“Love has hands to help others. It has feet to hasten to the poor and needy. It has ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of others. That is what love looks like…”
The ten students who attended the 2018 Nicaragua service trip along with faculty member Amy Omana and almuni Hillary Buzaid ‘10, kept this quote in mind. Alexander Luo ‘19, Brendan Omana ‘19, Clara Tomann ‘18, Gregory McKenna ‘19, Isabella Papov ‘18, Jami Procanick ‘19, Maddie Milazzo ‘19, Matthew Martin ‘19, Sherley Arias-Pimentel ‘19, and William Dowler ‘18 headed to Nicaragua during spring break to volunteer their time to the Fabretto organization for ten days.
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 hundreds of students have visited the country to share in Mrs. Omana’s commitment.
Fabretto “envisions a prosperous Nicaragua where all children and adolescents have meaningful opportunities to grow and learn, in communities that offer access to quality education, so that they may reach their full potential.” The Fabretto organization has been working for over 60 years with the people of Nicaragua. Today, the organization serves over 20,000 children and youths through work in seven Fabretto Education Centers and more than 440 local public schools where it hopes to provide hope and a better future to the children and youths in need.
The adventure for the students began with a tour of one of Nicaragua’s historic cities, Granada. They then headed to the city Esteli where they were based. There they worked with one
of the newest Fabretto centers in the nearby town of La Cruz. Their mission was to destroy the front entrance rock wall, level it to the ground, and then rebuild it using rocks and cement. La Cruz serves a marginalized community of Esteli – a community that is forced to live in and off the municipal garbage dump.
Canterbury volunteers were the first Fabretto group to work in La Cruz back in 2011.
“I am particularly proud of the Canterbury dedication to the children of La Cruz and our extended stay project,” said Mrs. Omana. “Over the last six years, the Canterbury groups have transformed this Fabretto Center into a beautiful, safe, inspiring space for the children of La Cruz.
“For the last 5 years, Canterbury volunteers have dedicated half of our resources to this community. We have dug out, planted, designed and maintained their vegetable gardens, built stone walls, a shade patio, hand washing stations, and a stunning entrance gate to the school. Seeing the transformation of the La Cruz site over the years is simply remarkable,” she added.
After Esteli, they headed into the northern mountains to visit the Fabretto centers in San Jose de Cusmapa, Quebrada Honda, and outlying communities. There the students learned the history of the Fabretto family as told by those who knew and were educated and cared for by Padre Fabretto.
Many of the staff at these centers were former “Fabretto kids”. They remained in Cusmapa and worked at the Fabretto centers in San Jose de Cusmapa, where they spent their time digging out the ground for an irrigation system to be used for their new green house. When they’re not working, they get to know, and play with, the local children.
The following excerpts are from interviews with the students.
What is your perception of Nicaragua?
Bella: “This is my second time going and my perception of Nicaragua is that it is a place people ought to visit. I want to share the country with as many people as I can, so that they can understand how I feel, but at the same time, I want to allow its natural environment and purity to continue without tourists or industrialized nations influence.”
Greg: “I had heard a lot about Nicaragua from people who went before me, so I was not surprised by the vast economic inequality, open homes, friendly people, and immense natural beauty I encountered.”
Maddie: “I only knew a few things about Nicaragua, such as their native language is Spanish, it was right near Costa Rica, and that it was ‘supposably’ a very dangerous country.”
Brendan: “Having gone to Nicaragua a few times before, I had an idea of what to expect. However, my memories were a bit foggy from five years ago, and I didn’t necessarily have such a mature image of Nicaragua in my mind.”
Alex: “All I had heard about Nicaragua was that it was a country of extreme beauty and extreme poverty.”
What do you expect to be your biggest challenge?
Clara: “Going in, I imagined that my biggest challenge would be not “burning out,” mentally or physically. I was worried I would want to come home to the luxuries I take for granted such as a long hot shower, my phone, and a cabinet of snacks. I was worried I would get physically tired throughout the trip as well.”
Bella: “I expected my biggest challenge would be to be able to let go of my life and stressors from home. Nicaragua is such stunning place and it is hard to embrace the experience and moments without constantly comparing it to home and your daily life. Although this is very important later on, I think it is essential to be able to live in the moment and reflect later on how different Nicaraguan life is than in the United States.”
Greg: “Even though I have taken Spanish for almost three years now, my biggest fear was probably facing a situation in which a native speaker would try to instruct me to do something, but I would be unable to understand and make him/her frustrated.”
Jami: “I expected my biggest challenge to be being away from my family in a different country for so long.”
Sherley: “Not helping other people with Spanish. Mrs. Omana says that they need to figure it out, as it is part of their experience.”
Brendan: “I expected the biggest challenge to be opening my mind on the trip and letting it be a new experience, and not comparing it to the other trips from years ago.”
Alex: “I expected my biggest challenge to be the language barrier. Since I do not speak any Spanish, I was walking into a country where I was literally deaf and illiterate. ”
What do you expect to impact you the most?
Greg: “I expected my interactions with the people I met to be the most impactful part, and from Octavio to the malnourished but vibrant kids of Estelí like Ezekiel, that prediction certainly came to fruition.”
Maddie: “I love kids! I expected the kids to be the biggest impact about the trip. ”
Matt: “My expectation was that the work was going to be the most humbling part and the part that would teach me the most during the trip. I did not have a lot of an idea of the work we would be doing but I thought that would affect me the most.”
Alex: “I expected the people I would meet and the sights I would see to impact me the most. ”
What is your perception of Nicaragua now?
Clara: “Now, Nicaragua is not just a place on the map that Canterbury runs service trips to. I was able to experience a country of innovative people, breathtaking landscapes, and intriguing history.”
Bella: “Nicaragua is still a pure and amazing place, but there are large discrepancies in its beauty and lifestyle. Although the landscapes are stunning and people seem to be overall happier, there are still so many corruptions in their country including their government, poverty, and malnutrition rates. ”
Greg: “One thing that did surprise me was how invested the nation seemed to be in politics. It was really cool to see neighborhoods participate through art. The telephone poles painted in Sandinista red and black or the Conservative blue and white, as well as the wall murals of national heroes like Cesar Augusto Sandino, were really authentic and fun to look for while driving in the van.”
Maddie: “In Nicaragua, I saw the kindest of hearts. My perception of Nicaragua is now that it’s not dangerous, but loving and giving.”
Jami: “It’s an incredible, spiritual place full of the most pure people I’ve met in my life. The joy that is in these people is the most amazing thing considering the circumstances.”
Sherley: “Nicaragua is a place of love and self-discovery. This trip allowed me to gain new insight into what really makes me happy. I returned home with more clarity about my passions and which paths I want to pursue. With its hands full of such history, it took a part of me.”
Matt: “I see Nicaragua as a second home to me, and as a place of happy simplicity. A large number of people there were so happy irrespective of their impoverished state and that’s what made me love it more: the happiness.”
Brendan: “Nicaragua is a beautiful country with beautiful people. I believe that the U.S. could take a couple of pointers from Nicaragua’s amiability and hospitality. Oftentimes Americans are dismissive of strangers or foreigners, but in Nicaragua we were welcomed as family.”
Alex: “There are the most amazing sunsets and the most amazing people. Everyone is able to find happiness in whatever they have, despite what we might consider a lack of necessities. ”
What was your biggest challenge?
Clara: “My biggest challenge was also what impacted me the most. During one of our car rides, I was thinking about the people we passed on the street. I started to reflect on the fact that I may only be in someone’s life for three seconds in the midst of, say, their 80 year life. I realized that I should make those seconds count, if possible. It was challenging to accept that sometimes three seconds is all it is, and it was hard to understand that people have long lives filled with their own experiences that occur simultaneously with my own, yet so far removed.”
Bella: “The biggest challenge for me was not comparing this experience to my experience last year. It was hard to be back in the same places that I had such amazing experiences in a year before and not constantly remembering how I felt, what happened, or how something affected me personally a year before. I struggled living in the moment and not analyzing what we were doing.”
Maddie: “The work was my biggest challenge because I didn’t think that it would be that draining. I was SOOO TIRED.”
Jami: The biggest challenge was putting myself in situations I may have been uncomfortable with, however I accomplished a lot of things because my group helped me get there.”
Matt: “My biggest challenge was saying goodbye to people knowing that it was unlikely that I would see anyone I met again. The relationships I built were so strong for the short time with the people around me that it was hard to accept saying goodbye.”
Brendan: “My biggest challenge was getting past the mental roadblock that was shoveling rocks all day! Never had I done such a monotonous task, and although I knew that it was for a great cause, it was still frustrating at times when the rocks just did not want to be shoveled.”
What impacted you the most?
Bella: “I think the genuine happiness of the Nicaraguan people impacted me the most on this trip. Although people are living in poverty and working long days in awful conditions, and barely supporting their families, everyone seems to be happy and willing to share their story with you. Whenever you smiled at someone, they immediately smiled back. This is not something that happens in America. People valued what they had and found ways to love their lives rather than looking for ways to constantly ‘upgrade’ or make their lives more stressful.”
Greg: Watching my fellow friends and volunteers work along with me and interact with the kids was very inspiring and helped me grow closer with each person on the trip.”
Maddie: “The communities we stayed and worked in impacted me the most. I learned a lot about being happy and making yourself happy based on you and not what you have.”
Jami: “The kids. They inhabit so much joy in their hearts despite where they were. They were so happy to be in school, just the simple things they had made them so happy.
Sherley: “The smiles of the children. Abel Mendez’s smile will forever be imprinted in my memory and my heart. After only a few hours of knowing and interacting with Abel, I was able to get a small glimpse into his life. Every time I think about Nicaragua, I will imagine Abel.”
Matt: “I will never forget the kids that I met and their energy. I learned so much more about my Spanish and how to speak better, as well as the importance of positivity. The energy the kids had fed into me and brought more effort and happiness out of me.”
Brendan: “What impacted me the most was the newfound love I found for the country. I did not appreciate previously the natural beauty Nicaragua and the friendly nature of its people. I’m very glad that I was able to go when I was older in order to better experience all of Nicaragua.”
Alex: “We saw kids who literally looked half their age because of lack of nutrition. Seeing malnutrition in a person really brings to your attention that there are people out there who don’t get enough food, and it’s scary. ”
Click to go to Nicaragua 2018 Flickr
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