On our way home

Today we head home. Yesterday morning we finished up our visits with our partners in Matagalpa and made our way towards Managua. As always we stopped for coffee at La Esperanza and then drove to Masaya so people could shop a bit at the market. A small group also decided to go to the volcano and shopped just a short time, went to the volcano and then to Managua. The rest of the group stayed and shopped longer and then drove to Managua. The volcano group went to the museum and when they went outside to see the volcano could only be out there about 5 minutes as the wind was blowing the smoke directly in their faces and it became difficult to breathe. The stairs to the top were closed due to rock slides so they couldn't go to the top anyway. They did enjoy going and seeing it. We had a final dinner together at Las Mercedes and everyone worked on preparing their suicases for the trip home. We leave the hotel about 10am for the airport, then the long trip home. We hope our travels go better than the team last week and we arrive home at our expected time tonight. Many are anxious to see their loved ones at home. Thanks for following us this week and for all of the support from home that we receive in our work here.

Catching up

Hi all! Besides not having much time, the blog site has not been so cooperative, so I apologize for not  catching up sooner. The last couple of days of work have been phenomenal as has been the entire week. The Helping Babies Breathe team has had some great classes, the teachers are delighted with how their days have gone and were brought to tears when watching the scholarship students implementing the teaching strategies with the little ones in the community after they had taught them to them just that morning. We had a wonderful day with our friends in Santa Celia and many tears when we left them yesterday. The asset mapping work we did was amazing, went just as it is supposed to and our Social Work team members were speechless at the end when we realized how well the process worked. You all know that for our 3 Social Workers to be speechless is amazing in and of itself.  We had dinner one night with 4 members of the local Rotary Club including the outgoing and incoming presidents. It was a fantastic connection as we have received money from local clubs for our work here. They also went to the Helping Babies Breathe training yesterday to see how that works. We have great photos of both events and will share them with the Rotary at home which will help us to receive more funding for this program through local and International Rotary grants. The Rotary members here are delighted to stay in touch with us and want to partner with us on our work. We also made another connection with Peter Schaller who we have met previously. He had worked with Rainbow Network for several years, lives here now and is working with another NGO here. He came to dinner with us one night as well and is very interested in partnering with us also. Some amazing connections were made this week. This morning we pack up and leave the hotel by 9am, do some things in town then head out of Matagalpa. We plan to stop for coffee and then at the Masaya market before returning to Managua. The medical team is at the hospital this morning, then a stop at Fara Clinic and La Casa Materna. I will also visit Fara clinic this morning to see all of my friends there. So, our work here is mostly done. This has been a fabulous week with an amazing team. We thank everyone at home for their support.

Day 1 update

Hi all! I wrote this post early this morning about the work we did on Monday and the internet was down so I could not post it. Here it is:
Hello again from Nica! Day 1 of our work for all 3 teams went very well! The teachers had a great day of teaching, the Helping Babies Breathe team had a great day of teaching and the Asset Mapping team was successful in meeting with, and mapping assets with a large number of individuals in Santa Celia. The rainy season came early so Santa Celia was pretty wet and muddy, and we were able to get there to do our work and it didn't interfere with a room full of people coming to see us and answer our interview questions. As always, it is such a joy to see all of our friends there. Life is hard in Santa Celia. Some of the main workers who are the families we have worked with for awhile have been fired and have moved and looked for work in other places. All are struggling to get by.  All are hoping for a better future. The core families are united in their efforts to stick together and get through whatever changes may come. The strength and perseverance of these individuals is amazing. Today the asset mapping team will go to La Corona, a community in the area of Santa Celia, and do some exploring there. The families we spoke with are hoping for an opportunity to find more work and resources in this community. The Helping Babies Breathe team has a big day with the 10 trainers they trained yesterday coming back today with another 25 students (community health workers) to learn the techniques of HBB. They worked late into the night last night getting ready for today. The teachers also have a big day with a group of scholarship students coming to learn teaching strategies. Last evening we went to a lovely restaurant we had not ever been to and had a wonderful time together as a team  relaxing and enjoying each others company. With 3 teams going in 3 directions it is nice to come together at the end of the day. Keep sending us energy! Thank you!!

Day 1 of work

Good morning! Well, after a variety of mishaps with vehicle issues, changing out 2 of our 3 SUV's and a problem with Marcos' van, we did make it to Matagalpa by about 1:30pm. We all checked in, unloaded and then a group quickly gathered to go to Selva Negra. About half the group decided to stay at the hotel, unpack and relax a bit. Richard led the group to Selva Negra and I stayed at San Tomas and nested and organized. We heard that the hiking group saw monkeys so that was awesome. Our last team member, Corinne was waiting for us to pick her up at Selva Negra where she had stayed the weekend and came back with the group. It was great to see her and have us all together. She has had an amazing 2 weeks here and is still looking forward to this one!! We are also back together with our Nicaraguan friends and interpreters, it is always a joy to see them, they are like family to us. Last evening as soon as the group returned we put in about 3 1/2 hours of work unpacking all of the big suitcases with supplies, sorting, etc. The Helping Babies Breathe group, with the help of others, put all of their kits together. The education group had stuff spread out over two hallways, organized chaos for sure, to get all of their kits together. We all did sit and have a dinner together and then even got the vehicles loaded for today. What an amazing team we have, as always. We are 3 groups heading in 3 directions today and all looking forward to beginning our work. I personally cannot wait to see my good friends in Santa Celia. Thanks for checking in and please continue to send us good energy for our work this week.

We're here!!

Hi all! Team 2 has made it to Nicaragua. Despite everything that could go wrong, with some folks on the shuttle, some not, the 3am meeting time at the airport, possible overweight suitcases, etc. all went without a hitch. No problems with either flight. I can't, however say the same for team one, poor things. After arriving at the hotel, where we did have a mix up with the reservations and it took an hour and a half for them to find us rooms, we heard that team one was still at the airport. Apparently, they were on their way down the runway when the flight was cancelled and they went back to the terminal. They tried a couple more times to get out and it didn't work. So as far as we know they are still waiting. Richard and I went to the airport and valiantly tried to find out what was going on, and to see them and couldn't. There are no rooms at the inn, so even if they are stuck, we can't help them out. We were told they would be leaving yet today. It was nice to get here earlier in the day and have some time to relax at the hotel. We are enjoying our first meal of tostones con queso. It is definitely rainy, we have had a few massive downpours since we arrived. Tomorrow morning our Nicaraguan friends will come to meet us at the hotel and we will head to Matagalpa. Please keep in touch this week to hear about our adventures!

Wednesday AM, heading to Santa Celia!

Hi all! Well, our two days doing health and vision assessments in Santa Rita were a huge success! We saw over 230 people in two days! The dilated vision exams posed a challenge the first day because even after having the patients wait 30 minutes, their eyes we still not entirely dilated. The second day, we tweaked our process a bit, gained so much efficiency and were able to allow eyes to dilate for 45 minutes before the patients saw our incredible eye doctors, Dr. Kristie Shappell and Dr. Gipp. Everyone stepped up to the plate and pitched in wherever they could... We have an incredible team! We were served a fabulous lunch of beans, plantains, cheese and tortillas.  All in all, our time in Santa Rita was a success! And, to top it off, no flat tires... Yet...

Last night the group went to La Vita a Bella, the local Italian restaurant, and had incredible pizza and pasta. It was a great night for all!

Now today we are SO excited to head to Santa Celia and see our good friends in our sponsor community.

More soon!
Rachel

Made it to Nica!

Hello from Nicaragua! The week 1 June 2013 group made it to Nicaragua safely after an interesting ride to the airport in bad storms. We missed the earthquake by only a couple hours! People at our hotel in Managua said they could feel the tremors.

Yesterday we had a good day getting to Matagalpa, going hiking at Selva Negra (a coffee plantation with hiking trails on the edge of the rainforest.) Most people who went hiking saw the howler monkies! We spent quite a bit of time unpacking and sorting supplies and equipment, so we are ready to work today!

This morning we are off to Santa Rita, a community on a coffee plantation up in the mountains. We will be conducting health assessments and vision assessments.  This is our first try at vision assessments, so I am anxious to see how those will go!

We have an incredible team of people with different backgrounds, experiences, and talents. This will be an amazing trip!

Rachel