Managua is a bustling city. On one street you may find paved roads, street lights, stores, and international hotel chains. One block in any other direction is an entirely different story. Nicaragua's socioeconomic status can hardly be described in gradations but rather in polar opposites. There appears to be very little middle class as we might describe it in the states. Instead, the upper class is composed of foreign investors and other immigrants to the country and the Nicaraguan elite who have family legacies of impressive and excessive wealth. On the other side of the spectrum are people who live in cardboard and scrap metal homes, some only surviving on $1 a day.

In a corner of the city is the Managua City dump. Donned the name 'La Chureca' from the Spanish verb 'to scavenge,' La Chureca is home to some 1,000 families. Each day (except Sunday) about 200 trash trucks pour into the dump. Piles upon piles of trash surround these people. Men, women, and children have been born here, raise families here, and will die here. It is their home.

Poverty is a simple word to describe this place. Imagine their situation for one moment: malnourished and naked children run through streets of dirt and trash, while their fathers are off separating and sifting through the trash in search of recyclables (plastics and especially scrap metal) to be sold, and mothers care for and make homes for their family out of the rubble that they can find. In order to make money, people can take the recyclables to be sold outside of the dump. The men are the first to jump on the back of the truck on its drive in, to call dibs on the trash as women climb into the cab of the truck on the way out to prostitute themselves off and make a buck. This is a hellish place to make one's home. Literarly, fires can be found every few yards as the Nicaraguan heat causes the trash to spontaneously combust.

Could you live here? Could you even imagine human beings living amongst the disgusting trash, animal carcassas, and voltures? Would mankind ever deserve such torture?

One could visit La Chureca again and again, but the sight would still always hit hard. The shock and disgust may subside, however, the pain remains.

Despite it all there is some hope.

Within La Chureca, there are 2 schools, a few feeding programs, and a clinic. In fact, the clinic is in need of help right now to get through the year running at full capacity. They need $4,000 a month and could use all the help they can get. See this short video on the Manna Project website for more information.

Each of these three facilities serve the community of La Chureca through education, nourishment, and health...all crucial aspects of surviving the difficult reality in which these people live.

For the coming month, I hope to return to La Chureca each week to help with an English class and aid in Child Sponsorship which includes keeping in touch with families of malnourished children who have entered a program to get milk, oatmeal, and vitamens to bring them back to a more nourished state.

Written by Cassandra Maximous - Summer volunteer (June session)

First Impressions

I didn't understand what Vilma was saying, although it was obvious she was complaining about a lack of participation from the other women in whatever task it was that she had completed, not unlike my own mom chastising my dad for never attending PTA meetings. As we kept walking Christina explained that it was about a clean-up of their section of the neighborhood, mandated by the clinic's nurse, for which some of the other moms had not shown up. Although I had heard Vilma say the word "limpiar," I couldn't quite believe that the view I was seeing of this part of Chureca was post- cleaning. Her little daughter Gabriela emerged from beneath the piles of dirty plastic water bottles and other scraps, eager to be tickled and held by another volunteer and myself, even though we had only just met and it was our first time visiting homes here with Child Sponsorship. Since I arrived in Nicaragua I've learned that the word here for "to hold" is "chinear." It always makes me think of a chin, and holding a child right up to your face to be as close to them as possible.
We kept on walking through the mud, dust and trash. Christina seemed to know everyone: teenage moms with more kids on the way, husbands who spend all day digging through the burning piles of trash, one enterprising woman starting her own tortilla-making business inside the dump (she sold out of all 800 yesterday!) and little children falling in the mud and running naked (better than wet clothes now that the rainy season is beginning). But Christina's familiarity with this place sent me into an emotional spiral. I am saddened, disgusted and scared knowing that real people live like this because this was the lot dealt them. At the same time, there is so much life here: businesses starting, children going to school, and even organizations founded by Nicaraguans from the dump themselves to provide safe places for kids to learn and play. I'm not sure yet what my role in La Chureca will be for the month I am here, except that there will certainly be lots of "chineando."

-Written by Emily Batt, summer volunteer (June session)

I had seen videos of La Chureca and heard stories from those who had been there, but I realized that I did not have even the slightest understanding of it until I had smelt the smells, stepped on the trash, and spoke to the people who call it home. La Chureca is by no means a place that anyone should ever have to call home, and although my heart ached for those people before I had ever met them, it now bleeds. After holding Esteven (my sponsored child) and seeing his tiny body, as well as talking with his sweet mother, I wish I could have just lifted them out of their environment forever. It is a hard concept for me grapple with that such wonderful people must live their lives surrounded by conditions not suitable for animals. I am not able to take them out of Chureca, but I am able to make some of their burdens a little light through my support young Esteven and his family with a simple 20 dollars a month, money that my life will remain the same without, but will greatly enhance Esteven's life. The smiles, tears, faces, and warm hearts of the Churecans are forever engraved on my heart, and I feel honored to have met them.

-written by Morgan Davis, summer volunteer (May session)

May has proved to be another wonderful month in Nicaragua. The temperatures are very hot but the beginning of the rainy season brings welcomed afternoon storms. However, the welcomed rain also brings a fear of flooding and sickness for the people in La Chureca.

One special event to report from my time here is that we had the pleasure of celebrating Mother’s Day with the women and children in La Chureca. Mother’s Day is one of the largest holidays in Nicaragua, and it was a joy to be a part of it with the families in our Child Sponsorship program. We invited them to join us for a day trip to the lake where the women and children enjoyed swimming, bag lunches, and a day off from life in La Chureca. We also had the opportunity to throw a Mother’s Day party for the women in our program. The piñata was a success, as always here in Nicaragua, and the women and children were given individual gifts such as shoes, jewelry, school supplies, and kitchen supplies as well.

Milk day was also an incredible success this month. Every child in our program was given milk, oatmeal, and vitamins to fit their specific needs. It was such a joy to see the gratitude on the smiling faces of the mothers and children in our program. Because of our wonderful sponsors and other people like them, over 60 children in the community of La Chureca receive basic needs: schooling, confidence, and so much more. Thanks to all our sponsors for allowing us to experience the joy of milk day every month!

We also are pleased to announce that we have entered 3 new children into the program and are in the process of entering more. It is always great to meet new children and families and open our hearts to them as we have done with so many during our time in La Chureca.

-Written by Sarah Lynn McKinney, summer volunteer (May session)

Milk Day Memories

One of our roles in the child sponsorship program in La Chureca is to distribute oatmeal, milk, and vitamins to all the kids in our program on the last Wednesday and Thursday of every month. We call it “milk day” and it is a really fun couple of days where we get to spend at least some time with every kid in our program. I am usually responsible for weighing and measuring the kids and then passing them on to a consult with one of the other volunteers who then evaluate their growth.

Although most milk days are the same, this week’s was a little different. This week we had the honor of graduating 9 kids from our program. What their graduation signifies is that they are no longer malnourished and have reached a weight that is healthy for someone of their height and general age. It was so fulfilling to see these healthy children grinning ear to ear as they received their certificates of completion, a few prizes and a bag of oranges.

The biggest blessing came a little later in the morning though. Tressa and I walked up to the houses of the three children that were not at graduation to deliver their certificates and prizes. The first was a young girl named Arelys whose mother accepted the gifts and thanked us before we walked away. The other home we visited was a mother of twin boys who are both vibrant, healthy young men with radiant smiles and some of the best manners I have seen. She invited us into her yard as we explained that her sons were graduating and gave her the things they had earned. She handed the stuff to her sons who stood before us smiling with the pride that comes from completing a task. She then began to pour out her graciousness upon us for all that we have done to help her family. She explained to us that our program was an answered prayer in her life and the lives of her sons. She prayed specifically that they would have enough food to eat and being in our program fulfilled that need. I was fighting back tears as she told us these things just thinking of how much I was blessed to be standing right where I was in that moment. The beauty of her love for her sons shined through even the darkest of circumstances and made me believe that all things are possible. She expressed her gratefulness to us but more than that I am grateful to her for showing me what life means. I will never forget that conversation with her.

We want to express our continued appreciation to all of you, our sponsors, who make these stories possible with your giving. You are physically changing lives in La Chureca and I am so grateful to witness it firsthand.

Returning to Chureca

Since returning to Chureca from Christmas break six weeks ago, there have been many changes and updates in our program and in the lives of the families we've grown to know and love. Two of our mothers have recently given birth: Jose Manuel's mother to a beautiful baby boy named Kevin, and Evert's mother to a tiny, two-week old boy who still doesn't have a name! Mildeana's mother and Esteban's mother are both in their second trimester of pregnancy. Jose Antonio Chaverria and his mother recently moved out of Chureca to southwestern Nicaragua; we are overjoyed they have moved out of such a toxic, dangerous environment, but are definitely missing the beautiful smile and presence of his mother and cute-as-a-button Jose Antonio.

Today and yesterday were the February Milk Days which I'm responsible for coordinating; my event planning skills are put to the test for the monthly distribution of milk, vitamins and oatmeal to the 50 kids we sponsor! It's been a fun process to learn how to order and buy all of the necessary food items. Ordering the vitamins and milk via phone puts my Spanish to the test and makes for some funny conversations as I'm shouting quantities of milk into the phone, trying desperately to be understood by the man on the other end. This month Milk Day went off without a hitch, and included a fun new element: the graduation of nine kids from the program who had reached and maintained a healthy weight, and who were ready to be promoted! On top of their oatmeal and vitamins, each graduating child received an official certificate to mark their achievement, a bag of oranges, a toy, and a personal hygiene kit from our donations stash.

Graduating these nine leaves even more spaces to be filled by needy, malnourished children, of which there seems to be an endless supply. We've recently been revamping the process for entering and exiting kids; we've had some communication issues with the Ministry of Health, MINSA, who was previously in charge of this process. MINSA's lack of responsibility to our program has forced us to take action to side-step them in this process in order to expedite entering new children in the program. The health clinic recently hired a pediatrician who will work in conjunction with Esmo (the head honcho nurse at the clinic and our main contact) to evaluate kids and fill the spaces quickly!

On a less joyful note, our kids' incessant health woes have kept us rather busy. Most of our sponsored children (and adults at that) are severely affected by the ever increasing amounts of smoke in Chureca. Two girls, Ana Yuri and Lisbeth, have hernias that are not only causing them pain but need to be operated on ASAP. We're working on getting them appointments to have these conditions resolved; more word later on how these situations turn out!

-Christina

Christmas Party!

As we gathered with the mothers and children of our Child Sponsorship Program, there was palpable excitement in the air. When they entered the courtyard of La Esperanza, an elementary school located within the boundaries of La Chureca, the Managua city dump, the kids' eyes lit up when the saw the party we had set up for them. Our Christmas party is an annual celebration, made all the more special this year but the addition of Hilda Bleiwiess, the founder of Mi Casa Charities.

Months earlier Hilda had contacted Manna Project International in the hopes of partnering with us as we both worked to better the lives of the children and families of La Chureca. The dump can be a difficult place to work, and we were encouraged to hear from a total stranger who had also fallen in love with “our” kids, so much so that she had recruited many of her friends and family members to the cause, collecting both monetary and clothing donations to bring to Nicaragua.

We are incredibly grateful not only for this outpouring of support and generosity, but also for the eagerness of Hilda to work with other organizations that have a presence in Chureca in order to maximize our effectiveness and strengthen our combined efforts. My coworkers and I collected boxes and boxes of medication (to be distributed by Casa Base, La Chureca's health clinic) and clothing that Mi Casa Charities had sent. We also we fortunate that the families in our program were the recipients of a delicious catered lunch courtesy of Hilda and her donors.

With the help of a local restaurant, we served an early Christmas meal of rice, bread, chicken, snacks, and sodas to over 100 people. After all of the families in our program had been served (and even had seconds!) we opened up the doors of the school to some other local children in need of a good meal and kept passing out plates of food until there was none left. The seemingly simple meal was a wonderful gift to families who all too often can barely afford to put the Nicaraguan staples of rice and beans on their tables.

I can personally attest to the gratitude these families felt for the generosity shown to them by strangers thousands of miles away. Their smiles and quiet expressions of thanks were heartwarming. It is was a privilege for me to witness and be a part of this event that would not have been possible without the contributions of so many people who, in spite of difficult economic times, were moved to give this holiday season.

We look forward to continuing our partnership with Hilda and Mi Casa Charities for many years to come and we're hopeful that through our work and that of so many others La Chureca will begin to see the change it so desperately needs.

Mary Rose Conroy