Celebraciones

It has been over a month since my last post on this blog. Much has happened and I apologize for not keeping you thoroughly informed. Even though Erin and I continue to go into Chureca 3x a week, we have not had the time to sit down and write about all our visits. The month of March has been consumed by spring break volunteers. In the past three weeks Manna has hosted groups from Vanderbilt, Wooster State, UT Austin, UNCW, UGA, among others.



All of our groups have had the opportunity to visit La Chureca. The week that Vanderbilt and UNCW were here happened to be the week in which Brad Corrigan (the former drummer for Dispatch) hosted his annual concert in La Chureca. Dia de Luz, as the concert day is called, brought hundreds of American students into La Chureca. The purpose of Dia de Luz (Day of Light) is to raise awareness of the situation in La Chureca, encourage Americans to spend a day interacting with the men and women who live in the dump, and bring together Americans and Nicaraguans for a free concert.



Another celebration that happened in La Chureca, though on a much smaller scale, was the official re-opening of our clinic. As you may already know, the clinic underwent a big renovation in February. To celebrate the new facility Sandra (the director of FunjoFudes) invited all of the clinic's financial supporters, the clinic's staff, community leaders, and Manna's Program Directors to a ribbon cutting ceremony. During the event representatives from the Nice Foundation, Austin Samaritan, Manna Project International and the Ministry of Health gave short speeches.

All of the community members I have talked to are really happy about the improvements that were made to the clinic. One of the greatest benefits I have seen as a result of the renovation is the boost in the staff's morale. It's no easy task to work inside a dump everyday so having a facility that accommodates for the staff's needs is invaluable. Dr. Lesley, Esmo, and Yami now feel a sense of ownership toward the clinic. Dr. Lesley has his private consult room, Esmo has her nurse's station, and Yami has her pharmacy. There is also a consult room for the psychologist that comes in every Tuesday and Saturday and in about a week we will have a newly built dentist room.

I hope you now have a better idea of all that has happened in the past month! Expect more regular blog postings in the coming weeks!