Team Work and Smiles from Matagalpa

benefited by the School Feeding Programme are: Vera Paz, Los Milagros, Los Cuarenta, San Joaquín y La Cañada.

The first step consisted in an administrative process as purchase of materials, look for transport options, etc. Until this moment we faced experiences close to the ones we have every day in our jobs like selection of the best providers, contracts with them, costs analysis, problems with deliveries.

After this we were able to start going to the Schools to communicate that the projects for them were approved and that labour for the construction process was needed on behalf of the community parents, and it was here when we started to face different situations:

• The roads to reach the schools are in bad conditions. The constant rains that affect the city in general make the roads too muddy so the access to the communities is difficult. Also because of the rains the rivers get higher so the bridges are destroyed by the water and there are no alternative roads to take.
• Although the World Food Programme (WFP) had already delivered the food for the school distribution, it's been a month since it run out of them. The main cause is that the government (who is in charge of the food delivery), WFP and other NGO's were also attending the emergency that was produced by the arrival of the Hurricane Felix in the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua, because of this the food distribution was delayed as many resources were destined to the emergency area. Fortunately they confirmed us that the food will reach the delivery centers within this week.

I'd been telling you about some aspects of the job we are doing, but what I really want the most is to show you some sensations I lived during this time so you can be aware of the kids, teachers and parents lifestyle in the communities:

• Understand that most of the kids walk around 1 hour through a mountain road for school assistance and to receive the daily ration of food. Oh, as I told you before they don't have food for a month now but they continue assisting to school anyway...
• The teachers getting so happy when we communicated about the projects and that these were already approved. Some communities were previously organized in team groups without knowing for sure that they were going to be benefited.
• The meetings with the kids parents had a very important assistance, this shows the commitment, support and value that the communities have for the programme projects. They know that in such a way is evolution for them.
• To see the parents organized in team groups with shifts and work days. Actually is field working season and the fathers that collaborate with our project loose working days, so they don't get paid. Sometimes the mothers are substitutes for some fathers that can not assist. That's why the communities want to finish projects as soon as possible. These projects take usually 20 working days to be completed, however a community (Los Milagros School) built their classroom in only 8 days as the parents worked during one week non stop! Another example is Vera Paz School who received the construction materials 1.5 Km far away from where the school is located (the reasons are the rains that broke down the access bridges) and then the parents handled the materials (cement, bricks, stones) manually through the hills in order to have the project on time.
• We noticed that some schools don't have water. In these ones we are building the rain water collectors. Do you imagine living without water? Or having to walk 1 hour to the river and carry it back every day? It's so much easy to open the tap and drink directly right?

Of course Kids deserve their own paragraph:

• Those who walk every day to assist classes...
• those you see running in the mud o in their seats at school without shoes,
• that Kid "Aldo" from the Vera Paz school that the day we communicated them brought us some bananas as a gratitude (it was a moving feeling because that day we noticed that they had no food for a month already and in spite of this they were giving us that)...
• those who teach me how to play "Tufo" (same as the "Mancha" in Argentina where someone "has" it and runs and touch the other ones and then that kid has to run again and again) and made me run for 1 and a half hour! Obviously I couldn't have their rhythm!!!
• one that calls you and ask to tie up his shoes but not because he doesn't know how to do it, it was for getting a little more closer...
• those who want to be pictured every time and they tell me "Juan, take me one, just me, come on". I also show them that the camera has video too so they like to sing now and as the weeks are passing they started to add the dancing also!!
• the ones who when we shared a complete day in the school working and playing games with them, in any time they stopped to eat (probably because they don't have?). I had a meal at home for my return...
• the kids whose innocence let them enjoy every moment in spite of their living conditions...
• and the ones that don't matter what they receive and say bye to us with a smile.

These are the things that make me feel so grateful to be a part of all this. I also attach you some picture/s that they sure reflect some of I was telling you.