Mrs. Omana has had a close, personal connection with Nicaragua for over 25 years. Her connection has grown to become Canterbury’s connection, as over the years dozens of students have visited the country to share in Mrs. Omana’s commitment. Below is her story of that association.
“When I graduated from Georgetown University in 1990, I joined GU [Georgetown University] Volunteers in Latin America, a one-year social justice service corps run by the Jesuits. A week after graduation, I moved to Managua, Nicaragua’s capital, with nine other volunteers. Boy, was I unprepared! Particularly unprepared because Nicaragua was in the midst of a civil war. Two months prior to our arrival, the newly elected democratic president, Violeta Chamorro, had taken office and was in the process of radically dismantling the Sandinista government. One of her new governing policies was the repatriation of the Contra rebel group, which as you can imagine was NOT popular among those Nicaraguans who identified with the Sandinista party. So, they took to the streets.
“Nicaragua was a complete mess in 1990. The military was turning over with practically no civilian infrastructure to speak of. The political climate was fractured, hostile, and violent. And the economy was in a rapid downward spiral. I remember the inflation rate reaching 3000% while I was there. So it was hard to really settle in Managua after we arrived. Most of Managua was either on strike or burning tires in the streets. It was pure chaos. So living there was not ideal and I looked for ANY opportunity to get out of the city.
“This is how I got involved with the people of Fabretto. Father Fabretto had passed away unexpectedly of a heart attack just three months earlier on March 22, 1990. Two Georgetown volunteers from the previous year had been placed with Father and were working with him when he died. Although most of the previous volunteers had already left Nicaragua by the time my group arrived in June, Kevin Marinacci, one of the two who worked with Father Fabretto, stayed on to help keep the organization going.
“Kevin continued living in the volunteer house in Managua and I began going out with him on Fabretto work, particularly up north to Somoto, about a four or five hour drive where there was a Fabretto home for girls. Kevin and I would bring up food and basic supplies once a week. I would stay over in the oratorio with the girls so the regular staff could have a day off.
“The situation at the centers up north became so desperate that we eventually spent most of the week distributing food and supplies to all the centers. We’d come back to Managua at the end of the week to just go to the market and restock the truck so we could do it all over again. In those days, the northern regions were pretty remote and cut off from the rest of the country. But I loved being up north. I felt useful and settled, even though I hardly ever slept in the same place more than two or three nights in a row.
“When I left in 1991 to come back to the states, I knew I’d be back in Nicaragua at some point. Then in 2004, the family of Sarah Manley, a Georgetown volunteer who was killed in the 9/11 attacks, helped the Fabretto organization build a large, permanent volunteer house in Cusmapa to accommodate visitors and groups. Once it was completed, I asked Kevin if I could bring down a group of Canterbury students over March break. Canterbury was the first high school group to work with Fabretto. That was back in 2005. We were only the second or third group to ever stay in Cusmapa. We’ve occupied that volunteer house the third week in March for the past 12 years. It’s easily the highlight of my year.
“I returned to Nicaragua for the first time in 2005 on the 15th anniversary of Father Fabretto’s death. That first year, I think I brought 12 volunteers with me. So much had changed in those 15 years – except for Kevin, who was still there working hard to honor and grow Father Fabretto’s legacy and institutional work. And he’s still there, 28 years later.
“My favorite part of the trip every year is introducing Canterbury students to the beautiful people and landscape of Nicaragua. I’d have to say that, for me personally, my favorite part of the trip is always the final approach up the mountain toward Honduras to Cusmapa. It’s the most beautiful part of Nicaragua, in my opinion. I get emotional every time. I am overwhelmed with a sense of coming home and my soul settles in. I think most Canterbury kids who come to Nicaragua start from a place of curiosity and wanting an adventure. Some are looking for something to write about on college applications. But ultimately, I think each one is responding in some way to a call to serve and an inner yearning or restlessness to live out their faith in a comfortable and familiar group. My main role on this trip is merely to facilitate the logistics. The volunteers take on the actual physical work of the project themselves. The rest of the experience I leave to God and Father Fabretto’s spirit. They are ultimately the ones in charge.
“My hope for each Canterbury volunteer is that they gain a sense of purpose and realization that they can be agents of justice and change. I know our students have the character and conviction to bear this out, but they’ve rarely had the opportunity to engage so completely. The Nicaragua experience is intense for many, but at the same time, it’s like watching a fish take to water. I am constantly amazed by how easily and willingly they take to the physical, emotional, and spiritual demands placed on them.
“They are all challenged by the unbearable poverty and injustice they experience while there, but they also learn how to serve lovingly and celebrate the dignity and worthiness of Nicaragua’s poor and marginalized people. They learn a lot about solidarity. Ultimately, my hope for our volunteers is that they leave wanting to go back – eager to do more and grateful to God for the courage and resources to do it.”
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