drum, due to repair of a sheet metal roof. Only one dog came through today. The pharmacy ran much smoother today with an extra pharmacist, it was the bee hive of activity, the children took their medication with a spoonful of jam and a smile from Joanne. The eye glass clinic was very busy, The patients left happy, each with a toothbrush, soap, toothpaste and a hat. The pregnant and new mothers were thrilled to receive a Layette from Westover church, filled with baby clothes, blankets and other goodies. Every station was kept busy, and all in all we wmfelt it was a successful day. With many hands helping to load the bus we were on the road back, bumping along, slowing down for cows and taking in the scenery. We are so thankful to our many translators, who for their talent our clinics wouldn't be possible. Arriving home each team member prepared their bag for the next destination, El Descanso
By Diane Vandersleen Rebecca WilkerWilker and Janice
Hasta mañana

January 21, 2018 Post

The mature group at the chocolate factory.

Blog Entry January 21 2018

Today's blog entry is done by the handsome trio of Cody, Mark and Bryan. After yesterday's hectic day in La Flor we had a down day in Granada. Our bus left a lot later than it did the previous day. Once the team got to Granada we all had different experiences.

Bryan here.  We started by going to one of the many old churches in the city.  We went to the top of the Merced tower where we could see an extensive view of the entire city. Despite the sign saying not to ring the bell someone who shall be nameless, except it starts with D and ends with oug, rang the bell. 

Emma decided to pet a less than attractive dog that probably had mange.  She spent a good part of the day scratching.  We then went off to find some carbonated liquid refreshment.  We found a table, umbrella and a server and all was well.

Cody here.  After our wonderful adventure with the "dog" we went to Tele Pizza for some delicious pizza and carbonated liquid beverages.  Eighteen of us shared five large pizzas which disappeared quickly.  Doug and David met with two other Rotarians at the restaurant and they had a great talk. 

We got our beach bodies out to go down to Lake Nicaragua.  To our surprise the beach was not a safe place to go barefoot or even with shoes.  We tried to find a safer spot to lie on and found a Nicaraguan community beach.  There we met some people from NPH and a Toronto based Nicaraguan. 

Mark here.  The older, more mature group went to the chocolate museum.  Ronny was our tour guide.  He was very enthusiastic and led us in several cheers as we consumed some rather odd chocolate concoctions (chocolate rum?).  My wife and I did not buy any chocolate as it would have melted before we got to the next corner.

Six of us negotiated a boat tour of the islands in Lake Nicaragua.  Luis was a tour guide and his English was as good as our Spanish.  We saw some interesting birds, spider monkeys (on appropriately named Monkey Island) and several howler monkeys.  We did see a boa constrictor on the water that looked quite dead and quite large.  Several of the islands were for sale.  If we pooled our resources we could have bought the dock.

Tomorrow we go to San Luis for another clinic day.

Quick blog update: while typing this we had a close and personal experience with a tarantula.  Despite several appeals to stomp it Bryan captured it and released it into the wild.   

January 20th

January 20, 2018

We were up before dawn for breakfast at five and ready to load the truck by 530.  The lorry was predictably late, running on Nicaragua time. We got everything loaded and headed off to La Flor.  After picking up some translators, the doctor and dentist in Nandaime, we headed off on our adventure. The first few miles tricked us into believing that the roads we would be travelling, would actually be roads.  Two hours of over hill/over dale, downhill through rivers, branches whacking the sides of the truck and we liberated a branch of small mangoes literally off the tree. We were basically bumped around like dryer balls until we arrived at our clinic.

Our first clinic was not surprisingly, controlled chaos. We saw almost 200 people. Despite a lack of organization, we were able to provide good foot care, diabetic teaching, blood-pressure checks, blood sugars and urinalysis tests done, eyeglasses dispensed, the dentist pulled some teeth, the doctors picked up a few new diagnoses and many medications were dispensed. If we did one good thing we were able to de worm the entire population. This is really important as the water quality is poor after the floods and hurricanes last fall. Jane had the bright idea of bringing toys and colouring books to entertain the children.  The colouring books were a hit.  It kept them grounded and many children were seen to be wandering around with colourful pictures afterwards.

There were skittish and very thin dogs everywhere. They wandered in and out of the various rooms hoping for scraps of food.  Wild pigs were wandering around the clinic as well. Cody made friends with the local mayor and spent some time trying to catch a pig.  

The ride home was, if possible, even bumpier and longer.....in the dark.  Our lead truck almost tipped over on its side going through a river bed. Janice’s heart almost stopped! Disaster was averted and we all made it home safely.   Ava had a fantastic dinner waiting for us. We capped the day off with a debrief and plans to improve our clinic the next time. Everyone felt we had a successful day. 

January 19th, 2018

Hello everyone. We have arrived safely in Nicaragua after two uneventful flights - from Toronto to San Salvador and then to Managua. We had a few rebels in the group who took advantage of the first class washrooms which were much closer to us than the two washrooms at the back of the plane. (We were caught!) The flight was quite smooth and 18 people arrived in Managua at 9:15 p.m. Nicaraguan time. The weather was a balmy 30C. Some of us were a little intimidated by the guard outside with the gun over his shoulder who told us to move off the driveway and we did exactly what he said. After a bit of a slowdown at customs (they hassled us over used glasses) we were on our way. Our 36 hockey bags were quickly put on the top of the school bus by three strong young men - Bryan Rauser and two NPH students. Our drive to the NPH orphanage near Nandaime took about an hour and a half. We unloaded the hockey bags and our carry-ons and fell into bed at the lovely vistors' casa at the orphanage.

Our bosses (Janice and Doug) let us sleep in and we had breakfast at 8 a.m. We soon got to unpacking and sorting the hockey bags loaded with all our medical, school, music, toys, and craft supplies. A few in our group had to do some maintenance - Cody, Brian and Emma fixed a screen window, Pat the plumber changed a tap in one of our rooms and a leaking sink drain was repaired. Janice, Doug and Edgar took off to buy some much-needed supplies. After a siesta for some of us, the rest of the afternoon was spent in preparation for tomorrow's clinic. The medical director at NPH went on holidays without leaving direction for someone to be able to unlock the medical room containing our dental equipment. A nurse from Managua will be coming to NPH tonight at 9 p.m. to unlock the room so we have the equipment for tomorrow's clinic. Our cook and her two helpers prepared three great meals for us today and we have been drinking huge amounts of water to keep hydrated.

This blog is not long because we have to be up at 4 a.m. tomorrow to load the trucks at 4:30 a.m. followed by breakfast. We will then be heading off to our largest clinic, La Flor, the one which is the furthest away and close to the Costa Rican border,

January 19th

January 19, 2018

Breakfast was at a civilized 8 AM. Fresh fruit, french toast and good coffee. We spent most of the day sorting through all of the items that we brought and pulling things out of the storage room here. Clothes and shoes were packed into bags for the orphanage. Medical, dental and eye supplies were sorted into hockey bags to be taken to the clinic tomorrow. Bryan taught Emma how to do finger pick glucose tests and read urine test strips.

We had the chance to go on a brief tour of the orphanage. There is a garden with fresh peppers and some other produce growing. There are livestock including some pigs, cattle (mainly Brahmas), a few goats and a cute, old little donkey.  Everything is quite green and lush right now because of all of the flooding in the fall.

Our casa has a house cat. Her name is Marvin. She can be a bit aloof and standoffish but it times likes to curl up or stretch out on the furnishings.  If you get up to leave the dinner table she is often on your chair when you return.  

January 18th: The team arrives!

 The team arrives!   Our travel day yesterday was largely uneventful. We all met at the airport and got our bags checked. We even had time for a group photo in our Commit T-shirts. There was a half hour of panic when Cody seemed to have gotten lost in the airport!  Fortunately our carpenter was found already at the gate, having been shunted through a different security checkpoint. It appears that “where’s Cody?” could be the joke of the trip!   The flights were on time, the food was good and our layover in San Salvador was easy. We arrived in Managua to be met by Janice and Brian at the airport.  When we came through the doors there were a lot of people waiting for arriving travelers. There was a lot of waving and flashing signs. We felt like an entourage making a splashy arrival!

We were introduced to Edgar on the bus ride to NPH and were treated to fresh pineapple and watermelon.  It was great to catch up with Janice and Brian and hear about all that they have been doing. With the bus windows open the tropical air was cool and pleasant. After so much cold it felt great on our faces and in our hair.  I closed my eyes and took in  smells of this country.

We arrived at the orphanage late and after a quick unpack and tour of our home for the next two weeks we are settled into bed. Thanks again to the Rauser family for hanging all of our mosquito nets and making the beds.

January 12th

I am writing this the morning after as I couldn't keep my eyes open to write last night. It was another very busy day again.

Our day was spent travelling out to our adopted villages San Luis and Nandorola to bring dehydrated food from the Cambridge Gleaners, loads of material, a new sewing machine for each village and school supplies. We brought a carpenter with us to assess what needs to be done to the rooms at the school where we will bring the computers, loaded with Spanish hardware and 400 E-books. One room needs a new roof and floor and both need a window and door and security bars to make them secure.

We brought a computer to the community centre in Nandorola and Brandon taught some bright young teachers how to use it. This computer is to be available for the community to use whenever they want.

It was exciting to see that they had finished laying tile and that the building is being used by medical personnel 3x a week, plus the sewing co-op and a group doing crafts.

The long ride to and from both villages was made exciting by the many different sightings of troups of Howler monkey. For such small animals they sure have big voices. Brandon and Bryan could perfectly imitate them and the back and forth conversation was hilarious. So much fun. The boys video taped it all, priceless.

The scenery is also amazingly beautiful as the vegetation is lush and green from the rainy season which just ended.

We finally headed back to the Visitor's house at NPH and continued with the sorting and designating if supplies. It's starting to look like we've made a sent in our massive job. Jairo our well drilled arrived and pulled back his sleeves to help. Thanks Jairo. Today we head to the village of La Flor to assess where the well will be drilled, scout out the location where our clinic will be held plus bring supplies and arrange for trucks to transport our team. Please pray that we make it this time

January 11th

Another very busy day has ended with everyone falling physically exhausted into their beds at 11 pm. It may have been a long hard day but we are very happy with our many accomplishments.

Our day started with a 0630 wakeup call as Edgar and I needed to head to Managua to do MINSA paperwork. Our plan was to leave around 7 am. Typical Nica style we finally got on the road by 0815. The Rauser gang was up too , Brandon to work on the computers, Jessica and Bryan to continue with the sorting of the many supplies. They spent the morning struggling to piece the many wheelchairs together again. Colour coding what goes together was a strong suggestion for the next container we send.

Our MINSA visit went quicker then usual, made sweeter by the two large bags of fruit we brought as a “Please don't find anything else wrong with our paperwork “ peace offering. After a quick stop to buy groceries to feed my hardworking, hungry brood, we headed to the bookstore to buy workbooks for the schools in Nandorola. Four hundred dollars later, and that's American, we were on the road again, heading “home” to NPH.

Driving through the property we were able to recruit 5 strong, willing helpers to assist with loading the four electric hospital beds and other supplies onto the big truck, destination Nandaime hospital.

The ride there was an adventure with the four of us riding in the back in amongst the many boxes and donations. It was quickly discovered that my great idea of us all sitting on a walker as a seat, wasn't the greatest idea I've had. The bumpy ride through the NPH property promptly unseated most of us. It was much easier to stand, holding on to the very hot sides of the truck. Smoke wafted from the many smalls fires people had going as we sped along the Panamericana highway towards Nandaime. It is interesting to know that although the town really isn't very big, that over 35 thousand people live there. Most places are small and right next to each other. The hospital there services 82 communities.

Arriving at the hospital we were greeted by Dr. Uranus, the director. She was very thrilled with the many supplies we brought. After a quick tour of the hospital we were on our way.

Our next stop was at the town hall to be greeted by the mayor. He wanted the donation of the firefighter gear to be “official”. The firefighters had lacked proper gear and were ever so thankful for the donation. So after signing some letters and getting more pictures we headed back to NPH a few friends richer.

Having the back of the truck empty , the kids tried their hand at truck surfing. Their balance was amazing. Me, I held on for dear life the whole way home. No surfing for this cat. Speaking of cats, the one at the visitors house is a savage. She is a fierce hunter who has caught three birds since yesterday, right before our eyes. I wasn't impressed.

Buenos noches

Wednesday January 10th

I promised to keep people updated at home so here it goes. It's 1145 pm Nicaraguan time and the four of us are exhausted but I wanted to write. Not sure if I can post this or not tonight. The internet is very spotty and I can't seem to stay connected.

It was a very busy day. We started off getting up at 7 am despite having not gone to bed until 2. There was lots to do so we didn't want to spend our precious time in bed. That is some of us didn't. Brandon had to be coaxed out of bed by Bryan turning off the fans in his room. The temperature is plus 30 degrees here so it didn't take long for that method to be effective. In all fairness though Brandon had coughed a lot of the night so had needed the extra sleep.

After unpacking and sorting our eight -70lb hockey bags and organizing the bodega we were well on our way.Our favourite chauffeur Roman dropped by and we took some time to discuss transportation needs for the next 3.5 weeks. Buses and trucks needed to be booked to take us to our clinics and villages for our projects. We also plan to take 60 NPH children to the beach for the day when the team arrives.

Afterwards Jessica with her great list- making skills helped me put an agenda together for the next week. It is going to be VERY busy.

Finally around 5 pm the big moment arrived. Two large trucks pulled up to the Visitor's house at NPH, packed to the rafters with our supplies that COMMIT had sent in a sea container. Eight strong NPH men showed up as well as 8 firefighters from Nandaime to help unload the trucks of their precious cargo: 4 electric hospital beds, wheelchairs, walkers, crutches, loads of material, sewing notions, blankets, dehydrated food from the Gleaners, 100 Layettes, 40 firefighter suits, helmets and boots, 15 computers, school supplies, musical instruments, tools, bibles and books in Spanish, toothbrushes and toothpaste, eyeglasses, 1000 pair of sunglasses, furniture, knitted dolls, clothing and boxes and boxes of medical supplies. It blows you away to see all of the donations donated by such caring people back in Canada. Thank you everyone. Tomorrow we hope to start delivering to the area hospitals and blessing the people of Nicaragua. 1215 now so

I had better sleep. Another early day awaits us tomorrow.

Hasta Mañana Amigos

Janice

Sunday, January 14th

A blessed Sunday to everyone. Unfortunately I can't post this till tomorrow as we have had no internet all evening. Quite annoying when you can't connect with loved ones at home. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.
Today started out with a 0430 wake-up call as we needed to load the van with medical supplies for Ometepe Island. Our plan was to be on the road by 0530 in order to make it to the Ferry on time. Unfortunately our driver didn't arrive at 0500 as planned but rather pulled up at 0600. We scrambled to quickly load up the wheelchairs, boxes of medical supplies and a suitcase of supplies donated by Not Just Tourists Waterloo.  Were we even going to make me it there on time? Edgar would be there, waiting for us to arrive. Flying down the road at top speed we made the drive with minutes to spare. Edgar had already purchased our tickets so we were able to load right on, each one of us pushing a wheelchair stacked high with boxes. We spent the hour trip in the open hold of the ship with our supplies, Edgar and his beautiful black lab, Marlon. Edgar I. Avila Elizondo had been such a blessing to this team, working tirelessly behind the scenes, looking after our outreach projects. Without his hard work and the support of NPH, we wouldn't be able to help the people of Nicaragua the way we do. 
After disembarking off the Ferry we were met by our Island driver Jose, a friend of Edgar. Off we headed to deliver the supplies to the Ometepe Island hospital to an extremely happy and thankful Doctor. He shared they are in need of a nebulizer. I promised we would see what we could do.Our next stop was the old NPH home. We toured the property and also checked on one of our projects- the bees. They have been able  to expand to 9 hives and would like another 9 which our team plane to build.Because all work and no play makes Jill a dull girl, and because we were already on the island, we decided to kayak the Rio Istian. 
Afterwards we headed to the Rio Istian to kayak.  Twenty minutes across the lake and then over 2 hours up and back down the river.  It was amazingly beautiful. The highlight was seeing and hearing the conversation between 2 families of Howler monkeys (mono  Congo). 
Altogether an amazing fun day.