El Puesto de Salud - El Kairo

As you’ve been hearing over the past two months, virtually all of my work-time during the month of July was devoted to working with a group of Irish volunteers from the University College of Dublin (www.ucdvo.org). Spending time with this group was one of the most enriching experiences of my Peace Corps service so far for several reasons:
1. I met a lot of great Somoteñans who helped me connect to the true pulse of Somoto. I know now where to go to rent a bus, get a good take out meal, and buy 30 bags of cement at discount prices.
2. I met a lot of great Irish folk who were able to accomplish an enormous task in only 6 weeks. Let’s just say it was nice to work at a faster pace than “Nica-time.”
3. I was able to help in a way that only a Peace Corps volunteer could and in a way that I believe can really help the developing world.

To expand on the third point, the project really needed someone who could translate for the group, but also had knowledge of the area and the various institutions involved. They also needed someone who could step outside of regular responsibilities and devote a significant amount of time to the project before, during, and after the actual construction. Luckily, as a Peace Corps volunteer, my role with the Health Department allowed me to do exactly that, and still stay inside my normal job description.

Secondly, we talk a lot in Peace Corps about sustainable development, which means that the projects we start should be sustainable long after we’re gone. In order to have sustainable development, you have to have community engagement to keep up interest in a project. You also need to have committed volunteers or contributors that can take over a managing kind of role when the program reaches a certain stage of stability. Lastly, most importantly, and perhaps sadly, there needs to be a steady stream of funds to maintain the financial costs and obligations of a project. Step 1 and 2 are fairly easy to accomplish, as long as the project really is for the benefit of the community. However, that last step really is a doozy. If long term funding can’t be guaranteed, the community incentive to even start a project is almost zero, and for good reason.

The volunteers from UCDVO take the time to research a community and it’s needs before committing to a project, but once it’s assured that a real benefit can be provided, they come in and take care of step 3. In this case, the real expense of a health center is the construction and medical equipment. If the Health Department can manage paying for qualified staff (1 nurse 5 days a week and 1 doctor 2 days a week) and building maintenance, then you’ve got yourself a sustainable project!

OK, well, if this kind of boring stuff interests anyone out there, let us know and we’ll write a little more about the theory behind being a Peace Corps volunteer. Until then, take a look at these pictures that show the progression of the project, and finally the inauguration ceremony on Thursday.

The project should be finished by the middle of September, so look for final pictures then!

¨Be My Amoeba¨ by Aeron Hurley

Before I write about our adventures I want to thank Matt for putting up with me for the majority of two weeks. This was the best vacation I have ever had, which doesn’t say much since I have never gone on a real, legitimate vacation. If I had, however, I’m sure this one would have been better…

I have never been out of the country. I don’t count Canada because…well, I just don’t. I was excited and scared out of my mind at the thought of traveling to Central America. To me, this was a place I only saw on maps and maybe memorized names and capitals in sixth grade. To be honest, I had to check where Nicaragua was just so I could orient myself to where I was going to be spending my two weeks.
I wrote to Matt probably a month before I actually left and told him, half jokingly, that I was going to come and visit him, that I had tons of vacation time accumulated, and that I was coming as soon as I could. A week later I purchased my first passport, expedited of course, and, thank you Orbitz, a round trip ticket to Nicaragua.
With pretzels as a gift from the States, I met Matt and Jess at the airport in Managua, and stepped onto soil other than U.S. soil.
The first few days were acclimation days, and did I ever acclimate. “I put my toilet paper in what?” “Hey Matt, where is the hot water knob in the shower?” “Hola waiter, do you have anything else besides rice and beans? Tostones? Sounds great!”
From Managua we traveled by bus to Estelí and then hitchhiked on the back of a pickup truck to Somoto. We spent the evening walking around town and had dinner at a local restaurant. Matt, or should I say Matteo, is pretty much a celebrity in Somoto. Everyone waves at him and shouts his name like he’s a rock star. Speaking of rockstars, I was introduced to an amazing Nicaraguan band called PerroZompopo. It was a relief to hear something else besides reggaeton in this country.
The next day we met up with the Irish, a group I’m sure Matt has “blogged” about many times. From their health center construction site, Matt and I saddled some horses, Bob and Frank, and rode off into Honduras, snapping pictures at petroglyphs along the way. On the way back, yes, I did get clotheslined in the face and fell off my horse. I would just like to add that for the duration of the ride my horse (actual name: Maria de los Pobres) was simply amazing and I felt like a regular John Wayne. Matt’s horse (actual name: Pony) on the other hand, would stop for no reason and stare at a tree or rock. I think Matt just needed to work on his horse taming-skills a little better.
The following day brought hopes of swimming and exploring more of the countryside via Somoto Canyon. This would turn out to be one of the scariest and most exciting adventures of my two weeks. For the sake of not wanting Matt kicked out of the Peace Corps, I will make this the abridged version. Astro fell in, and into one of the worst parts of the river too. Escaping near death from rapids and the clenches of fire ant mandibula, we bouldered up the canyon and into a cow farm where we thought we would have to spend the night. Thankfully Matt found some ant covered tortillas, tomatoes, and a well worn path that turned out to only be a few kilometers from the Pan-American Highway.
Back to Somoto for dinner and Toña, my personal favorite.

I had far fetched plans to travel on my own for a few days, and I did. I took a bus to the city of León. Here I stayed at a very nice hostel, did my souvenir shopping, and swam in the Pacific Ocean. Seeing the Pacific was the best part of my trip. Maybe it’s because I was on my own, or that I was in a foreign country, possibly even both. But like they say, “Words will never fully describe it.” And since my camera got wet in the river, I will hold that experience in my mind.
Matt met me in León the following Wednesday. We went out that evening for pizza, Chinese, and beer. I have never had amoebas, and never want to, but after that dinner I feel I have some idea what it feels like to have them. On Thursday we took an early bus to Granada and enjoyed desayuno at Kathy’s Waffle House. From there we traveled to a place called Laguna de Apoyo, a gorgeous crater lake in the center of an ancient dormant volcano, and swam all day. Getting up early again to catch a bus, we traveled to Masaya to meet up with Jess, who just got back from the States, and to take a ride to see an active volcano. Volcán Nindirí showed some activity a week prior, so there was some sulfur smoke rising from her depths when we showed up. After being asphyxiated by smoke, we ventured into the bat caves of Volcán Masaya.
The next few days were basically relaxation and reflection days. I said goodbye to Matt and Jess and stayed in Laguna de Apoyo one more time. The next day I traveled to Managua where I stayed in a hostel and saw Batman “The Dark Knight” at a local theater for 50 córdobas, or $2.50 in U.S. dollars.
My flight out of the country left at 6:30 the following morning. I was sad to leave. My first time out of the U.S. was better than I expected. Where else, and with whom else for that matter, can you almost die in a river, get eaten by fire ants, swim in Pacific waters, see an active volcano, and do it all for really cheap? Leaving is part of the experience, I believe. It’s your chance to bring stories and a new perspective back with you for use in your hectic daily life.
Aside from all the things I did and the experiences I had while I was there, I also got to see the benefits of Matt and Jess’s work in the Peace Corps. Their volunteer work in health education, particularly in HIV/AIDS awareness, is life-changing for the people of Nicaragua and inspiring for those of us back here in the States.
Thank you Matt and Jess for taking the time to show me around and for almost killing me. I’ll never forget it.