Nicaragua: Expectations and Planning

Even though we arrived in Nicaragua yesterday, the real preparation and learning took place today and will continue these processes over the next few days as well.  We broke into our seperate groups and started to dig deeper to the resaons why we traveled so far to Nicaragua and what our expectations were.  Track 2 was a little different for a few reasons, but the main being we have been through the beginning process before and are taking our learning to another level.  By no means are we better or know more than the others, we are just at a different phase in the process.  We listed out what we wanted to accomplish for when we travel into these communities (La Prusia and El Tunel) and the methodology we would use to get these results.  As a group we want to continue our efforts to speak as much Spanish as possible even though not all of us are at the same level.  Another goal is to build individual relationships with the community memebers and get to know them on a much more personal level.

The afternoon consisted of both groups traveling to one of Nicaragua`s historical sites, "Coyotepe" which is an old military fort that was used during the early 1900s and eventually turned into a prison for political prisoners.  Coyotepe was controlled by a number of parties since the 1900s and released its final prisoners in 1983.  Since then the government has given Coyotepe to the Boy Scouts of Nicaragua, who have big plans to restore the fort into a museum so that the history is not forgotten.  We took a tour of the prison at Coyotepe, which just happens to be underground.  It was very dark and eerie walking through the old building but there is so much unknown histroy behind the building that is still unknown because official documents were never recorded.

Track 2 finished the day with a dramatization of what could potetnially happen when we make our first visit into the communities tomorrow.  There is a lot of work that needs to be done but we do not want to focus solely on work and lose sight of the people we are working with.  It will be our challange to successfully learn from the people as well as complete our projects at the same time.  We are fairly confident in our abilities and are eager to begin this journey over these next few days.  Track 1 ended the day with the background story of Alcanse Nicaragua (OI Staff of Nicaragua) and more discussion about what the future holds.  There is a lot of excitement to get started but still some anxiety for what the future holds.  Everyone seems eager to learn and willing to accept what the Alcanse staff throws their way.  The future is bright and we are all taking the first steps to a world without poverty.


Justin Wallace