Bus Strike and Water Outage

I am sure many of you are unaware there is a large bus, taxi and semi-truck strike going here in Nicaragua. The strike is going on it's 11 day and the government is not willing to meet their demands. The buses in Managua have gas subsidies, but the rest of the transportation industry has not, so they are striking to receive the same subsidies. The president basically told them to work it out themselves, so who knows how long the strike will last. Unlike in the states the country relies heavily on buses and taxis for transportation, so unless you have your own car (which is few and far between) you are stuck. Some people are stuck in other towns, while others are stuck in their own villages. You probably are thinking they are the lucky ones, but the thing is they use the bus daily to go to work or to go get food in a bigger nearby town, so in reality they are not lucky.

Seth and I are in Managua, stuck here for who knows how long. Seth's parents were here for two weeks. They had the opportunity to see the strike, but thanks be to God we were using the MCC truck and not public transportation. So our plans were not affected. We spent time relaxing with them on the island Ometepe on lake Nicaragua and in Granada and they also got a glimpse of what it is like to live in our village. They had the opportunity to play with the kids, make tortillas, wash clothes by hand on a rock, work in the fields and visit families. Although, there was one thing we all got to experience for the first time while in Bramadero, a water outage.

When we got up to Bramadero we found out the pump for the water had quit working and they were waiting on Jaime (our boss, who put the pump in) to come and fix it. Due to the strike he was not able to get to Bramadero as soon as would have liked. The village had been out of water for 4 days before he was able to come and try and fix the problem. In the meantime, people (mainly the women) were walking 30-45 min. to carry water back to their homes for drinking water. This was the way of life for the women until 7 months ago when a well was dug and a pump run by solar energy was put in. No longer did the women have to walk to a well, but each house had a spicket and the water came right to the house. This is the Bramadero we have always known, so we were not even sure where to walk to get water. Fortunately for us, we have a large cement tank that collects rain water and were able to filter the rain water to drink and take some showers. Jaime and the men in the community (Seth and his dad helped out) were able to fix a tube that broke and that is why the pump stopped working, but still for some reason unknown to us is they are only opening the water to the houses once a day for people to fill up tanks for drinking water. So, we are unsure when our water system will get back to normal in Bramadero or if this is the way it will be.

We enjoyed our time with Seth's parents and we are glad that got to experience more of Nicaragua than most tourists do.

Home coming

This week we got to experience the cross cultural event of young adults returning home after several months’ away learning. The reunion was typical, parents hugging their kids, kids trying to act cool in front of their hometown friends, and of course lots of talk about how things have changed around home. It was a blessing to take part in this activity, as it is one of the few times we have been able to see the intimate connection between parents and kids in the community. It is a connection that usually remains below the surface, but the extended absence made it all visible.

Many of you may be thinking of the first time you came home from college, or the even the first time your kids came back from a mind liberating semester of college (with the biggest pile of laundry you have ever seen). But here in Nicaragua, college is not even an idea dreamt about on lazy afternoons. The home coming we witnessed where several youth coming back after working several months in Costa Rica picking coffee. The average age of this group was probably sixteen, making the reunion that much more special. However, teenagers are not the only ones that go to Costa Rica during the dry season to earn a living. For the few lucky ones the whole family will go to Costa Rica, though this means that the kids that go miss several months of school. But still they are the lucky ones. Many times it is a father that goes to work, some just for two months, while others have been gone for almost five months. Families left behind have learned how to live life with out them. The oldest son that is left at home (usually not more the thirteen) will take some of the burden left by the father, sharing the rest of the load with the younger siblings. In some cases both the mother and father leave, causing their children to rely on their relatives for support. In one family the mother and father left (for 5 months) behind a one and half year old and a three year old to live with their grandma, who incidentally has five kids of her own under the age of 16 living at home.

However appalling this may seem it is a fact of life here, and it is a necessary fact of life. During the dry season there is no work in the community. In fact, the community would not survive if people did not bring in money from Costa Rica. People use this money to construct houses, buy clothes, shoes, and food. Though it has taken me a lot of time to see that even though the fathers, and sometimes mothers, leave their children behind it is a sacrifice of love. They know that by being gone they can provide things for their children that they would not have been able to otherwise. Although sometimes what they do buy does not make up for the time lost, however many children would not have a future with out this sacrifice.