Hi Friends & Families! We’re Tiffany and Sonya and we were the leaders del día for poverty aid and development in Nicaragua but as a group we connected poverty in Nicaragua with the United States as well. We are both from the Bay Area and are interested in socioeconomic equality globally and locally. Because of this prior interest, we chose to be leaders as this day was a pivotal moment in our trip.
We started the day at 7am with breakfast at the buffet, then took a half hour bus ride to the city dump. There we met Dona Francesca, a worker and community leader who opened up about her experiences living on around $1-3 a day for the past 22 years. Although her government provides little financial support, we learned that access to free health care is offered to Nicaraguan citizens. This made us consider the differences between poverty in the US and Nicaragua. Leaving the dump, we all gained perspective on what makes a person happy and felt a large sense of humility.
Next, we visited the local organization called Casa de Materma, which provides support and education for pregnant women. We had the opportunity to ask them questions and evaluate what we can offer during our community action project. During the Q&A we learned how they operate, what motivates them to continue, and realized the major need for prenatal care and education in the rural communities of Esteli. Many mothers come from hours away to receive the services provided by the women at the center.
In the evening, we had our first English tutoring session. We were surprised by the success and engagement of the students. Prior to tutoring, we made lesson plans that helped keep both students and us accountable towards our goals. All of us left with a closer connection to the teens in Nicaragua and a sense of accomplishment and motivation for tomorrow’s session.
Overall, our experience leading the group on such an impactful and emotionally intense day was very rewarding. The night ended with a long and fascinating discussion on the parallels of Nicaraguan and American poverty based on anecdotal and factual experiences in our delegation. We hope when we come home, we can continue the conversation with greater empathy and understanding.
Bormaaaaaaaaa. Jackie and i picked up andrea from ur house today and im here to tell u that ur dogs r OKAY! I finally checked lmaooooo. I hope you’re learning a lot in Nicaragua. HEY ERIC AND TANIA ITS ADRIANA FROM ESTELÍ 1, I MISS YOU GUYS. Anyways borma, i hope seeing the dump was an eye opening expirience to how privledged we are here in the United states and how we still continue to ask for more. We must acknowldge that there are people who have FAR LESS than us and are content with their lives and apply that to our lives in order to appreciate what we have more. I miss u and love u. Please call when you have a chance and ill try to answer
Sounds like an amazing day. Inspired by such woke young adults. Can’t wait to hear what your project will be. Watch out world, I hope you’re ready for this group.
Love ya monster! Make your mark.xo
hey norma hun!!!!!!!! it’s dreez, today i hung out w adri and jackie for a lil!!! i miss u so much, more than u think. i hope ur having fun n learning a lot. Today i listened to the neighborhood and no hands by waka flaka bc i thought of u LOL! again i hope ur having fun sis, i love u so much!!!! Be safe <3
Celi and Ayla!! You guys seem to be having an amazing time. I hope your first English tutoring session was eye opening and fun and inspired you to teach as much as you can in this short time. I know that’s how it was for me in Ecuador. I miss guys so much but I really hope you are embracing every moment and taking lots of pictures!! Can’t wait to see you when you get back. Much love, Katie Carley
DAVID GARCIA!!!! I am glad to hear you are having a wonderful time. It sucks that we didn’t get to answer your call, but it was nice to hear your voice. I sort of, kind of, maybe miss you. Okay, I do. Watching the Office hasn’t been the same without you, but even though I do miss you, that will not stop me from bingeing the show!! I can’t wait to hear more about your trip!! Keep having a good time and take a TON of pictures!!!
-Vannie
Sounds like it was an intense day. I can’t wait to hear what your community project will be. David how was the tutoring? I hope everything went well.
Looking forward to your next phone call. We love seeing the pictures…hope you are taking lots more. Miss you & love ya David…. Love Dad, MSue, Savannah & Gizmo
Tiffany and Sonya thanks for the great recap of the day. Sounds like you all had a very emotional but rewarding day. Excited to hear that your English tutoring sessions have begun. Can’t wait to hear more about them.
Ayla-the boys are home and we all miss you! Are you getting lots of opportunities to speak Spanish or are the locals interested in speaking English? Remember to take photos! 🙂
Sounds like the day was very inspiring. Wow…going to the dump must have been a moving experience. David…how was the tutoring? I am sure they were happy to have you all there. Can’t wait to hear what your community project will be. Love all the pictures…would love to see more. Hope your taking a lot more David. We miss you & love you..
Dad, MSue, Savannah, GPeg and Gizmo
Yooo David! Your trip seems really fun (: I miss Nicaragua ):::: I’m glad you’re having a great time taking everything in and seeing some struggles they face over there. I hope you get some ideas for your CAP! I also hope you’re making friends and being nice. Well, miss you! I’m still commenting everyday (:
Thank you all for informing us of how your days are going and the experiences you are having. Hope you all learn a lot and realize how fortunate we all are.
Norma, mija me and your sis miss you so much, the house feels lonely, the dogs are doing great, Andrea is taking care of them and they are missing you too. Love you so much keep learning and enjoying your trip everything is good here. God Bless you
Hey Brianna,
It’s Brendan from Academy. So happy to read about your trip and to know that you are in such excellent hands with Tania and Erik and Elena and Pancho! Alfredo and I had an amazing experience in Esteli and the surrounding areas in June, and we can’t express how proud of you we are for following through with your adventure. You have a huge, huge heart and a beautifully open mind; I know that you will grow and develop as much as possible. Don’t be afraid to speak up (FROM THE DIAPHRAGM) and to take on any and all leadership roles that arise. It will only make you stronger.
Looking forward to reading the rest of Esteli’s blog posts. Your group still has some amazing days ahead…
Big Love to all y’all!!! Go Wolves!!!!
Ayla!!! I miss you so much and I’m so sad I missed your call so call me back!!! It looks like you’re having fun and I can’t wait to hear all the details about your trip but this blog will have to do for now. Your trip looks amazing, it’s so great that you get to teach English and I hope your having the best time experiencing Nicaraguan culture! We have a ton to fill you in on when you get back, we all miss you lots! Lydia says hi and is sad she can’t call you. Love you and have fun!!!
Gina i hope you are doing well there and having fun.
Poverty day was one of the most impactful days for me and i hope you learned a lot from it too!
hey sis, its dreez again!!! hope ur having a blast over there, mom always says she wants to cry while reading the blogs, lol. I’ve been taking such good care of your dogs, they love me so much. Okay but Louis is so annoying, How do you sleep with him every night? I can’t even sleep in, in the morning with him sleeping on my bed he licks my face so much and walks in circles like c’mon bro, but Mia, she’s cool, she sleeps between my legs so I feel obligated to not move all night which sucks but whatever, also, she is always getting into problems with Daisy, but that’s definitely daisys fault, Daisy hates when I give Mia attention. Today, I hung out with Jan and Jonathan, I went to their baseball game and they won!!!!! Andrea came back tonight from being in San Diego for a while, and of course, I was quick to come to her house and sleep over, because she’s leaving for camping in like 2 days so I won’t see her for a while, AGAIN. Oh! and August 4th is coming up, so that means it’s gonna be 11 months since June died, and it’s actually starting hit me that he’s gone :(. I wish you were here so we could go visit his grave on Friday but it’s okay you and I can go next month for his 1-year anni and kick it with his fam. Well anyways, I hope you’re having fun!! I miss you so much and our petty little arguments every day, I can’t wait til you come back, sissy. I love you so much!!! xoxo, andrea<3
PS call me when you can just not too early because I wake up around 12, hehe.
🙂 glad you’re having an amazing experience
Jerlene,
Thanks so much for all the detailed updates. This sounds like such an amazing trip. Casey and Joey are missing you terribly. All they do is lay in your bed and look sad. Darren is having fun at football and Nessa is DYING without you. I can’t believe Stella told you about the skunk smell in your car. Don’t worry, it’s gone now. lol I am gonna give you the biggest hug EVER when you get home, and yes I will use my “special pass” to sneak in. Love ya,
Mom
How terrific to read about your trip! Doña Francesca, living on only $1-$3 a day! Interesting, too, to compare the access to public medicine, we have so far to go here in the US. Sounds like a really special experience, can’t wait to hear more about it soon!