Miguel-

Hello my name is Miguel Sanchez.  I am 16 years old and I live in Oakland, California. I was the leader of the day for the CAP delivery day, and I as well as my fellow leader Lorena worked with our program managers to make sure we were on track to finish our community action project. I worked solely with the gardening crew or garden development. There were several categories in garden development for example: building a medicinal herb garden, tree planting, placing of an irrigation system, and clearing the huerto (a large stretch of land where vegetables were planted).

 

I assisted the most with the medicinal herb garden and planting of the trees; the tree planting was the easiest thing to do- I put a hole in the ground and planted a sapling. However the building of the medicinal garden wasn’t so easy. We had to level a ground that’s soil was hard a clay! We also had to clear the weeds and rocks and dig to find rocks that were lying under the soil. That took about two or three hours, and then the fun began.  We were sawing, cutting, and measuring huge pieces of wood. We started our journey to building a U shaped medicinal plant bed. At first, I didn’t know how it would come out because of how badly Connor, Abdul and I were struggling, but luckily our bad ass bus driver helped us out with the extra pair of hands we needed. It took us one and a half days to finish this amazing project and see how these long planks of wood could hold spices and medical herbs. I was so ecstatic when I saw that last dump of soil being dropped into our bed of soil.

 

But this was only the beginning of our great day… Then came our last tutoring session… ever.  It was bitter sweet.  I am glad  that I can leave Nicaragua knowing that I taught a class of 15 or 16 under 14 year old children a little more English than these intelligent students already knew. But it was sad because these kids became attached to my fellow teacher Marina’s and my personalities and were so sad when we told them this was our last time teaching them… They asked us when would we come back or who would teach them.  It saddened me deeply but also gave me the drive to want to do more than just teach seven English classes. And now the night falls, the glimpsers are out, and we head off to a night club (or discoteca in Nica terms) to dance the night away at Cigar Zone.  It was an amazing way to end a day full of success.

 

Lorena-

Hello glimpser parents, family, and friends. My name is Lorena Feliz I’m 16 years old and I live in New York (Yup a non-west side girl). I was leader of the day with Miguel Sanchez for CAP delivery day. I must admit I thought that being leader on the last day of our BIG community project was going to be extremely tough. Nope! Not at all thanks to my awesome co leader Miguel, and my tuani (cool) glimpsers.

 

I worked alongside Olivia Grace, the project manager for the Education & Nutrition group. There were several categories under Education & Nutrition such as the cookbook, demonstration, plant labels, and artwork. Everyone was assigned to work in these different categories based on their skills. The cookbook had many easy, healthy and delicious recipes which the school cooks can make for the kids. The plants label group made plant labels in Spanish to help the kid’s spot where each fruits and veggies are located. The artwork team created a gorgeous mural on the wall outside of the kitchen thanks to Maria, Vivian, Marina, Olivia Guzman, and Clytie. The mural (which can be seen in the pictures attached below) was a success not only because it looks really gorgeous but because the kids saw all the hard work all the ladies put in to get a nice final product. The kids loved the drawings of their favorite fruits painted on a wall.

 

Last but not least, the demonstration part of the project was done by me. I basically got together a bunch of fun facts about the fruits and veggies that the Huerto team planted and presented those fun facts about vitamins and why each of the fruits and veggies is important. I presented to a class of 15 students who attend the Fabretto School and also gave each student a taste of all the different fruits and veggies that will be planted in the garden. The most challenging part was getting the students’ attention at times (but doesn’t every teacher face that problem?), but since I am a Spanish speaker it was easy to converse with the kids and make sure they understood why they should eat healthy as well as continue to help with the Huerto.

 

The whole group overall put 110% into making this CAP project a success (which I think we can all agree it was); also every single glimpser in this amazing group showed compassion, courage, and commitment towards the CAP project and the entire trip. I couldn’t wish for any other group of hardworking teenagers! I’m so glad that we created a project that can have a sustainable change and loved seeing the smile on the students’ faces. Big love to everyone in this group-a group of 21 teens created something beautiful with our own hands.

The students of the Fabretto School were involved in helping with the Huerto.

The students of the Fabretto School were involved in helping with the Huerto.

Miguel Sanchez was working hard on the herb garden.

Miguel Sanchez was working hard on the herb garden.

 

Lorena Feliz (curly hair) and clytie, giving the students a demonstration of the fruits and veggies that will be planted in the garden.

Lorena Feliz (curly hair) and clytie, giving the students a demonstration of the fruits and veggies that will be planted in the garden.

The final product of the artwork on the wall outside the school kitchen.

The final product of the artwork on the wall outside the school kitchen.

E1B at the Huerto DSC06207