Noe,

When I chose to be leader on this day I knew that I was up for a huge challenge. It was the mixture of fear and anxiousness, as well as eagerness to be out my comfort zone that pushed me to sign my name on Day 14. What I didn’t expect however was for my beautiful chin hair, which I’ve been growing forever to be removed from my face for my initiation as leader.

For our CAP Project we decided as a group that we’d construct both a roof and shelves for the Hope Projects location in the outskirts of Matagalpa. At this location the Hope Project runs a program in the Church/Comedor which feeds the community as well as provide tutoring and just a safe place to be for the youth. For a community where the average family income is under $1 a day, you can imagine the impact this site has on the people. With that being said, the roof was the main focus for us as Farrell Burton, the Hope Projects co-owner, expressed to us his concern about the side of the Comedor being exposed to the harsh Nica elements. This particular location is key because the children wait on line there to enter the Comedor for class. Since no one enjoys being soaked in pouring rain or fried under harsh sun, the roof idea was a given. Second came the idea of the shelves. This came when we visited the site a couple of days ago and saw the conditions of the kitchen. The kitchen is such a crucial part to what goes on in the Comedor that we loved the idea of making the jobs of the cooks easier and making everything more accessible to them.

The final preparations with my fellow Leader Del Dia Gianni on the night before really helped this day go by as smoothly as possible. After the usual wake up calls, breakfast, and not so usual money exchange (hosted by El Coyote) the day officially began. Being that I was one of the leaders of the day as well as part of the budgeting team, I took the responsibility of going with GG Leader Dennis and fellow Glimpsers Cheston and Karen to purchase the wood and tin needed for our roof and shelves. Being in charge of our group’s share of the budget was both a nerve racking yet exciting experience. I enjoyed noting down our purchases and making sure we stayed inside the budget. In addition to this going around the city in search of supplies by taxi and foot, was a great way to experience shopping like a local.

 

Gianni (Raymond),

Noe and I were separated for about half of the day. We still had a good connection knew what to do and stood on the same page through the day. We had a different Leader of the Day experience even though we were leader on the same day. My experience was stressful but also awesome because I had all the power. I got every one up and ready for the long and hard working day to come. We had breakfast and then we got into groups to see what we were going to get for the CAP project and what we were going to do when we got to El Comedor. My group went out and got stuff for the kids to keep them entertained while we were working. When we got back we had lunch, some of the groups came together to make sure that everyone knew there roles and everything could go smoothly. When the group was heading to El Comedor the children of the community were trying to hang on to the back of the bus. When the bus driver told them to get off, we were hit with an unexpected bird flipping by an angry Nicaraguan boy.

When we arrived at El Comedor, we made sure everything was organized and prepared for the hard work tomorrow. We also got a chance to play football with some of the local children and really get to know them. Some of the girls even felt like painting my nails, so I let them (my nails look flawless). After a short time being there we started to head back to the hostel. Once we got back to the hostel we prepared for our final English tutoring class scheduled for the next day. After that we had an amazing dinner, which consisted of Nicaraguan Quesadillas. The great food really helped to put a close on what turned out to be a very productive and eventful day.

DSC_0738 DSC_0744 DSC_0764 DSC_0777