Health Promoters and The Dump

Our second full day in Nicaragua was jam packed with amazing things. I felt a myriad of emotions today ranging from rage to complete sadness to absolute amazement. Today was the first time I cried in this country from sheer heartbreak.

This morning we had a talk about Neoliberalism and basically went over everything I've ever learned in every course of Economics I've taken at TCNJ. As an Poli Sci/Econ major, its a high number. Before we started our day, my room of AshleyR, Se, Narolyn and I had a really great discussion that ended up being an intro to our group discussion. We talked about US farm subsidies and letting the market control itself and then we all used the same examples in our Witness for Peace group talk.

After our first talk, we went to a community set up by the lagoon that provides Managua with all of its drinking water. Because most of the people do not have original deeds to that particular property, the water company has been trying to kick the people out of the community. Ironically that same water company also sends a bill to each of the houses for turning on the water for a few hours at night with the smallest amount of pressure. The community had to install their own pipes and when the water company found out they turned it off until they reached an agreement to pay. A similar struggle happened in order to get electricity for the town. The woman we met with today, Maria, plays an active part in the community and fought with these companies to get basics for her neighbors, family, and friends. I never expected to see that sense of community here. They watch out for each other, ensure people are not destroying the environment around the lagoon or contaminating it. More importantly than her activism in getting the community electricity and water, she is a health promoter and acts almost as a full functioning nurse for her community. She runs a clinic out of her house and gives out treatments including nebulizers, injections, taking blood pressure and more. Once a week she goes for classes and there's one day she is officially open, but in her words they are always open. It was amazing the way she took initiative to bethis in and for her community. The whole program is funded by a canadian group of health workers. In addition to running a health clinic out of her own house, she also runs a sort of day camp program out of her house for the children of the community. The children take painting class and create things. It keeps them busy and away from the streets she says. What she does has created a larger sense of community. She is a powerful and incredibly inspiring.

That afternoon I met one of the most amazing women of my life. I will never forget her or her story. I cried for the struggles she had to endure and for the strength she possesses. She spent years living off the dump trying to do anything and everything to avoid having to go back but with a child and hunger, she did what she had to do. She later became extraordinarily active in her community and as she said little by little she rose up and now has her own house, works in a free trade zone, and organizes the youth of the community in soccer games and other things for the youth. She works with children to allow them to take pictures of their community and like Maria also works with people who have symptoms of malaria. She goes as far to go to peoples houses to ensure they continue their treatments.

I cried as she told us how she had to cook rice that had gotten pesticides in it and gasoline dumped on it. As the words we were hungry and we could taste that though it had been thoroughly washed it still tasted bitter and that even the animals didnt want to eat this rice came out of her mouth I could not control the emotions that were running through me. She said people tell me they do not have my strength and I tell them we all have strength; we are strong when we need to be. Before today, I never knew of her existence and after this afternoon, I'll never in my life forget her.