Building Trip San Luis Medical Facility

Building Trip Report- 2022

Once again we had another successful building trip. An existing building in San Luis was renovated and received a new floor and roof and once painted will be used as a medical clinic for this very remote village. We have learned that a doctor and nurse plan to visit San Luis twice weekly and will be available for consults and visits. This is amazing news for this village which is an hour drive through the forest from the nearest hospital.   

An addition was built onto the side of the medical clinic which will be used by the sewing co-op and others for crafts, meetings etc. The ladies of the sewing co-op have had to sew outside up until now. The rainy season and sudden rain made it difficult to accomplish any sewing at this time of year. Heavy blocks formed the walls which will receive a layer of stucco and be painted a bright orange and yellow as per the wishes of the ladies of the village. 

A kitchen will also be built by the locals to be used by the ladies who cook the daily lunch for the school children. We unfortunately ran out of time but left the resources for the people to finish the building on their own.

Wells drilled in the past were visited and inspected for the final report. Discussions were held about how to improve the existing wells and their functions and the possibility of another well in San Luis and another pump and water tower for the village of El Jabillo. 

School visits were made to the 6 schools that had participated in the recycling challenge. Prizes were awarded and pinata fun had at each school. A meeting was held with the director of the school board about needs etc. 

A meeting was held with COMMIT and government officials on the future of COMMIT and their work in Nicaragua. A very successful and positive outcome was celebrated by Doug and Janice for the support that has been offered and the recognition of COMMIT as an NGO in Nicaragua. We are very thankful to be able to continue our work in the remote villages. 

We spent time at two schools with their music program, teaching recorder and giving out the donated recorders to the children. Jhonny will continue the music program in our absence and support the teachers where needed. 

Knit dolls were handed out to every child that we saw, causing much joy and smiling faces all around. 

A visit was made to the village of Nandarola to see the success of the agriculture project, including the new bee hive project that was started. Delicious treats of corn flour based bread, donuts etc were enjoyed by our team. as well as touching speeches made by the agriculture team members. 

Thanks to everyone who supported this build and the other projects. Your support is greatly appreciated and will truly bless the people of Nicaragua, especially the village of San Luis. 

Doug Thompson/Janice Rauser for COMMIT

COMMIT Mission Trip Blog March 17, 2022.
Well the final day has come and gone. This morning we got up at 5:30 am to go to Managua to get our PCR tests in order to return to Canada.
Janice busily downloaded boarding passes this am while some of us attended to piñata celebrations at NPH. The children are adorable and love the game and candies it provides. Some of our troop then went to visit Orlando’s house a ½ hr away ( Janice’s adopted family) and their reconstructed home..
Meanwhile Edgar and myself along with an engineer from Nandaime went out to a village called El Jabillo where one of our newly drilled wells was located. The well project has proven to be complicated and it comes down to do you do 1 or 2 villages well (excuse the pun) or 6 villages with potable safe water that is adequate but not delivered to their door. At any rate we did our usual problem solving and hopefully with some tweaking a better solution for all will be found. The country side to the village was breathtaking with mountains and ravines and the Mombocho volcano looming in the background.
Arriving home we held our breath as we went online to see the results of our PCR tests. Luckily we were all negative and OK to travel. We never had any symptoms but you never know. Janice and Edgar struggled for a couple hours balancing the books and reconciling bills which unfortunately no one likes to do until the last minute( and it seems like there is very little time to fit it in). And we had our final meal of pescado (fish) boiled vegetables , salad and fried Yucca for dessert, all of which were delicious.
Overall a very successful mission. We accomplished the major construction part of a beautiful Community center which they will finish and which has brought the community together, worked diligently side by side with the people we serve and paid them a fair wage for their help and managed to solve a few problems. We are also exploring a new partnership with the government which may allow us to work better in the area.
We are tired and most of us are ready to return home but also exhilarated at our efforts and friendships renewed and made. As the world around us seems to be falling apart at least our little niche is moving forward and behaving in a grateful way to the small bit we can do for them. Five am wake up tomorrow for travel.
Best
Doug

Wed, March 16

Believe it or not, this was the last trek our team is making over the bumpy road to San Luis. We were happy to have an extra set of hands with Pilo joining us. The objective for this day was to finish the cement floor.  The levels were placed in strips like a runway in order for the remaining strips to be filled in. Many batches of cement were mixed quickly by villagers that offered to help. 

Everyone signed their name in the new sidewalk. The team and villagers sat around and celebrated with beers and chips. The opportunity to work along side with these beautiful people and share a small part of their life was a privelege. 

In a busy worksite like this; mishaps are bound to happen. One of our team stepped on a misplaced nail and started feeling unwell. Of course, we are prepared for everything as we even have a doctor on site and our victim is feeling better today. Another team member required a cooling down as heat exhaustion threatened to overtake him. 

One of the locals told out about a popular swimming hole which was approx 1 km from our work site. Of course the idea of jumping into a cold pool after a sweaty work day felt like a genius idea.  We bumped along on a single lane dirt path past a campground and thickening trees. We drove up to a river cascading over some rocks and cows on the opposite river bank. Disappointed, we drove back to the Casa. 

Naomi

COMMIT Blog March 15, 2022-03-15
The day started early again to beat the worst heat of the day. Part of the team headed directly to San Luis while Edgar, Doug, Naomi and Bev had the pleasure of going to two schools to present the prizes for the top spots in the contest to collect garbage. Our first stop was in La En Ramada. It is a small school but managed to collect the most garbage! We had picked up the director of education for the Nandaime district and she and the teachers at the school were happy to receive their prize money, a computer loaded with 10,000 books, a piñata and bright red COMMIT bags for everyone. The school can use the money for any improvements to the building or for items for the school children. On to the next school at Casa De Piedra, another smaller school which placed second. We took the opportunity to talk briefly about recycling and climate change and how their generation will benefit. Even the simple act of not burning the garbage can make a difference.
We then headed off to San Luis to join Janice, Brad and Cos who were already hard at work. Cement blocks were installed in the opening between the new and old portions of the community centre. In our absence over the weekend, most of the iron work was installed and it gives the old portion of the community centre real class. Many piles of concrete were made to begin the pouring of the floor. We had an enthusiastic group of workers from the village and once again we all worked in harmony to get the job done. Tomorrow should complete our building part and the rest has been contracted out ie the roof stucco and tile floor and paint. We can hardly wait to see the finished product. The Community house when finished will be a class act that in Canada would cost $40,000. We will do in for under ¼ of that.
Hasta
Bev.
Update on other projects. We met with a government official and are hoping to form a partnership and workable arrangement with them. They are sending us details of how they want us to function and we will see what the future holds. We checked all the wells in our well project and all were drilled and built to specification. However it is hard to anticipate every problem and the tank placement on two had to be repositioned higher for better pressure.
Rotary Clubs in Nicaragua are not presently receiving money for projects and we have the ecofriendly stove project and Global Grant application with them pending, but we are hoping their Rotary Club can supervise and we (Rotary Club of Stratford) can take care of the money and expenses.
We are tied into a number of small projects in the communities which are working well and the hand up approach is kick starting many benefits in our area. For example the music recorder program is being supported with a teacher we employ in the schools and introduced to a new school this year. Our teacher Bev sees a few budding protégés in the group. A new garden project in a second village is taking off and they wish to enter into a microloan agreement to expand their operation. Any microloans we have carried on in the area have been paid back in full with 0 default. I doubt that many world banks could claim the same.
Hasta Manana.
Doug

Nandarola Day

We packed up the truck this morning to drop off some pinatas at a couple of the schools that participated in the recycling project. On our way to the schools we could smell the sweet smell of burning leaves while seeing the hot Nicaraguan sun upon the horizon. There was a sense of excitement and fulfillment knowing that we were about to put some smiles on some cute Nicaraguan kids faces. 

We pulled up to our first school and already heard the loud voices of the kids who were very hyper and thrilled to see the pale, white gringos. We handed over an envelope of prize money to the director and gave them a pinata to be played with at a later time.

On our way to our second school we again were greeted by a bunch of loco ninos who were very happy we were there. We talked to the director as soon as we got there, gave their prize money and set up our first victim of the day,  a cute white cow pinata. The kids were jumping and dancing before we even got it hung in anticipation of the candy inside, One by one a couple of the kids had a shot at the pinata and eventually were successful with a very big pile of candy which every child in excitement pounced on. 

After leaving the second school we were on our way to Nandarola, one of COMMIT's adopted villages where our third and last school was for today, and our Agriculture project is. After crossing the river we knew that we were slowly approaching our adopted village. Once we arrived we pulled into our third and last school to drop off their prize money. The kids were so excited that they climbed the tree to set up the pinata. Once it was securely tied, all of the children surrounded and one by one they started dancing and beating the pinata. After a couple of children and some really hard strikes the pinata broke apart and a storm of sugar hungry children jumped to the ground on top of each other to collect the candy. 

After all of the excitement of the school children, we made our way down to the community center to see some familiar faces from the village and have a sitdown with the elders. We all sat down in the community center that we contructed back in 2019. The elders had some beautiful speeches prepared for us and we heard they are grateful for the support and help that COMMIT has given them. Meanwhile back at the school Bev and Jhonny were handing out the music recorders and doing some muscial lessions with the school children. 

Before lunch we were shown some of the worm box composts and the newest project, the bee hives which they have been working very hard and successfully at. We arrived back at the community center and enjoyed a prepared lunch made with grown in their village- it was delicious. 

We ended off the day with a garden project which included clearing a small plot of land, watering it, putting a layer of soil down, with straw and cow manure and covering the compost pile. This compost will be used  by one of the newest farm team members.  

Another great day in paradise, Cosmin

Weekend Fun Time

After a week of hard work it was time for a rest, so we headed to Ometepe Island for a descanza. We enjoyed aquick 7 am breakfast on Saturday and then jumped into the NPH van with our driver Bismark. After discovering that we acutally need a bigger van we all piled out, unloaded our stuff into a bigger vehicle and we were on our way. The hour drive flew by as we watched the scenery fly by, talked to each other and enjoyed some music. 

Once arriving at the ferry we were ushered over to a long lineup to wait to board our barco (boat). Everyone rushed up to the top level to be able to enjoy the fresh, lake breeze. The ride over was smooth and uneventfuly other then a little nausea for a few of us. The view as we came into the San Jose port was absolutely breathtaking- with the majestic volcanos -Conception and Maderas rising up like giants in front of us. Ometepe Island is one of the most beautiful places to visit in Nicaragua. 

We all piled into Edgar's truck and drove to the old NPH home on the island which has been turned into a small resort. If you ever visit the island, make sure to stay at Casa Azul. We were welcomed with open arms by Alma who runs the hotel and found out rooms to be spacious and clean. Some even had a view of the lake, with balconies and hammocks hanging there for your pleasure.

After a delicous lunch we all piled back into the truck for the ride to Charco Verde (Green Pond). While Doug and Beverly walked around the pond, the rest of us headed for the ziplining tour. Even though one of our team members was extremely afraid of heights, whe conquered her fear and finished the whole course. It was so much fun, flying through the trees and rappeling to the ground. 

Once again we piled into the truck to head to Santo Domingo to go horseback riding. Only four of us wanted to ride so we waited for them to saddle up our steeds. I was asked if one of us was a very experienced rider and I questioned the cavallerios reasoning. He told me it was because the horse liked to run but didn't buck. After watching him ride up on the horse minutes before, I had seen that the horse seemed hard to handle. They were going to send us off on our own for the ride but I asked him to come with and please be the one to ride that horse. It was a good thing because that horse reared up about ten times. I would have been on the ground. Naomi and Beverly were given very gentle, slow horses and Bryan got a more spirited one. I got the one that wanted to run and boy could he run. I let him have his head and had the most amazing ride along the beach. The others had a great time too and although this was Beverly's first ride, she did any amazing job. 

After a much rougher ride back, we said goodby to Ana, Bryan and Dina, and were driven home by Edgar. Jimmy, Jhonny and Edgar and family thoroughly enjoyed their weekend with us and it was nice to spend time with them outside of work. We were sad that JImmy Garcia and Tania were unable to make it, but hopefully next time. 

March 11, 2022

We were delayed slightly leaving the compound due to NPH students participating in Stations of The Cross. Bismarck’s truck load ended up in the middle of the re-enactment and Edgar waited 15 mins at the front gate till it was over. 

The monkeys were waiting to cheer-lead our convoy today and Brad captured a video. Even the school kids ran out of their class to squeal hello to the white people. 

We had a full day trying to wrap things up in order for the roof to be laid tomorrow. The team work is stellar; someone calls out the measurements; the next person hacks the cement block to size, and then the block is heaved to the scaffold and mortared into place. Brad, Cosmin and Marco are the ones that brave the heights. Thankfully the blocks were easier to handle today, being much less weight after cut to size. The top layer required a slant to allow for rainwater to drain. Many batches of mortar were mixed to fill the remaining forms around the rebar, corners and all surrounding structures. 

Jhonny and Bev spent their last morning with the senior children at the San Luis school. It is wonderful to see the progress they have made in just one week. Their enthusiasm is evident as shown by two boys who spent their 10 minute break helping each other learn the recorder while sitting at the edge of the bush! Their teacher told us the government is initiating a subject in the schools called "talent" and she is excited for music education to become part of this program. 

Doug, Janice and Edgar met with government officials this afternoon to discuss their ongoing partnership. They reported a great outcome at the meeting. The rest of us wrapped up the Friday afternoon work day at 4pm and headed back to the Casa to enjoy another delicious meal.

 Naomi 

Thirsty Thursday- sugar and water

The aroma of my favorite coffee, the chirping of Nicaraguan birds and the sweet smell of breakfast had us all up by 6 to start another day. The smiles and laughter of everyone here makes the heat and hard work so much more bearable. One crew was off to town to purchase tile and paint for our project, as well as much needed groceries to feed us all. Off to site for the rest of us, dropping off Bev and Jhonny at the school for more music lessions. I think I would enjoy listening to kids playing the recorders as a break from the heat and that tells it all, as I've heard my kids play. (sorry kids, you were really good)

Cosmo and I were back on the build with Marko and getting to the top of it so the roof can be started. A little more forming and rebar today for the windows and door. Building everything by hand with no machines makes you appreciate how hard they work here. The rest of the crew joined us and we put in another awesome day in the scorching heat. But I admit I needed a little sugar and salt mix for some dehydration, in spite of the liters of water I drank. I was even spoiled by some friends who fanned me while I rehydrated. Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings.... stay thirsty my friends.

Wednesday, March 9th

It was another early morning for the team as we ate our 0630 delicious breakfast and were on the road by 0700 hrs. We have been trying to get to the job site ealier as the heat gets unbearable later in the day. Our drivers Bismark and Edgar took us safely out to the site, with the second vehichle getting an amazing look at a large troop or howler monkeys. Unfortunately it wasn't the truck that Brad was in and he missed seeing them. 

We arrived at the site to start work with Marko, our amazing Nicaraguan carpenter. After a few adjustments to the rebar around the windows, we started making motar and laying blocks. This time the blocks needed to be lifted up to the guys on the scaffold that we had rented from a church on the way to San Luis. It consisted of two metal frames to which we added 2x4s to stabilize as crossbars. This was way too heavy of work for us girls so we resorted to carrying the ninety pound blocks to the scaffold, wetting them with water and having a couple of the strong men lift them up over their heads. We made excellent progress today as we finished the walls and even framed some of the support posts. Our hope is to be far enough by Friday to already put the roof on- wooden roof tresses and metals sheets. 

Our critter sigthings today consisted of the troop of monkeys, a squirrel that looked like a climbing skunk and a huge black/grey snake, that luckily slithered away into the brush with no injuries. 

Our way home was really cool and stinky when we got behind a large herd of cattle, being driven two cowboys. The younger one looked to be around seven years old and boy could he ride, and drive the cattle, a real little nartural.

In between working, holding babies and spending time with the locals, we had an absolutely amazing day. As Doug says, another day in paradise. Looking forward to another amazing meal, it sure smells great in the kitchen.

Hasta Luego Janice

Day 5 in Nicaragua

COMMIT Mission 2022 blog Day 5

We woke up to another gorgeous day with a predicted temperature of 35 degrees. We decided we would leave at 7 to try to beat the noon day sun. There is always something to giggle about that day. This morning we did not have any bread for our noon peanut butter /jam sandwiches and were faced with a lunch of gallo pinto  alone or stop for bread and make sandwiches on site. We chose the latter luckily and they got hungrily wolfed down..

Arriving on site we found there was a  brown out so no power tools. Undaunted we started our day pouring cement, and laying blocks etc with the help of the local villagers. Brad, whose normal job is safety control on a large construction site, decided to clean out our chest of tools (everything from my candy wrappers to soggy gloves) and organize which was a great help. We also passed a village nearby where they were constructing a church and they lent us some scaffolding to build our walls as they got higher.

We had a meeting with the water committee in San Luis about the well we had dug in the previous year. Where they drilled the well was in a low spot and in spite of a 10 ft tower water at the other end( they ran pipe for over two kilometers mostly uphill) there was just a trickle of water. Their water committee surmised without elaborate engineering skills that maybe the tower needed to be higher and we sheepishly agreed. Luckily it was right beside a hill and the owner was quite willing to lend us the added elevation. Now we just need to see how high the present pump can vertically pump the water or if we need an ancillary pump. This was an add on project at the last minute and with covid we were unable to be onsite when the company drilled so an unfortunate set of circumstances but luckily an easy and not expensive solution is available if we just move the tank. This water project ( 6 WELLS AND 3 DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS) has luckily gone fairly well. And we commit to make it right as they so justly deserve. 

Again everyone worked hard and we can be very proud of our team. Bev and her interpreter Johnny worked with the school for another music lesson and appropriate notes and sounds were starting to emerge from an eager class.. Big shout out to Camille Ditty, a high school student and environmental advocate for mobilizing the public and high school to donate 19 recorders for our trip and introduce a number of students in the village to musical instruments and learning for the first time, plus Anno and Betty Otten for their donation towards the purchase of more. 

Tomorrow will be much the same but I am sure some surprises and challenges await us. Another day in paradise.

Doug

Music lessons on the donated recorders

Our team member Beverly and translator Jhonny work with one of the school classes in San Luis

Building the wall

Day 3 Build

Jhonny Flores (Nicaraguan teacher/musician/carpenter) and Beverly were able to spend the morning with three classrooms at the San Luis school. What a delight it was to see the enthusiasm of both teachers and students. They enjoyed listening and singing along with Jhonny as he played the guitar and as Bev taught some of the basics of reading music. One student asked Bev to play the theme song from Titanic on the recorder - she got Ode to Joy instead! Thank you to our private donors and the Perth County Board of Education and its schools for donations of recorders. Many students will have the enjoyment of making music thanks to your generosity.

PS. Our team is now 6 strong as Milla and Davna headed back to Canada today. We are going to miss those fun loving, hard working chicas. Cosmin

Our boat drove through the 365 islands

Fun in the Sun

Today we found Paradise at last as one of Doug's daily mantra's is "Just another day in Paradise".

Milla, Davna, Jancie and Edgar clocked out at 0600 am to head to Managua for mandatory PCR tests prior to flying tomorrow. The rest of us were scheduled to leave at 0800 and discovered our driver was waiting for us at other location. We don't know why fate would have us starting late on a leisure day as all our work days seem to be on time; but such is life in Nicauragua. With no hard feelings we hopped into the shiny new Toyota and marvelled at the air conditioning and immaculate interior. We made stellar time into Granada with limited time to explore an enchanting city rich with Spanish architechture. 

The main plaza lured us in for a quick browse through market stands, colourful cathedrals and stunning cobblestone streets. We were told we have 1/2 hour to explore before meeting the group. In that time frame; drinks, ice, pizza were purchased and hammocks were picked up that were preordered by Janice from the Blind/Deaf Institute. 

We finally arrived to the boat launch with our lovely host Jose. The boat ride took approx 20 mins over calm, fresh water with egrets and water lilies all around. Nothing short of Paradise.  We had a quick visit to Monkey Island to see 3 monkeys swinging in the trees and strutting in front of us to make sure we wouldn't invade their island. 

Our final destination to Isle Jacqueline was spectacular! Our mouths hung open in awe and then we stuffed those gaping mouths with pizza before hopping into the pool. Need I say more? Everything was beautiful and we feel refreshed and spoiled. Thank you to our hosts for sharing their lovely island. By the way; he is selling this island for 400,000USD! 

Milla and Davna are packing up for their early flight tomorrow. We will definitely be a quieter group without them and are sad to see them leave. 

 Naomi 

We are travelling on Day 2 of our actual building project to San Luis having poured a complete sidewalk around the building the day before. We took a variety of tools we though we could use for the project but their building style was quite different than ours and we found ourselves improvising but the job got done. We had an electric Grinder to cut rebar and the forman (from Nicaragua) had some cutting jaws that worked with a bit of effort. Our local women’s crew was there for the mixing of mortar and we proceeded to lay 1 layer of blocks around the perimeter. These blocks weigh about 80 lbs and are different  and much heavier than the ones we use in Canada so it took two to lift.

The weather was hot and sun were much stronger today with no cloudy periods  and we could only work in the sun for around an hour at a time. It was a day that would have been great for our solar cooking program which we are promoting internationally but not for wrking in the sun. Lots of water got consumed , we shared our lunch with whoever in the village wanted some and although it was the usual peanut butter sandwiches, Guio Pinto, and fruit with few granola bars thrown in  it all seemed to go and be gratefully received,

We played 70’s tunes and the young ladies danced with the children. Everybody seemed to have a job and we worked well together. On the way back we came across a family cleaning two rattle snakes they had killed and were going to eat except for the first 6 inches of the head. One was obviously a female with eggs. I felt sorry for the snakes but they are considered a threat to children, etc. Edgar was able to take the rattles as a souvenir but we declined to stay for supper.

On the way back we reminisced a bit about the village we have known for almost 10 years. This building project has brought the villagers together and they happily work side by side and appear to be having a good time. We even had peanut gallery watching our efforts  (movie of the day).

A good day was had by all. Oops! Call to dinner and the meals have been exceptional so got to go. Stay tuned for episode 4 tomorrow.

Cosmin working hard on the concrete sidewalk with our very helpful friend Markus who made us all happy by completing the latrine in time for our use.

Our work team today. So many hardworking willing hands to get the job done. We absolutely love working with the people of San Luis

Rookies First Day

Day one for me and what a beauty. I must first thank COMMIT for letting me join them on their mission trip. It has been a dream of mine to do this, so thankyou. After a great sleep and well deserved after a huge travel day, we all woke up to a fantastic breakfast, amazing coffee and smiling faces. Then ready to go to San Luis for some concrete work. 

Breathtaking views along with sometimes heartbreaking reality, as we made our way to the site. I can't say enough about my first impression of the Nicaraguan people. Happy, hardworking and generous is only the beginning. 

We started with the hard task of moving all of the stone to the back of the building in preparation of our courtyard build. Tasks like these don't happen without sweat and injury, yet still smiling. We then moved to assist in pouring the concrete sidewalk, which we impressively finished today. The help was incredible, it is amazing how hard everyone worked and I mean EVERYONE. 

There will be no more complaining from labourers back home when they see these pictures. Can't wait for tomorrow.

Ozy

A big shoutout to my mom Karen who is recovering in Mexico!

Travel day for the rest of the team

Wow, a LONG day for the five of us, Dr. Doug, Cos, Brad, Naomi and Bev who joined the team already in Nicaragua. The day started at 2:15 a.m. as Doug made the rounds on icy, slippery roads to pick up his crew for the drive to the airport. Brad is a new member of the team and is the Corporate Health and Safey officer at Malloul Blamey. Between Brad and Cos we will be well schooled in construction!

We arrived in good time to get our luggage tagged and joined the first long line of the day to deal with the over-sized bags. We then had some time to wait in the lounge area before being called for our flight's passengers to go through U.S. Customs. It took forever and by the time we got through there was no room for our carry-ons on the plane so they were tagged to go straight through to Managua. Our flight was one hour and 50 minutes late leaving Toronto but the pilot must have put it in overdrive as we made up some time to Miami.

We were surpised to see most everyone wearing a mask at the Miami Airport, but likely the majority were international travellers. Joining another lineup with our piles of paperwork we got on an Avianca flight to Managua.

Avianca has it right. To disembark the plane, they took it row by row on the right side and then the left. This caused way less jossling and a much safer way to do things during Covid.

Customs was busy and we had to understand and anwer the questions in Spanish. Thanks to Doug's conversational Spanish, 1 1/2 hours later we were able to claim our bags. Janice and Edgar were waiting for us with open arms and eventually we were on our way to the casa. How quickly the sights, smells and sounds of Managua come back to mind - people making tortillas on the street, music blaring, warm humid air and the ever-present scooters which drive mostly between the lines of moving traffic.

It was fantastic to once again bump along the road at NPH leading to the casa. Many improvements are evident here at the casa - the biggest being the lovely greenery sprouting in the courtyard thanks to the care of gardener Jimmy.

Everyone headed to bed by 10 p.m. and likely all of us were asleep before our heads hit the pillows. A long day, but everyone delighted to be here and begin our work.

Recycling School Challenge

We were up bright and early this morning for an amazing breakfast of gallo pinto, a salsa type of salad with avocados,tomatoes and hard boiled eggs, along with plantain patty’s and some good watermelon and white pineapple. After doing the boarding passes for the team members coming tomorrow, we headed out for a day of visiting schools.

We stopped at 4 of the five schools to see how they were doing with their recycling challenge. Janice started the challenge in September with the schools in the villages that will be receiving the first round of echo friendly stoves. The challenge was to see which school could collect the most plastic bottles etc, instead of burning them. Some schools took it very seriously and did an outstanding job, others less so. The schools results are as follows

• La En Ramada collected 37 large bags of bottles with a school population of 60 student
• Casa de Piedra collected 4 bags with 22 students
• Por Venir-Heros of Nandaime collected 13 bags with 135 Students
• La Vigie collected one bag with 27 students
• Nandarola collected 11 bags with 100 students

So first place goes to La En Ramada- great job children. The winning school will receive a prize of $500 to be spent for items that the school wants. We plan to give the second place winners a prize too and there will be a pinata for all of the schools that participated. 

Our last stop was Nandarola, but although school was already out for the day, we were lucky enough to run into the teacher from Nandarola to find out their numbers. We had a quick visit in Nandarola to say hi to different friends and then Edgar bought a rooster to add to his hens at home. Milla was the rooster whisperer all the way home and he sat quite content in her lap, only peeping whenever we stopped. Edgar asked the girls to name him and he is now called Lucas Puente (Milla and Davna's favorite word which means bridge in Spanish) 

After returning home we headed out once again to shop for groceries for the team's arrival tomorrow. We went to the people's market and then headed to the La Colonia where Janice practiced her Spanish by ordering meat. 

Davna and Janice

Tuesday, March 1st

Today we woke up bright and early at 7am! A delicious breakfast was made for us once again by our cooks, pancakes with honey from NPH’s bees on Ometepe island along with bacon, eggs and fruit of course ! We then left at 8:30 (Milla and I had bets on what time Edgar would come) I took home the trophy with 8:02). We were running on Nica time as usual. Edgar then rocked my awesome safari hat all day long (I think he pulls it off way better). Once we got to San Luis we started out right away mixing up the cement with shovels on the ground, was it ever heavy! It was like making a giant soup of cement. Janice raked the dirt for the addition so we could start pouring the concrete at some point later on. After 3 hours or so we stopped for a lunch break. The local villagers brought some food to serve for lunch and we shared our gallo pinto with them.  They have all been so kind in helping and going the extra mile working. After lunch Milla and Edgar and I went to go fill up our big water barrels for the cement mixing from the well that COMMIT had drilled a few months ago !! The drive back to the site from the well was bumpy so we had to be careful not to spill.

Milla then discovered a dead snake which one of the men had killed in the existing building we have been renovating. We thought picking it up was a good idea until we found out it was a poisonous cora snake! It was hard to tell though as it was a baby and did not yet have its' stripes, At around 4:30 we decided to pack it in for the day and headed back to our Casa ! The drive back as always was bopping with Bryan and Edgar cranking the tunes. Bryan promised us he’d slam dunk at his big basketball game tonight. Anyways it was a long and good day. We arrived back and had the most AMAZING dinner it was like a chicken curry Chile corn tortilla type of thing. So yummy! We are #readyforbed :))))))))) 

Monday, Last day of February

Monday was a big day again at the building site. Lots of dirt etc had to be dug out and moved out of the existing building in order to start pouring the concrete. First a pile of sand is shoveled into a pile, gravel is added, and then two bags of cement and water. Everything is mixed together by hand with a shovel and then the wet concrete is shoveled into wheelbarrows and dumped onto a spot on the floor. A two by four is used to pull the concrete across the floor to make it level and then a trowel is used at the end to smooth it out. The floor is poured peacemeal, piece by piece and surprisingly the end result is quite decent. I was thinking about my boys and the concrete work they do and how different this would have been for them.

Work was also done on the outhouse which will hopefully be finished when the team arrives. Unfortunately our guy doing the well was using rotten wood to support himself in the hole and broke through them, falling down a fair distance. Somehow he came out of it with only a few scrapes and bruises, thank goodness.

We will continue with the work tomorrow. Another hot, dusty and dirty day for everyone at the site. Hasta luego,Janice

At Orlando's house with some of his family members. Every time Janice comes, Orlando appears to have grown taller

The Weekend- Descanzo

This morning we woke up with a bit of liberty to sleep in as is was a day off (Hallelujah). We enjoyed another delicious breakfast from Alba and Steffani our amazing chefs and set out for the days adventure. Edgar picked us up and we rocked out to some tunes out our way to Orlando’s. We were happy to see the progress on his new house aided by NPH and COMMIT. We shared some Gallo pinto and fruits and admired their beautiful birds and ity bitty puppies that wander around. 

We were on our way again heading to San Juan Del Sur! Dave and I were pumped for the beach, and would much rather be swimming then freezing in -20 temps at home. We grabbed Edgars' family on our way and in no time made it to our destination. San Juan Del Sur was gorgeous as the sun light shimmered off the waves of the ocean and the hills surrounded the beach making it feel like a cove. We were in AWE! We enjoyed a lovely lunch with the Avilai family and then sprinted for the water.  Dave and I were underwater in no time, unlike Bryan, Carlos and Dina who were a bit shocked by the not 20 degree ocean. We made sure to let them know that the ocean wasn’t cold, Canada was cold! 

We then headed to our ferry to travel to Omepete island, what a spectacular view. The volcanos were like something from a movie, we were worried they could erupt, although that hasn't happened in a long time. To really take in the island we decided to take a 7 km hike to go zip-lining. After a bit of trouble and confusion we figured it out and had so much fun. Dave was super pumped about getting to hang upside down like super man. We arrived at Casa Azul NPH just in time to admire one of the most amazing sunsets I’ve ever seen, enjoyed a delicious dinner and checked out their gorgeous newly renovated rooms where we had the honour of spending the night. Air conditioning was a luxury that actually ended up making us too chilly, so we turned them off to sleep. 

The rest of the team is going in absolutely love it there. We definitely enjoyed a weekend of relaxing, Hasta pronto

Milla

San Luis Day 3

Day three in San Luis. Our day dawned bright and early with breakfast at 7 am and pickup scheduled for 7 thirty. Edgar and Bryan arrived on Nica time and we were quickly on our way. Edgar had picked up two wheelbarrows from SINSA so the back of the truck was quite packed. We picked up Jhonny from Nandaime and our crew was on its way. 

The road to San Luis was as usual breathtaking, with mount Mumbacho on our left hand side as we drove along. We bounced along to tunes courtesy of Davna and arrived at the building site. At first there was no one there, but by the time we had unloaded the truck we had 20 eager hands to help us. They proudly put on the safety goggles, donated by Melloul Blamey and we got to work. We finished crushing the sidewalk around the building and the three small rooms inside. There were tons of rocks, crushed concrete and larger pieces to move and spread out, to prepare the ground for the new concrete. When we first arrived, it looked like such a daunting task, but many hands once again made light work. These people here know how to work and are very, very strong. Working in the blazing sun was hard and we took many water breaks to keep ourselves hydrated.

As we worked together, crushing rocks with the sledge hammers, I looked around and was so very impressed. These people put their hearts and souls into the work at hand, no one had to be told what to do, they just seemed to know. I felt that I was often playing safety police however, as I reminded people to put their safety glasses on their faces, instead of their heads. Small chunks of concrete whipped out from the rocks as the sledge hammers were pounded down, and I don't want any eye injuries. In reality, it wasn't surprising that they took them off to work as they are used to working without them. Many women walked over the rough ground, never turning their ankles, and not stubbing their toes. Definitely different from what we would be doing back home but everybody has their own way of working. 

We stopped for lunch to enjoy the gallo pinto that Alba had supplied and started dishing out. There were 20 of us to feed and it didn't seem like there would be enough. It reminded me of the story in the bible of the widow with the oil and flour and Elijah and how it had not run out.  We scooped out the gallo pinto, one plate after the other and low and behold, there was exactly enough.It was a time of friendship and fellowship with such humble people.

Afterwards we posed for a picture with our amazing group of helpers and continued moving rocks etc until the ground was even, 

On our way home we took a tour to Granada to order hammocks from Tio Antonio. We were lucky to have seen him as he is heading to Mexico in the next few days. Tio Antonio proudly showed us his piggy banks that they have started to produce to sell alongside the hammocks. Their work with their hammocks is impeccable and known all over the world. The two girls each bought a beautiful handbag and we headed back to the casa where we were served delicious lime pie. Wow, are we ever spoiled. I'm sure our supper is going to be equally as amazing.

janice

Another workday in San Luis

Today I was the last to wake up. Dave poked her head past the towel aunt Janice hangs on my bunk bed every morning to block the sun from me. Alba and Steffani made us pancakes and fruit this AM. It was super delicious paired with the honey from the NPH bee hives at the home on Ometepe island where we’re headed to next week.

We are officially running on Nica time. Leaving a bit late as usual Me, Dave, aunt Janice, Bryan and Edgar went and picked up Jhonny. Our first stop was a hardware store grabbing a few more shovels and hoping for another wheel barrow. Then we ventured out to Orlando’s house and we got to meet some of his family.

Then we were off to San Luis. Sometimes the drives can be a bit rough but it’s seriously awesome to just gawk out the window at the fields of plantains, rice and volcanos in the distance. It’s much prettier than the corn fields in Ontario. More dolls were handed out to smiling faced children. 

When we got to San Luis we were pleasently surprised by the extra work some of the locals had done before we arrived that morning. It was a hot day at work, sledge hammering, shovelling and SWEATING. But as the day went on more and more locals came to give a helping hand. We made tons of progress today. There were 2 teenage boys just sitting watching everyone work, so I told them I have bigger muscles then them. Two minutes later they were hard at work! All the concrete is officially broken up and tomorrow we will continue to flatten everything out. 

On a side note. We had to sledge hammer out the inside of the building today too. A new roof had just been installed a few days ago, and all of the rotten wood and rusty roof sheet metal had been put in there. It took Bryan, Jhonny and aunt Janice a good hour to empty the room. Seeing it was tool small to work around each other, aunt Janice passed stuff out the door, whilst bats swooped around her head. It's a good thing that she isnlt afraid of bats. 

We had a sweaty drive home but the breeze was glorious. We had some fish veggies and salad for dinner as well as civeche, aunt Janice’s FAVOURITE. I went to have some of the hot chocolate that we had brought for dessert and there was none left! The NPH workers love it!  Mom, send more!!! The rest of the night will be deservingly relaxing. Perhaps another dance party tomorrow night instead, we are exhausted.

Hasta Luego

Milla 

Sledge Hammering the floor was bone jarring work

Demolition Day # 1

Our day started bright and early, with a zoom meeting with Marlon, Francisco, Jimmy and Alonzo from NPH, Edgar, myself and Doug Thompson back in Canada. We needed to discuss some things about projects moving forward and things that may bore you, but not us lol. After a delicious breakfast, made by our amazing cook Alba and her year of service assistant Steffani, we jumped into the truck to head out for the day. A cooler full of gallo pinto and another one with fruit, as well as two water jugs would keep us well fed and hydrated. We were lucky to have Edgar’s son Bryan come with us to help with our task.  

The first stop was made at the SINSA hardware store to pick up a few things that we needed. We picked out two sledge hammers, one 10lb and one 14lb and a 30 lb wrecking bar, as well as some gloves to protect our hands. It took three more stops at three different hardware stores to find screening for sifting sand. After a stop at the Nandaime hospital to deliver face shields and safety glasses, we left with a wish list of needs for the hospital, with a promise to deliver as soon as we could. Rocking to Milla’s tunes on the bluetooth in the truck, we were on our way. 

Our destination was San Luis, a very remote village, where we planned to do some prep-work for the building team that will be joining us next Thursday. The road was bumpy and dusty but despite that we drove along with our windows open, admiring the view. On one side tall stalks of sugarcane stretched their necks towards the beautiful, blue sky, waiting to be harvested. As we drove along, we could see glimpses of the Mombacho volcano, sitting majestically in the distance. Fence posts that had been filed to a tip and painted, reminded us of pencils, strung with barbed wire, keeping the horses and cattle from wandering onto the road.  Monkeys howled in the trees as we entered the grove of tall Tika wood trees and one was even sitting so close on a fencepost as we drove by, that we could have reached out and touched it. Getting Edgar to stop and back up for a picture didn’t work, as the monkey quickly scurried off down the road in the opposite direction. The road is quite remote, with the odd small house situated along the route. Anytime we saw a child, we quickly grabbed a knitted doll, made by the hands of Rita M and gifted it to them. The children smiled happily and hugged their treasures to their chest. 

Once we arrived in San Luis, we jumped out of the truck, eager to start the demolition of the existing floor in the building that we are renovating. Some neighbor men watched in amusement, as us girls tried to slug holes in the concrete floor. A ten pound sledge hammer may not seem like much weight, but repeatedly swinging it over your shoulder and crashing it on the floor with vibrating force is hard work. We took turns using the wrecking bar, and sledge hammers, as well as shoveling the crushed floor into the wheelbarrow. Soon some of the neighbors took more interest in our work and perhaps pity on us and we were joined by two ladies and a man. I honestly thought I could have cracked the floor faster with a larger sledge hammer but soon realized that the size of the tool was less important, then the force at which it was wielded. We worked into the late afternoon and loaded up to head back to the Casa. After another very bumpy ride along the dirt road, we all cheered when we reached the smooth highway. 

Back at the Casa we enjoyed another delicious supper. We certainly are spoiled here, that is for sure. It’s so nice to spend time here, to see our friends and make new ones. Early tomorrow morning we will be heading back to San Luis to continue the demolition work. 

Hasta Luego Janice

Our view as we drove along the beach in San Jorge

Happy Two's Day, 02/22/2022

Today we started with a delicious breakfast of rice and beans, eggs bacon and cheese, and fruit ! Afterwards Janice made a food schedule while Milla and I went for a walk around the Casas. We then counted inventory for the tools to update the rest of the team back home. Then we headed into the town of Jinotepe at around 10:30 to do our grocery shopping, stopping first at the supermarket La Colonia. Afterwards we headed over to the market to get our fruit, being chauffeured around by our favourite guy Edgar! We then arrived back at la Casa for a delicious lunch of Chicken, Salad, fried plantain, and rice. Afterwards we had some downtime to read and whatnot with the wifi not working for a while, hence why the updates so late! But it was beautiful out and very relaxing for a day after travelling. We then headed into San Jorge to visit Eva, a good friend of Janice’s and our long time cook here at NPH who unfortunately isn’t with us this trip. While Janice visited Edgar drove around San Jorge and took us down to the water to look at the volcanos and an awesome rainbow. Then we headed back to la Casa with the windows down and the music blasting having a mini dance party in the car ! We arrived back around 7:30 for some awesome tacos. And now here we are finally with wifi blogging out to you folks ! 

Managua firefighters with their chief were over the moon happy with the donated turnout gear donated by Paisley Fire

Travel Day

Our day started off at the hour of 4 am. Doug picked us up and drove us to Toronto Pearson airport. We arrived at 6am and started the long haul through US customs. Overall we sure needed those 3 hours before our plane took off. We waited in the customs line for hours and got to our gate as the plane was boarding and then our plane to Miami was late to leave shortening our layover time to just under an hour. We handled it like pros and got some panzerottis for lunch. Poor Janice could only get some fruit. On the plane ride from Miami to Managua we had no window seats but all the leg room you could dream of! (Emergency exit seats). After a rough landing we finally arrived in Managua mesmerized by the new atmosphere. Getting through the airport was a breeze. We were welcomed by firefighters at the door who helped us bring our bags out. We gave the donated fire gear from the Paisley Fire and they were over the moon grateful! Edgar then picked us up and we headed towards NPH. The traffic was something I would never be able to drive in. After a long 2 hour car ride we finally arrived at Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos, our home away from home for the next few weeks. We  unpacked and got settled in around 9pm and since we were all exhausted, we passed out and slept like logs until the morning. 

Building Trip 2022

Only a few more days until my niece Milla, her friend Davna and I leave for Nicaragua to set up for the building team's arrival March 3rd. Two covid swabs to go, praying for a negative test for both and then Monday we fly to Nicaragua. We will try to post daily updates to let you know what we are up to. Our plan is to renovate an existing building in the remote village of San Luis de Manares, plus add an additon onto that building for the sewing co-op, plus another addition for a small kitchen. Fundraising has been done to raise money for this project, although we are a few thousand dollars short yet. If you want to donate towards this, go to the donation page on our website. Tooking forward to the warm sun, seeing our friends and helping the people of Nicaragua. 

Hasta luego mi Amigos Janice