Nicaragua children have little hope in ending the persistent and severe poverty in their country. Nearly 75% of Nicaraguans live on less than $2.00 a day — 3 times less than the minimum hourly wage in the United States. Over half of the working population is unemployed or underemployed, making economic growth sluggish at best.
Dozens of U.N., IMF, and World Bank studies have shown that the country is in dire need of a well-educated population as the average Nicaraguan has less than five years of schooling. Unlike in the U.S., overcrowding in schools isn’t a problem because over 500,000 children are outside the formal education system. But for those within the system broken desks, no books, no electricity, no bathroom, and even no chalk for the chalkboards are just a few of the challenges children and educators face. Without a strong education and the supporting social services, Nicaragua will never be able to shed it’s HIPC status — a never-ending spiral of international loans they need, but can never repay.
A mountain outside of Cuapa.
This was the state of Nicaragua in 2007 when I went with 15 missionaries from the Archdiocese of Miami to assess the needs of the schools and establish an international supply chain with them. The nine-day mission led us to dozens of parishes, schools, and orphanages in cities around the country. At the time, I thought I knew poverty and what it looked like, having seen the stark homelessness in New York City, Miami, D.C., and poverty in the Caribbean. But I was wrong. There was a vast difference between the poverty at here and the second poorest place on this side of the planet.
There were times were all these people had was their faith. Those who helped, even a little, clung onto the hope that they were doing God’s work and that it would make a difference. Nicaragua was an amazing clash of natural beauty and generosity and abject poverty to a such a degree that you hoped it was fake somehow. It’s an assignment I’m glad The Florida Catholic, Inc. sent me on and one I won’t be forgetting.
Garbage bins act as hampers which hold the dirty clothes of the children. The hand-washed clothing is then hung outside to dry.
Fr. Jean Pierre processes with the Blessed Sacrament in Leon, Nicaragua.
A toddler girl squishes her juice bag while sitting behind her mother’s outstretched leg.
Fr. Hans Bendixen (right), co-celebrates with Fr. Jean Pierre at the first mass of the mission.
Maria “Chola” Venerio (center, in apron) introduces the missionaries to the crowd at the Hogar de Ancianos in Chinandega.
One of the classrooms at Colegio Sagrado Corazon de Jesus in Leon, Nicaragua. The classrooms appear to be fashioned like horse stalls. The simple, open construction allows hot air to rise out of the classrooms so that it may be carried away by the breeze.
Two children with cerebral palsy receive intimate, loving attention from a group of Georgia missionaries. The Hogar de los Angelitos is an orphanage in Chinandega for mentally and physically challenged children.
Missionaries hold the little hands of a child with cerebral palsy.
Missionaries, Jesus Trujillo, and his wife, Maria de los Angeles, dance on stage with the performers. At the end of the performances, the missionaries were invited on stage and danced with the performers
An elderly man scoops food into a plastic bag to take back to his family. Many of the men would eat a small portion and take the rest back to their families.
A student, dressed in a traditional Nicaraguan dress, dances during a performance.
Shelves containing different medicines at St. Louis de GonzagaÕs community pharmacy. ÒWhat makes this pharmacy different is that we do not offer contraceptives. We try to promote health and the culture of life here,Ó Fr. Hans Bendixen, pastor, said.
Wearing a Georgia Tech cap, an orphan watches a passersby.
Children crowd missionary, Michelle Hernandez, to see the images in her digital camera.
A woman drinks water from her hands after cleaning a mop. She did not wash her hands before taking a sip.
A man fervently prays before the tabernacle at St. Nicolas Catholic Church in Leon, Nicaragua.
Preparing food at the community center in Las Torres.
(left to right) Azucena, Gloria Maria, and Elena Mercedes stand in the orphanageÕs laundry room. Azucena and Gloria occasionally help Elena whenever they
can with the washing of the childrenÕs clothing.
The cafeteria where Fr. Hans serves lunch to 95 children everyday. The cafeteria was the former main sanctuary which was damaged by an earthquake.
Kindergarten students of the Jacinta y Francisco Orphanage in Leon. The orphanage was founded in 1998 by LeonÕs Archbishop Cesar Bosco Vivas Robelo.
Those that arrived late, crowd outside the facility and beg for food. This boy presses against the bars hoping that there will be food for him.
A prerequisite to being fed is the washing one’s hands. This is to reduce the risk of infection by digestive parasites and the toxins found in the garbage these children sift
through.
Fr. Jean Pierre poses for a photo with the children. The daycare exists so that the mothers can work while their children are cared for. The daycare is adjacent to a community center run by the Missionaries of Charity in the Las Torres area of Managua.
Missionary, Cecilia Sone, comforts a crying elderly woman after praying over her.
A little girl, no more than 3 years old, waits for food.
Missionary, Nina Tomlinson, outside St. Nicolas Catholic Church in Leon, Nicaragua. The bell tower is pock-marked with bullet holes from Nicaraguan Revolution.
(left to right) Sister Juana Maria Sanchez, Maria Tomlinson, and Susana V. Lee converse with Mother Ana Maria Cristo.
(left to right)Missionaries: Cristina Lee serving a tortilla, Maria Tomlinson stirs the chicken, Michelle Hernandez scoops up some beans, and Susana V. Lee serving the rice.
A little girl at a day care in Las Torres of Managua.
Despite being in one of the poorest sections of Managua, clean bedding is provided to the elderly residents of the Missionaries of Charity center.
The missionaries meet with the Archbishop of Leon, Cesar Bosco Vivas Robelo.
15-year old orphan, Laura, sits on her bed which is adjacent to the Mother Superior, Maria Cristo.
An elderly man sheds tears of gratitude as he waits his turn.
A portrait of the longest resident of the Missionaries of Charity center in Managua.
Maruca Cardenal de Cordua places a tortilla and slices of bread on the food in the kitchen to be served to the hungry at the Missionaries of Charity community center in Managua.
An elderly man sits lonely in his chair.
A shirtless boy steps out to see how long the line ahead of him is.
Mother Superior and orphanage director, Maria Cristo. She is a woman of small stature but has a gentle yet commanding presence.
Elena Mercedes hand-washes the close for all 40 orphans at Jacinta y Francisco Orphanage.
Two boys wait outside the elderly home’s gates to be fed. The Hogar de Ancianos in Chinandega is an elderly home but feeds the hungry children in the area about once per month. When the food runs out, the gates are closed. The center cannot do this more often.
