TANZANIA I Student Volunteer Blog Links

Tanzania Trip 1 Blogs 2014

AJ Davies - ajdaviestanzania.blogspot.com

Sophia Affleck - sophiaafflecktanzania.blogspot.com

Sawyer Nestlerode - sawyernestlerodecga.blogspot.com

Nicole Lasater - nicolecga.blogspot.com

Nikko Weiss - nikkoweiss.blogspot.com

Kevin Nichols - kevynichols.blogspot.com

Evan Wetzel - evanwetzel.blogspot.com

Tate Carlson - tatecarlson49.blogspot.com
Gitte LaWare - gitteintanzania.blogspot.com

Mallory Skidmore - malloryskidmoretanzania2014.blogspot.com

I'm thinking about you, Julissa...

As I prepare my morning coffee, scan my emails, and initiate "operation breakfast" for Axel, 23 year old Julissa remains present in my mind. What is she doing right now? Is she just waking on a dusty floor in a dark, humid closet? Is she still trying to fall asleep because she's alone and scared from the darkness?

When we visited Julissa's home two weeks ago, I immediately noticed her stepfather's bicycle carriage and the flashbacks began flooding my mind. The anger immediately started to transpire within me, for last year's visit was heartbreaking, seeing Julissa experience the worst possible living conditions known to the human soul.

I reminded both Harry and Morgan that they wouldn't like what they see, and my statement was proven as we stepped out of the car. Turning our gaze to the front door, we noticed a body being dragged across the dirt floor, as if it was pulled from wreckage, yet swiftly concealed from passersby. It was then that the nauseous feeling overpowered me, and I can feel it yet this morning-I sit here, holding my breath unintentionally because no human being, no matter their state, should be treated this way.

As we approached the entrance, each family member, one by one, came outside to greet us, including Julissa, who was hoisted into a plastic chair by her mama, but their smiles were conveniently masked by the mood, this feeling of hatred and disgust. Julissa lacked expression in her face, and her yellow-gray skin told the unspoken tale of abuse, of a life in the darkness, a life deemed inhumane.

Furious and sickened by her appearance, I immediately fired questions at Aleyda, our phenomenal you-don't-ever-want-to-mess-with-me translator, requesting honest answers from Julissa's parents: Is she eating? Is she ever outside? Why don't they send her to Escuela Especial? The product...excuses, excuses, excuses! Per her mama, "I don't know what she'd do all day, we don't have any diapers, we don't have access to transportation, etc." And you know what? Aleyda and I had an answer and solution for every question.

After providing Julissa with hugs, kisses and kind words, we encouraged the family to attend our Friday Function at the school, promising we'd send transportation and diapers. Mom informed us that she only drinks milk, and that any food would need to be processed, and I assured her we would figure it out. (I wasn't sure how, as a food processor was definitely not on the list of needed items at the school) I still hold this image in my head today...pressing my sweaty hands together at my heart, the tears streaming down my face, the desperation in my eyes, begging Julissa's mama to bring her out of her world of darkness, to the bright, loving faces of teachers at Escuela Especial, por favor, por favor...

The outcome? Julissa and her mama attended the function. My heart was full. And still is, knowing we gave her 2 hours of happiness, smiles, love and liquid broth full of nutrients. I love you, Julissa, and I think about you often, and I anticipate the day I will see you again.

Much love and gratitude...

Organized Chaos

"Organized chaos" is pretty much the perfect term to describe the past 24 hours.

I could've placed my Friday Fiesta grocery list here, and believe me, if you know me, I did start to jot everything down, but what's the point? (so I erased it all) What's more important is that I recognize Alex, our superhero taxi driver, because this man, a former Nicaraguan policeman, was literally a God-send, as he stood on the roof of the van loading bags of oil & milk, melons & pineapples, chicken legs, you name it, enough to feed 130 people. And upon arrival to Hotel Hamacas, our students, like well-oiled machines, unloaded without complaint, because they knew these precious items would serve the greater good the following day.

To the outsider, at Thursday evening's bag & clothing pack sessions, we must have appeared as worker ants, the kind you see here in Nicaragua carrying 100 times their weight, moving to and fro, designating outfits and goodie bags for students amidst the volcanic piles of beans, rice, soap, toothbrushes and and underwear. No matter what the opinion of the other occupants on the premises, we got the job done, and done well, and I must admit, we have a phenomenal assembly line team! (and "The Help") It was our longest day yet, and our student volunteers stuck it out to the end with smiles on their faces-granted, we were all a bit delirious, but this time allowed our sarcasm & fun personalities to shine. I am grateful for this group of student volunteers, as they each have something special to contribute on a daily basis, and we couldn't have done it without them.

I am incredibly proud of my 11 new children. They have surpassed our expectations and have been "good sports" through it all this week-the heat, the disheartening home visits, the bug bites, the sweltering cooking sessions, the emotional breakthroughs, and spending quality time with the students at Escuela Especial. So even in our organized chaos, our students have shown integrity, perseverance, love, and patience-I love them all.

Much love & gratitude...

Blog Links for our 2013 Student Volunteers

NICARAGUA

http://avanicaragua.blogspot.com/

http://maxbnicaragua.blogspot.com/

http://nicaragua13.blogspot.com/   Nathaniel

http://morgannicaragua2013.blogspot.com/

http://ajdaviesnicaragua.blogspot.com/

http://harrynicaragua.blogspot.com

http://nicaragua-sammiehaase.blogspot.com/

http://tyranicaragua.blogspot.com

Genawachendorfer.blogspot.com

http://ansleynicaragua.blogspot.com/

nicolecga.blogspot.com

Yes, they can!

As I sit here, 30 hours after landing in Nicaragua, my mind swirling with new knowledge and experiences, I am literally speechless. I have spent 100s of hours on the preparatory work leading up to our departure, and this is it, we are here, our student volunteers have been hard at work, and the love beams from the hearts of those special individuals at Escuela Especial.

My role with Children's Global Alliance is active and requires ample critical thinking, the ability to multi-task, and yes, the beauty of motherhood, even with its challenges. We have such a beautiful group of student volunteers, all contributing their special talents, yet all exhibiting areas for growth, which excites me, because it's what I'm passionate about-empowering students rather than enabling them. Strange as it sounds, I love this age group, I love what they have to offer the world, even with the typical adolescent quirks, and to witness them in action is truly a blessing. Our 11 student volunteers are making an impact, they are thinking critically and analyzing the world around them, they are making connections, physically and emotionally, and who would've thought? (besides us) They ARE capable of changing the world, making a difference in others' lives, and I'm so impressed with how they've stepped up to the plate. They, too, are empowered, a little more each day, from organizing our "family" dinners to making home visits with a social worker, where their emotions are rattled beyond one's wildest imagination. It's my job to know when to hold their hand and when to let them go, and when I say "let go," I simply mean "let them go out into the world and live up to their potential."

Okay, so I'm not speechless, but this short & sweet post was from my heart. I encourage you, yes you the reader, to do something extraordinary today, and again tomorrow, and continue this trend forever and always. Strive to be a better person than you were the day before. It's possible.

Much love & gratitude,
Jen

Sensibility

On Wednesday I had the pleasure of observing Daisy and Marino's classroom for the deaf students at Escuela Especial. What a world of difference recently departing from Senora Jenny's classroom of intriguing verbal outbursts and the need to guard the door on a minute-by-minute basis. The moment I entered the room, a deafening silence (no pun intended) encompassed me, a sense of peace and serenity. Picture 6 students dressed in clean, pressed blue and white uniforms, hair neatly slicked back or pulled back into Rapunzel-length ponytails, extremely attentive and optimistically overwhelmed with a passion for learning. 


The lesson on the whiteboard, likewise the only whiteboard in the school, listed terms such as lavadora, computadora, luz, dinero and agua. After learning and practicing the sign for each, students were asked to hold up one or two fingers, corresponding to yes and no, upon using their rationale for the posed questions. With exquisite facial expressions and intense emphasis behind the hand movements, I listened intently as the students communicated back and forth with Daisy and Marino, intermittently releasing delightful squeals and monosyllabic vowel sounds. If a student signed too quickly, Daisy immediately corrected them, typically with a hush of both hands as if she were a choir director. This classroom leaves no room for sloppiness, which is both refreshing and encouraging, for it reminds me of my own classroom environment. 


This particular classroom housed a variety of personalities, and were spitting images of my shy, eager, confident and humorous students back home in Colorado. (love you all!) For the most part they were very well behaved, but I could feel inevitable restlessness setting in when boys started pinching each other. However, as soon as I found myself taking note of observable behaviors, I quickly missed content of the lesson. Considering myself a veteran multi-tasker, this classroom forced my attentiveness, both visually and kinesthetically, and I struggled to keep up with the pace. Nonetheless, this experience sparked a curiosity within me, giving me the drive to learn something new. With drive I can thrive. 


The last morsel of content I need to share comes with frustration and anxiety, not because it revolves around the solar system lesson presented yesterday, but in the fact that no real teaching transpired from the lesson. With an outdated poster as reference, students were instructed to copy the spelling of each planet onto the whiteboard, one at a time--such a waste of time in my opinion, but who am I to judge? I know these middle school students are capable of so much more, and the plethora of resources I have back home could foster wonders here in Nicaragua, so my future involvement with Escuela Especial Sor Maria Romero remains auspicious. Much room for growth combined with eager Escuela Especial teachers truly invigorates my soul. 

Emotions Running Wild

How are YOU feeling today? Where do I even begin? As I hold fourteen pages of notes in my hands, my brain continues to swirl with the possible starting points for this new post. Yesterday I experienced almost every emotion you see on this mood poster, and saying that I'm mentally exhausted is truly an understatement. For the most part, I am angry and frustrated for the children, for their living conditions, for their meal portions, for the lack of love in some of their homes. My current headache effectively represents the unfathomable craziness I witnessed today. So I ask myself again, how am I really feeling? Words, literally, cannot express my feelings, so I will strive to do my best.

Needless to say I am beyond maddened by what I've witnessed! Below you can see Marisol, the first child on our home visits with the Ministerio de Familia (similar to social services) and Magali, the supervisor. Marisol is 2 years old and is seriously malnourished, and in all reality, the cause of her current state is exactly that, a severe lack of nutrients in her diet as the mother could not afford to purchase food or milk. When Judith, her young, healthy mother, articulated that Marisol's 4 year old sister Selena was just fine, I was curious to know how this heartbreaking situation came to be. I then asked how much governmental funding they receive per month, and when I found out they receive 40-50 dollars, I was appalled and could feel a burning transpire from within, radiating anger from my soul. This family is receiving money BECAUSE OF Marisol and she is bedridden here shaking, terrified, skin and bones! The funds are supposed to be used on behalf of this beautiful human, yet she lies exposed, trembling like an overturned ladybug. I was sick. (and still am)

Pictured below is Deanna Valentina, the second child we encountered during our emotional afternoon.  Deanna is 15 months old, severely malnourished, and has a pulmonary disease yet to be identified. Walking up to the crib, any outsider would mistake Deanna for a healthy child with her dreamy blue eyes and jet black, curly locks. But as we drew near, it was impossible to look beyond the frail limbs and blue fingers, toes, lips and nose. After interviewing Teresa Mendoza, her young mother, we learned that the doctor has discouraged physical therapy, stating that Deanna would not benefit from it. (I respectfully disagree!) I couldn't help but resist the need to hold her, smother her with a hug and many meaningful kisses, so I did. And I held her...held her so tight that I could feel her rapid heartbeat pulsating against mine, gazing into her eyes whispering, "Baby, baby, baby."I felt so helpless in that moment, feelings of resentment transpiring, both against the doctor and the situation in general, and then I handed her back to her grandma, quickly turning my head to discretely hide my tears. 

That human beings can live in conditions like the ones we discovered on our third home visit is baffling to me. I couldn’t help but gawk at the swarms of rusty cables and wires decorating the ceiling, the seemingly endless piles of filthy laundry, the dust-covered wheelchair smothered with cobwebs, or the food processor lined with moldy flesh-colored paste. A new, shiny tricycle and a man in sparkling white pants superficially masked the deteriorative state of this home. When we told Marvin, the father-in-law, we were there to see Julissa, he proceeded to reveal one of the most horrifying circumstances I have ever seen. With a smile he replied, “Si, si!” Marvin then grabbed the door handle on his left, pushed it open, flipped on the light, and said, “Aqui.” At that moment in time I stopped breathing and succumbed to incredible anger and hate. (insert anxiety, awe, vomit, and tears here) Lying on the floor in the dark with a bright pink, shredded plastic bag was a human being, a 22-year-old girl named Julissa. Wearing only a sea foam tank and a pillowcase functioning as a diaper, here lay another beautiful girl, kept alive to bring in the money. She remains here, on the floor every day, having sporadic Gran Mal seizures like the one we observed today. I used every last bit of integrity and tolerance to hold myself back from strangling her mother, Gesenia, who arrived in minutes with the 10-year-old brother Darwin. Julissa was born with lesions on her brain and lived with her grandma up until 7 years ago; unfortunately, the grandma passed away. While conversing with the family, who by the way stood in front of Julissa’s doorway appearing embarrassed, Julissa proceeded to smile, yelp, and completely turn herself around, thus slamming her head into the concrete, all the while shredding a plastic bag. Gesenia continues to refuse physical therapy for her, and has for the past 7 years. What does she have to lose? God forbid her daughter's health improve and she might have to be more attentive? To think that they are keeping her alive, in a dark closet, just to secure forty dollars a month? For what? Sparkling clean clothes and dinners out on the town? Julissa’s family is living “the life” while minimally keeping her alive. Who determines when their funding should be cut? Are they really following the rules? I am angry, I am sickened, and I am distressed to say the least. 

God bless you, Julissa, Deanna and Marisol. You will forever hold a special place in my heart, and I pray I have the opportunity to see you again. xoxo