Nicaragua: Day 7, and Day 8: last two days at the school

Day 7:

                Today was a once in a lifetime experience for me. I spent my morning doing physical therapy home visits with Carmen Margarita and Jenna. We went to a total of 7 houses, but only 3 of them were home. The first house that was home was a really nice house compared to the houses we’ve seen so far. The little boy’s name was Andy and he was 3 ½ and he had Cerebral Palsy. I wasn’t worried at all about this child’s living conditions or anything because around town they call his house the “dream house”, he seemed happy and also he was well fed and nourished.
                The next house we visited was the exact opposite of Andy’s. The little girl’s name was Marisol, and when we walked into the path to their house, her mom told me that the outhouse-looking shack in the corner of their yard is their old house, and then we walked into the new one. The mom had 3 children, and herself to take care of. Her youngest daughter, Marisol, was the skinniest girl I have ever seen in my life. She was three and a half (same age as Andy) and she was literally skin and bones. My thumb was the size of her wrist, and if you put a wedding ring on her wrist, it could slide to her elbow with ease. Imagine how tiny this child was. I felt like if I touched her, I could break her. Her mother told us they couldn’t afford any food for their family, and yet the sister and mother were in perfect condition and a little overweight. I could tell the mother really wanted to help Marisol, but also felt like there were better ways she could have.
                The last house we visited had a one year old daughter, Alexandra, who was diagnosed with a tumor in her lower back. When she had it removed when she was a baby, it resulted in her loss of use of her legs. She was paralyzed from the waist down. She was so cute, and she was only one year old. She looked healthy and fed well. Their family had a dad, uncle, mom, sister, and grandfather and they were all healthy looking and happy. Their living conditions weren’t as nice… they lived in a dirty shack where everything seemed gross and unsanitary. I found out the mother had HIV and they were yet to know if Alexandra has it.
                Tomorrow is our last day at the school… I really, really hope that all those families will come to the going away party at the school tomorrow and I really hope to see them there.

Day 8:

                I have never felt so attached to 84 children in my life. I was completely surprised about the bond I had built with these children over a course of 7 days. Saying goodbye was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my entire life, and the worst part is I think some of the children still think we will see them on Monday.
                We spent the morning getting all the things ready for the fiesta we were throwing the children when they had lunch. They ate lunch at 10 in the morning (because most of the children do not eat breakfast, so it’s almost like a brunch for the students), so we had to set everything up before then. We were handing out donated clothes (thank you!!) to the students all morning and it was so cute to have them be so proud of something we don’t really give much attention to. When we showed up this morning we saw Ramon wearing the shirt we gave him yesterday, and it was the cutest thing in the entire world.
                When the fiesta started we had the children all eat, then we all walked outside to start the piñata. Kevin and I handed out cookies, sweets, fruits, candies, etc. to all the students and teachers prior to hitting both the piñatas. I was so so so so so happy when I saw Marisol and her mother show up to the party and I gave them some clothes, food, and candy. I hope they enjoyed it. Once all the children had their food and desserts, the piñata started. The second it broke, the children went insane. I have never seen kids wanting candy as much as they did. It was cute, but also a little scary and different.
                After the piñatas were broken, everyone had their clothes, everyone had food and desserts, and everyone was happy the presents were given to us. Students had made us bags and given us presents inside of them. I was given a small handmade jewlrey box, and a necklace hanger (it looked like a miniature coat hanger). I started crying when I hugged the little boy that gave it to me, well... until he bit my ear in front of everyone... I still loved him though. Everyone was given presents and gifts and then we said our goodbyes. I love these children so much and they will always forever have a place in my heart. 

 If home is where the heart is, Escuela Especial por Maria Romero is my home. 

Nicaragua: Day 5, and Day 6

Day 5:

Let me just say, it's the fifth day and I love it here. I had the privilege today to work in the classroom for the students who were deaf and it was so much fun! I felt like I learned so much along with helping the students a lot as well. I first walked into the room with Kristal (the translator who helped me) and all the students started signing to me. I just could catch a few words, like "nombre", and "tu" so I filled in the blanks and I spelled out my name along with my sign name. They were so sweet and the teacher had Kristal and I do a separate sign language lesson in front of the class, while they worked on their homework assignment. It was insanely fun because everyone was so helpful to me, and I made a whole new group of friends I honestly never thought I would have as friends. Even though there is a language barrier, these children are so sweet and surprisingly don't become frustrated when I watch them sign and seriously have no clue what they just asked me; they write it down on my hand so I'll be able to learn new signs.

At dinner, Kevin and Maddie told me about their home visits they made that night, and it took my whole energy to hold back my tears. They visited with social services and they told me about one house they went into where their child that had special needs was locked in a dark closet with just a paper bag to entertain herself with, she was malnourished, and had seizures all the time. The girl's step-father that was in charge of her, only kept her alive so he could get the $30 a month the government gave him to help her. None of that money was given to her what so ever, just used for the rest of the family that she lived with. Hearing this made my heart sink. I seriously felt like my whole life was in a bubble until now. I am so appreciative about this trip because it has opened my eyes to a world I didn't even know existed.


Day 6:
Today I started out working in the classroom for students in the first and second grade. Some of the students that showed up that day were the kindest souls you'll ever meet. Sulema, Astrid, Wilbur, Maria Jose, Christopher, and Julio. Sulema I already knew from before, and reading Lisa-Marie's blog about her last year made me already love her before I even knew her. Sulema would call me "mama" all the time and it made me feel so loved. The way she said it, the way she looked in my eyes, everything about her I fell in love with. Another highlight of my day today was seeing how excited the children become when you pull out a camera. I would let them take a picture of something, and I was so surprised how professional the photos the children took were.
At lunch/recess the children that were deaf would take me around the school and like try to have conversations with me. They told me all about themselves, and by the end of 20 minutes, I knew about 20 more words and signs and had tons of words written on my hands. Today I almost didn't wash my hands because I thought all the words on my hands showed how much those children mean to me.
After lunch, I worked in the classroom for children in the 3rd and 4th grade. The teacher, Nora, in charge desperately needed help. Each student in her classroom needed one-on-one help, and there was about 10 of them, and one of her. I started working with student by student one-on-one and they learned so fast and so much. I taught each child the numbers 1-10. I was so surprised on from going from not knowing the majority of the numbers to knowing the numbers in less than an hour. They are so comprehensive and intellectual it blew me away. The smiles on their faces after they would get a number right were so precious I swear to god I was so proud of them I felt like I was their mother on the first day of school.
I am cherishing every single moment I have at the school because we don't have a lot of time left there. We only have tomorrow, and Friday at the school. I wish I could just move here forever, get a teaching degree, and work here. (That doesn't sound like a bad idea...)

Love you all!!
-Makena

Nicaragua: Day 3 and Day 4

Day 3

Today we took the donations that were given to us further in the year, and we organized them into tons of piles to take to the children. We sorted through clothing, food, medical supplies, school supplies, etc. While Kevin, Maddie and I were doing that, Meaghan and Douglas went to the market to buy extra food and supplies we could give to the children individually to take home to their families. We packed 90 separate bags individually with oils, soaps, a scrubber, pasta, rice, beans, a toothbrush, toothpaste, fluoride strips, floss, diapers, etc. We had them all in super colorful bags to give to the students on Monday (tomorrow). I’m so excited to see their reaction to having new food and items at home.

Day 4

Today was literally one of the most exciting days in my life. It was Monday, so we went to Escuela Especial today to see the children. The entire ride there I was so nervous, excited, happy, scared, SO many different emotions ran through me I couldn’t even handle it. We packed the 90 different bags into the taxis and when school was out at noon, we would pass them out to the students.

When we got there, I was assigned the room that I cleaned a few days before: the pre-school room. I was really excited! I walked right in with one of the translators, Kristal, and the first thing I saw was one student, Tatiana turn around and give me a smile that lit up the entire room. I worked with them and at first kinda felt intrusive and really different, but when the teacher, Marta, had the kids sit on the floor and pass a basketball to one another it was like I was home. Everyone was happy, and every person in the room was smiling. I rolled the ball to a lot of students, some of them unable to hold/ grasp the ball so they just smiled and laughed while the ball rolled on their lap.

When it was lunchtime, we watched the children eat. Most of them are not properly fed at home, and so when the school provides them lunches it is a big deal for them, the teachers and us.

After lunch Kristal and I walked to the room for the deaf and it was full of gorgeous young girls staring at us. We sat right down and saw the activity they were doing: they were making jewelry to sell to buy things they could use at school. They first started signing sign language towards me asking me if I spoke sign language. I just responded with the sign for "a little bit". The were so interested in my hair color (they were positive that it was fake and dyed, they're not used to seeing natural blondes) and they were asking my name. In sign language, it's really hard to always sign someone's name by spelling it out, so they make a new sign for you using the first letter of your name in sign language. After a while of deciding, they decided my new sign for my name where they would take their first 3 fingers (an M in sign language) and touch each side of their mouth because it symbolizes my dimples. Every person has their own sign language name and it is something characteristic about it. I think that was so much fun to witness and be part of. 

At the end of the school day (noon) the children were so excited when we handed out their bags to them. They lit up and their faces were so pure and kind I couldn't even believe it was real.

After school was over, Douglas, Jenna and I all traveled to the Social Services building in Rivas, to go to the homes of former students, and hopefully future students to persuade them to bring their child to Escuela Especial. We went to two houses today, and at the first house it was just one big room that 22 people have to sleep in. Grandmas, children, babies, parents, grandchildren, etc. So many people in one house I could just not even believe it. They slept on chairs, floors, beds, everywhere they could find. There were 3 children there that had special needs. There was one child, Alexis, who was two years old and blind. There were 2 more children who both were brothers with the same dad, and they both were mentally ill. One of them was Luis Pablo who was 13 and had aggressive problems. His brother, Nicky, was 17 and had attended Escuela Especial for 2 years until he was too old.
The second house we visited was a little different. There were two children with special needs here, Franklin and Enclara. Franklin was 15 and Enclara was 12. They both sat in cribs their whole entire lives, since when they first could have gotten help, the living conditions were so poor the physical therapist couldn't be able to help them. We did not see them because they were not there when we were, but we heard about them from their older brother who was at home when we visited. Franklin and Enclara were not taken care of when they were younger, to the point where now there is nothing we can do to help them. Their bones and limbs are so bent and cripples that even straightening their arms will break them. I wish there was more I could do for them. I really hope I can see them before the trip is over.

Thank you all so much for the support!
- Makena

Nicaragua: Day 1, and Day 2

Day 1:

                Today we landed in Nicaragua and were greeted by Lisa -Marie and a Mariachi Band. We took a van to the hotel about an hour away, and it was so much fun talking with everyone in the van. I saw so many stray dogs and cats on the streets at night, we had to stop a few times to make sure we wouldn't run them over. We were all so nervous and excited to meet the children that we were in the van just so excited because none of us can wait!  We finally got to Hotel Hamacas around 1 in the morning, when we unpacked our bags, got our supplies, and fell asleep.

                What I felt and saw in Nicaragua that really stood out to me is how kind and genourous everyone was. Meaghan said "Buenos noches" to the baggage handler and he replied with, "Usted es muy linda!" which means You are very pretty. EVERYONE I met today is so sweet. At first the people in Nicaragua just stare at you (it’s a little intimidating) but once you smile at them, they smile back so pure and kind. 

Day 2:

                Today we drove to Escuela Especial! The kids were not there today, because it was Saturday, and school starts on Monday and ends Friday. We went to the school and looked around for a little. It was so beautiful. The buildings were blue and white because every school in Nicaragua is blue and white because that is the flag’s colors. We walked into the main area and met all the teachers. They were so kind, because they devote their lives towards these children when they don’t get the love and support they need at home. You could tell how much the teachers cared about the students, because they would do their very best to make sure they felt loved and supported. When you walked in their rooms you could just see how much they cared, because they had homemade decorations, and supplies.

                We started off cleaning the school. Maddie and I were assigned the pre-school/lower school room to clean and we worked right away. We cleaned the bathroom, floors, chairs, wheelchairs, desks, we organized with Ms. Gutmann, and we mopped it all after. The chairs the children sat in were completely dirty and filthy. The wheelchairs had spiders crawling around them, and some trays they ate on had termites. While I was scrubbing down their chairs and toys I couldn’t wait to see the faces on these kids when they would come to school and get to sit in a clean chair, and eat off clean trays.

                When we finished cleaning the pre-school, Maddie and I cleaned the Physical Therapy room. The room had homemade stairs the children could walk up and down on to build leg muscle, there was tables they work on, and on the floor there were ABC mats the children would lay on, roll on, sit on, stand on, or do anything on. The mats were so filthy and dirty; they have never been washed before. We scrubbed and scrubbed until they were clean and looked almost brand new. This will help the kids in so many ways, because not only will the mats be clean and look better, but it will help not spread germs, and diseases the children may have. 
             
               I really am counting down the days until Monday, when we finally get to see the children and play and interact with them at school. I feel like Monday will be so much fun that I can barely wait to see what the children will do/ say/ act with us around.

-Makena

Nicaragua!

In December of 2012, my life changed forever, and the trip hasn't even started yet!

I am so excited to be going to Nicaragua to work in a school for children with special needs.

www.childrensglobalalliance.org

In 5 days I will be heading to the trip I've been waiting for since December! I've worked hard to be able to participate on this trip and I'm still counting down the days until I get to be able to go on the trip of a lifetime! I'm a little anxious and nervous for what I will be experiencing. I wonder what the children will say, if they'll like us.. etc. I have never been more excited for something in my life, and I can not wait until I get to go!

I've read the blogs from both the Cambodia trips and seen pictures and videos on Facebook, and everyday I wake up thinking about the children I will meet, I'm practicing my spanish, sign language, research on different disabilities, and even seeing Kevin, Meaghan, Maddie, and Douglas around town I just can't help but be so excited!