Nicaragua

UCDVO began its first project in Nicaragua in 2007 in the village of San Isabel near the town of Somoto in northern Nicaragua. Locals identified the need for a Health Centre and the supply of water as their chief needs. In partnership with SILIAS the governmental health organisation UCDVO volunteers and locals built the health centre and paid for the drilling and supply of water to the village. In 2008 volunteers built another Health Centre in El Kairo. See where we work:

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Construction: since 2007, volunteers have completed the construction of two health-centres, an extension to an Agricutlural Training college, a basketball court, a chicken-coop, a tree house, and most recently  a school in the community of San Jose del Palmira. Volunteers have also worked with the local community in building stoves which are more fuel-efficient and also channel smoke out of the house via a chimney, therefore improving health of inhabitants.

Education: volunteers carry out education programmes with children at Los Quinchos after-school centre. Activities include arts and crafts, English literacy, music, dance and games. Volunteers have also painted map of the world murals on the walls of this centre and enhanced the learning environment for the children attending.

After a long journey and a few mad airport dashes we eventually arrived in Managua late on June 26. Travelling from the airport it became clear that we were far from home as children came begging at the window of our van whenever it stopped. Finally we reached our base in Somoto at around 3am and set about installing our mosquito nets, which I found a most welcome experience at that time of the morning! Our first weekend in Nicaragua saw us acclimatising to our new environment while also visiting the various projects UCDVO has played a part in creating in the locality. The first stops on our itinerary were the health centres in Santa Isabel and El Kairo and I marvelled at how the 07 and 08 groups worked in such intense heat. We also visited a house where a new and improved stove had been installed the previous year and were assured that it had improved the lives of the inhabitants considerably. Later in the weekend we were given a demonstration in the making of wire frames and chimneys for the stoves. We also caught a first glimpse of Los Quinchos while some in the group offered their expertise in English classes at the local university while also picking up the odd word of Spanish along the way!

The following Monday morning the group reported for work at Los Quinchos. One group worked on arts and crafts and played games and music with the children. Others began the unenviable task of digging a trench for the sewer connection while the remainder set to work on building a solid foundation for the basketball court. After much digging, picking and lifting we were ready to begin the second stage of laying a metal grid over the court area. We had great fun as we tightened (and sometimes retightened!) countless wires on the grid to keep all the re-bar together. Eventually with the grid in place we could get down and dirty with the laying of concrete. All hands were on deck during three days of intense mixing, shovelling, carrying, throwing and smoothing of the grey substance – but the satisfaction of seeing the completed court surface at the end of our second week was hard to describe in spite of our aching limbs. Meanwhile those working on the trench had made great progress in spite of some very testing conditions and piping was already in place at the end of our second week. After a great fortnight of work the group headed south for a well earned break in the resort town of Granada, the highlight of which was the night tour of the volcano at Masaya.

Into our second fortnight and it was clear that a real bond was forming between not just the group, but also between the group and the children of Los Quinchos. The children were really responding to our efforts with them in games such as “Duck, Duck, Goose” and musical chairs and in creating different arts and crafts each day, while also picking up the odd word of English from us. The newly laid surface for the basketball court finally gave the children a safe place to play in, and we all enjoyed our hard fought and sometimes chaotic games of soccer with them!

Our final week in Nicaragua saw us putting the finishing touches to all of our various projects. Stoves and chimneys were made and installed in local houses. Manholes were built for the sewer and the toilets were redecorated and flushed without major incident which was a huge relief! With the help of the children the world map was completed and soon the children and adults were asking us about various places around the globe. Basketball hoops and nets were installed on the court and soon the children were running rings around us tired souls shooting baskets from all angles. Meanwhile thanks to the dedication of some seriously determined souls, who, on some occasions worked late by torchlight, the tree house with a tyre swing to match was finally completed. Our final two days of the project in Nicaragua were a celebration of all that we had achieved during the previous month. We held a sports day with the children on Friday while on Saturday, a ceremony was held to thank us for our work. Despite the language barrier the sincerity of the speeches by those in charge of the centre left us in no doubt that our work was very much appreciated. Every member of the group was presented with a traditional Nicaraguan shirt by Luis, our builder, while the children had also created a small gift for all of us which touched us deeply and is something we will all treasure forever.

I will also treasure the memories of the month I spent working and getting to know a great bunch of people not just on site but also during our fancy dress and prom nights, trips together and also of course games of “Mafia”. It was a huge privilege for me to be afforded the opportunity to make a real impact on the lives of less fortunate, but very special people. I think the emotions on both sides as we left Los Quinchos for the last time was perhaps a sign that we had made a real difference. The relationship between Los Quinchos and UCDVO has now been firmly established and it is very important that the 2010 group go on to strengthen this bond. Finally I cannot forget to mention the contribution of Matt Lyttle, his wife Jess and Matt Keenan, the three US Peace Corps volunteers, whose hard work helped UCDVO’s projects run so smoothly over the past two years but whose stints in Nicaragua will have ended by the time UCDVO returns in 2010. We wish them and of course Astro the dog, the very best of luck as they return to the USA.

Shane O’ Byrne returned to Nicaragua as a Student Leader in 2010 and graduated with a Degree in Actuarial and Financial Studies in the same year.