Philip Doig, pdoig@sstx.org
Jorge Munoz, jmunoz@sstx.org
rachel nation, rnation@sstx.org
Nicholas Buddo

The Garcia Family, Mano en Mano Foundation, Logistics

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We were able to touch the lives of many Nicaraguans who live in extreme poverty, providing them not just with material belongings, but with the sense that there are people in the world who care about them and who treat them with dignity and respect and who ask for nothing in return.

Our student participants included: Ana Paola Garcia, Collier Gray, Anne Woodward, Chantal Strasburger, Lorelei Strasburger, Geoffrey Livsey, Louis Leon, Jake Bruemmer, Logan Canter, Shea Mohan, Kaylin Balley, Michael Engling, Zach Burford and Megan Parra.

Adult leaders: Philip Doig, Dean Mohlman, Shobie Partos, Nick Buddo, rachel nation

I learned so much on the trip! One thing that stands out particularly brightly is how to open a coconut, which turns out to be a lot more complicated than I previously thought opening a coconut would be. It was also really educational tutoring the girls at the convent. I learned a lot of math vocabulary in Spanish as well as how difficult learning English as a second language really was!

I think average SSES students can help in Nicaragua by going and doing the same things we did: build houses, or at least provide money for materials to build a house; learn about Nicaragua's culture and appreciate its similarities and differences to culture in the United States, knowledge that will help them know what to donate and bring to families in Nicaragua to help them live a better life in their country; and meet people in Nicaragua their age to converse and trade stories with.

Q. Were you surprised by what you saw the first time you visited Managua and Granada?

A. The first time I visited Nicaragua I was so shocked to see the conditions in which people live in down there; I have never seen that kind of poverty in my life. Sometimes the worries and issues of high school seem so ordinary when compared to the extraordinary daily life struggles of the poor we try to help in Granada.

Q. How do you think St. Stephen's students can help in Nicaragua?

A. Students at St. Stephen's can help in many ways, whether it be helping to raise money for the supplies needed to build a small house for a poor family, or by actually participating in the trip and just being there for the little kids and poor families we meet; they are so happy just to see us and talk to us.

Q. What was your favorite part of the trip?

A. Doing something hands-on, like bulding the small house for a poor family. I felt that was the most meaningful thing, because after finishing the hard manual labor I felt really accomplished and proud of what we could do in such a short amount of time.

Q. What did you learn on the trip?

A. Well first of all I learnt a bit of Spanish, so I can now order things at a restaurant and ask how much something costs which is a lot more than I knew before! I also learnt about the culture, for instance when we went to carita feliz and saw the dances, and when the girls at the convent put on the dance performance for us with their amazing dresses and then taught us to dance. I feet that now I have a better understanding of what everyday life is like in Nicaragua. I realized that the people there are very happy and kind, despite the fact that they don't have much money or possessions and they are generally laid back and caring.

Q. Do you think the students efforts were able to "make a difference?"

A. I definitely think that we made a difference, especially for the family whose house we built. Also when we left the convent and all the girls came and hugged us and some were crying and it was really sad to say goodbye and I think that even though we were only there for a short time, they appreciated our help a lot. Also, the money that we had left over made a difference to the people who we sponsored to go to school because that will have an affect on their future.

Q. What was your favorite part of the trip?

A. It is hard to choose just one thing... I enjoyed the pizza party we had on the last night at the convent, when we were trying to dance salsa it was funny, and also when we went to the beach it was really pretty and just a nice relaxing day. And eating banana pancakes at Don Simon's of course and going to carita feliz and at the convent being jumped on by like 10 kids at a time!

Airfare, room and board--$1950
Summer outreach service, no credit

Although Nicaragua is an underdeveloped country, the city of Granada is a relatively prosperous city. As the oldest city in Central America, founded in 1524, the architecture reflects the old colonial flavor.

It is a very safe, peaceful, clean, hospitable and pedestrian-oriented city and provides our students with ample opportunities to do invaluable voluntary work among the less fortunate segment of its population.

In sharp contrast with the downtown area, families in some sections of the city live in shacks built with discarded material and do not have electricity or running water.

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We knew we had arrived in a different place when we got to the Managua airport a day late (our flight from Houston the day before had been canceled because an airplane had broken down on the only runway in the Managua airport) and were picked up by a mini-bus.

As soon as the driver got out, he and his companion climbed to the top of the bus where they proceeded to collect all our heavy bags and load them on top before tying them down under a tarp to protect the bags from possible thunderstorms.

We had left behind our comfortable world and were officially on our way to Granada, the oldest European city on the American continent which was founded in 1524 by the Spanish.

We were in Nicaragua, a place I remember from the news reports back in the late seventies and eighties when the Sandinistas and the Nicaraguan people overthrew the corrupt and obscenely rich Somoza regime, a place I had wanted to visit in order to witness a revolution in progress.

Daniel Ortega, one of the leaders of the Sandinsta Revolution, is now back in power having recently won the presidential election. Ironically, he won with a former “Contra” general as his running mate. It is called reconciliation.

Driving through the streets in Managua in the middle of the day, one cannot help but be struck by the sudden contrast in living conditions. We passed by many shantytown neighborhoods made up of hundreds and hundreds of rusted corrugated tin houses stacked up against each other like old cans on a market shelf.

People were everywhere on the streets, some walking, some sitting outside their homes in the heat trying to stay cool under the shade. Occasionally we passed by a large, modern hotel or a brightly colored casino that stood out like an abstract painting in an exhibit of twelfth century religious art, reminding us that things are changing and changing quite quickly in this developing part of the world.

This intrusion of the twenty-first century into a place that has changed little in the last one hundred and fifty years often creates striking juxtapositions that are probably quite common in places like Nicaragua, but seem quite extraordinary to one who has limited his travel experiences to Western Europe and North America.

Horse pulled carts loaded with wood or furniture share the same roads as eighteen-wheelers traveling up the Pan American Highway. Men on motorcycles pass families riding on a single bicycle.

Families living in tiny shacks watch Spy Kids on small color televisions and even the poorest seem to have a cell phone strapped to their waists. Driving through the streets of Granada, I even came across a horse driven hearse, much like the one I had seen back in Lynchburg, Virginia at the city museum that was used before the arrival of motorized vehicles, only much bigger and more ornate, leading a funeral procession to one of the city’s cemeteries. The old and the new live side by side in this land of lakes and volcanoes.

We finally arrive in Granada in the eternal heat of summer even though natives will tell you winter is about to start. I learned that in Nicaragua there are only two seasons and that actually summer is winter and winter is summer even though the country is firmly planted in the northern hemisphere.

In the winter (what to you and me is the summer) it is hot and it rains a lot. In the summer, which of course is actually winter, it is hot and dry. Words have different meanings in different places. Granada is a beautiful city, full of old churches, colonial buildings, and colorfully painted houses.

It is one of the richest cities in Nicaragua, but even those who live in relatively nice houses look relatively poor. The further you get out of the city center, the worse the neighborhoods get and there are plenty of people living in squalid conditions. Houses that are not much more than run down tool sheds abound with perhaps families of five or ten people sharing the small space.

Many roads are unpaved and plumbing is non-existent. Young people are everywhere, children playing in the dirt yards. I estimate that more than 50% of the population must be under the age of twenty. Despite the poverty and the poor living conditions, what struck me most about the situation in Granada was how normal it seemed if you could look past the dilapidated buildings. People got on with their lives.

Children dressed in their Nicaraguan school uniforms were always on the streets walking to school or walking home from school. Others were heading to work if they had it or were staying at home doing their chores. Most everyone looked relatively clean given that they did not have the best sanitary conditions and most people looked relatively well fed. The markets were full of people buying and selling things, trying to make a living. Commerce is a cultural universal.

After a weekend of visiting Mambacho, the dormant volcano overlooking Granada and Lake Cocibolca, and going to the Arts and Crafts Market in Masaya, we finally began doing what we came to Nicaragua for, a chance to work and help others improve their lives.

Eleven Saint Stephen’s students (Lauren Garcia, Michael Garcia, Mark Dougherty, Zach Young, Chantal Strasburger, Rachel Hinds, Caitlin Livsey, Laine Rutkowski, Jade Terry, Claire Powers, and Rachel Startin), one student from Saint Andrew’s (Lindsay Fairchild), a Saint Stephen’s alumnus (Erich Abbott), and a cousin of the Garcias (Danny Mata) joined me and Rachel Nation (in 2007).

Most of the poor depend on the charity of a few organizations for their daily survival. One of these organizations is the Missionaries of Charity, a branch of the international organization founded by Mother Teresa of Calcutta. This institution has built a facility where they provide free schooling, nursing, child care, playgrounds, food, clothes and medication for these destitute children.

Our student volunteers will help the Missionaries of Charity in their efforts to fulfill the most basic and essential needs of these children. Their needs are abundant and the resources are limited to non-existent.

In addition to the daily hard work that is expected from every volunteer, the schedule also provides ample time for the students to explore the colorful streets of Granada and its museums.

We hope that students will become familiar with some of the rich traditions and culture of Nicaragua.

At the end of the trip there will be an excursion to the coast to give the students some time to enjoy the beautiful landscape of the country.

The program takes place from May 31 to June 11. The price of the program is $1950.00, which includes everything except for the student’s personal expenses.

The entire schedule has been designed keeping in mind the particular needs of American high school students traveling to a third world country, some of them for the first time.

The space in the program will be limited to a small number of committed and responsible students.

The co-directors of the program are Mr. Philip Doig and Ms. rachel nation with the help and guidance of Mario and Dee Garcia.

Students who are interested in participating in this outreach trip to Nicaragua need to submit an application, a letter of recommendation from a teacher, and a deposit of $350.00. This is a nonrefundable deposit and will be credited toward the total tuition.

by Hildeyardo Ramirez with Jorge Munoz

Westbank residents Mario and Dee Garcia and their children, St. Stephen's students Lauren and Michael Garcia, first volunteered in Nicaragua in summer 2004. After hearing about their experience, head of school Roger Bowen sent Spanish faculty members Jorge Muñoz and Hilde Ramirez on trips to the Central American nation to assess the possibility of establishing a new summer outreach program.

During two previous trips, St. Stephen’s volunteers worked hard to help the Missionaries of Charity provide for the children’s essential needs. Our students saw firsthand how the needs were abundant but the resources very limited. They taught, tutored, served meals, cleaned, painted, and built a wooden shelter for a homeless family.

The service trip included opportunities for cultural exposure and recreation. In addition to the daily work expected from every volunteer, the schedule provided time for students to explore the colorful neighborhoods and museums of Granada.

Jorge Muñoz and I were joined by English faculty member Margaret Tucker and Mario Garcia, the Spartan parent whose family inspired the program.

Nicaragua 2007

Nicaragua 2005 & 2006

The remarkable teens in our program, some visiting a developing country for the first time, were pioneers in an experiment that proved to be a great success. All of our goals were accomplished. There were many projects achieved, lessons learned, and new experiences pondered and assimilated. Although the trip affected us each in different ways, according to our unique personalities and backgrounds, none of us will ever forget the experience.