(Matt’s Note: To show respect to the impoverished communities we visited today, we did not bring cameras on our Poverty Day trip; however, we do have one photo with our guest speaker, Dona Francisca)
Hey Everybody, Today the group took a trip to the dump located outside Esteli. We first visited a community of homes right outside the dump, where many of the people we saw working in the dump live. These homes were small and clearly lived in by impoverished individuals. Nevertheless, we received many polite “Adios”s as we walked through the community. Eventually we came to a home closer to the center of the community in which Dona Francisca, the woman we had come to visit, lived. She was very kind and hugged and kissed every one of us, delighted that we had come to visit her. We sat outside her home and took the moment to ask her about her life and what it is like to live in such poverty and proximity to the dump. After we had visited her we went to the actual site of the dump, where we met Dona Francisca’s daughter, who we also called, Dona Francisca. She showed us her working conditions and enlightened us on what kind of income working in the dump delivers. We then aided her in collecting plastic bottles from the dump to give to recycling companies who pay one cordoba per pound of plastic bottles. It was hard work, and only gave us a taste of what its be like to work in the dump, let alone live in it. After this our time at the dump was over, and we went back to the hostel where we had plenty of time to reflect on what we had seen.
We reflected on what these people don’t have, and what they do. I personally thought a lot about what it’d be like to only know the world as the impoverished community you were born into, and spending the majority of your life rummaging through countless people’s trash in order to only make maybe 2 or three cordobas a day, less than a penny. The dump opened our eyes to the conditions many live in for their whole lives, and changed the way we look at wealth. Thank you for reading! Your leader of the day, Liam
Hi Connor !
Hope this note finds you well! We have been thinking of you and hope you are enjoying this once in a lifetime experience! Hopefully you have taken after your mom and are snapping lots of photos to share with us. Yesterday we had a fun 4th of July celebration in our neighborhood and we are now spending the rest of the weekend up at Cazz with the family. We’ve all been taking turns enjoying your jeep. 😉 (Don’t worry Mikey has only hit 2 deer so far!!)..we miss you and can’t wait to hear all about your time in Nicaragua . We love you lots.- Mickey, Kerry, Ben & Avery
I forgot to mention, “Josh you got your fireworks, be grateful.”
I love seeing and reading about each day. Enjoy your trip, missing you!
between the dollar a day and day at the dump, it has given me a reality check as well. i have a hard time imagining a day without a warm shower and my comforts. the stories though remind me that family and friends and kindness are so important and it does not take wealth to value that.
karin and tracey
Thank you Liam for your blog post. I think that you hit the nail on the head when you thought about, “what it’d be like to only know the world as the impoverished community you were born into…and that it changed the way we look at wealth.” We take the wealth that is in our communities in North America for granted and peoples around the world are struggling to control their own so that people won’t spend the majority of their life with the leftovers and trash of others. I know that it was uncomfortable to be at the dump, and you are courageous to be open to changing your perspective. Most people try to forget that, but in my opinion, it is discomfort that leads to an alliance with social change.
Are very proud of you my little girl Isabel Avelar enjoys the maximum this beautiful experience. We miss you and wish you luck in everything you do from Mom and Dad and brothers we love you Isa.
I Hope that you are having fun. I hope this experience will be life changing and eye opening. I look forward to hearing your stories and fishing with you.(me and Ben found a good spot). I love you and miss you a lot. Have fun. Love, Collin
Please know that those of us reading your blogs are also being impacted
powerfully and positively. Thanks for sharing! Momma Donna