Reflections on Our Trek to Nicaragua
By Omari Bigham & Elizabeth Donahoe, buildOn PA Members
July 2008
Our Trek for Knowledge to Nicaragua was an amazing adventure. It was an emotional rollercoaster filled with ups and downs that brought together six students from Philadelphia and five students from Chicago.
A typical day on trek starts EARLY. The roosters start crowing at three and by four our host moms are pounding tortillas and caring for babies. We would lie in bed listening to the many sounds of village life as our rooms filled with the smoke from the nearby wood stoves.
At 5:30 we climbed out of our hammocks to enjoy some of the best coffee we’ve ever had, along with a nice big bowl of rice and beans. We were never sure if we’d actually slept the night before (hammocks are small!), but looking forward to the worksite was enough to get our blood pumping.
The hearty breakfast combined with Gatorade provided the fuel needed to join our host fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters for four hours of hard work on the school construction site. Our village, Nuevo Amanecer, was on a mountain so high up we were literally in the clouds. This made construction of the school especially challenging.
To make bricks, we had to carry 92-pound bags of cement, sand, and water up steep muddy paths. Each brick was crafted one at a time from a special mold. After the bricks dried, we created a human chain to send the bricks back down the mountain to the school site. In the meantime, other trek team members were working hard digging the school’s foundation and building rebar.
The work was hard, but amazing. We loved working with families from the village. It felt great knowing that some day the children in our host families would use this very school.
The hard work didn't end when we left the worksite. Nuevo Amanecer was one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen my whole life but it was muddy and steep! We had to hike everywhere - to our host families, to the worksite, to the cultural workshops. We really learned to appreciate how skilled the villagers were at navigating the mountain. The cook, who was pregnant, would climb a steep hill just to help us get water.
The villagers were always so nice. On our first day, the whole community welcomed us. A group of musicians came from their homes far up the mountain to play for us. They wrote us a song with special lyrics and they even sang happy birthday to Ryan who turned 17 during trek. The villagers were always willing to share their lives with us.
We learned about the revolution from someone who had fought for the contras, we learned about growing coffee from my host mom, and we learned about Nuevo Amanecer's history from the oldest man in the village affectionately known as Papa G.
Trek has taught us so much. We have learned the value of living simply and the importance of community. Before Trek, we understood that people around the world were poor but going to this village and living with host families really opened our eyes. So many things about Nuevo Amanecer were amazing. Even though the community is poor the villagers have so much to offer. They have beautiful families and warm hearts.
I hope the school helps this village overcome some hardships, while allowing them to hold on to the love and community that exists in this remote mountain town.