Trail Journals

Writing to remember is the reason I have this blog.

Some people write to connect with others (that was a little of it too). Some people write to hear their own thoughts. Some people write so that their memories won't fade quite so easily.

As you can imagine, hiking the PCT, or other long distance trail is prime time for journaling. There are few other times in life that are so set apart, encapsulated into a single experience, focused on one solitary idea.

I've been reading a site called 'Trail Journals' for about five years... almost as long as I've been dreaming of hiking the PCT (and CDT). I lived vicariously through the experience of others while I sat at a desk in a jobsite trailer, or lived in a place where there were only volcanoes to summit, or became a workaholic while living next to a backpackers dream.

And so when I finally started my trail journal on the site a few days ago (which is actually a carbon copy of what I write here), it was surreal. I can't believe my name is on that page and my words can be found where I looked for inspiration from so many others!

It's a format that is so familiar, I recognize it instantaneously. But it's my words! It actually makes the plan so much more real to me!

Once I get on the trail, I won't be able to update you quite as regularly, so to keep your trail journaling appetite whet, here are some places to check out -

Trail Journals
Hiker Journals for the PCT

Message from Father Rick

I have no words. So here are some from a person who knows what to say better than I do.

ABC News Link

NPH Link

Hello Friends,

After driving by night to Kennedy Airport January 12th, and flying to the Dominican Republic January 13th, Conan and I arrived to Haiti this morning in the helicopter of the President of the Dominican Republic. This ride was due to the reputation of NPH in the Dominican Republic, NPH Italy, a reputation enhanced in the DR by Andrea Bocelli not long ago.

Our first tasks were the medical evacuation of one of our American volunteers, the medical evacuation of one of our Cuban doctors and the evacuation of the body of one of our American visitors.

We also had 18 funerals today. One for John who works at our St Luke program. We miss John very much. He often stopped at my door to tell me the milestone of his developing baby, which delighted him no end. John ran our computerized language lab. Another was for Johanne’s mother. Joanne is one of the Directors of the St Luke program. All the others were of unknown people who were sadly rotting by the wayside.

Other sadnesses…the death of Immacula, our only physician assistant, who worked at our huge outpatient side of our hospital. The death of ALL but one of Joseph Ferdinand’s brothers and sisters, the death of the husband of Jacqueline Gautier as he was visiting a school which fell and all the students (all died), the death of our ex-pequeno Wilfrid Altisme who was in his 5th year of seminary for priesthood. Other stories of deaths of people who are dear to us keep coming in.

We spent the rest of the time managing the countless people with serious and severe wounds, coming to our hospital. We are doing our best for them, under trees and in the parking lot with ever diminishing supplies. We will work throughout the night and beyond. No stores are open, no banks are open. Diesel is running out. Will be out in two days if we don’t find a solution, which will mean no power at all. The hospital is without water since there is some broken line between the well and the water tower.

Structural damages to the hospital seem superficial at first glance, but about half the outer perimeter walls have fallen. The old hospital in Petionville is in ruins, and teams of workers, led by Ferel have been digging in the rubble around the clock.

WE HAVE NO INTERNET. OUR PHONES DO NOT WORK. IF A CALL DOES GET THROUGH WE CAN’T HEAR OR BE HEARD.

Please continue to pray for us. We pray for you too.

Fr. Rick Frechette
National Director NPFS Haiti and Medical Director, NPHI

Previous post by Fr. Rick from about the hurricanes of 2008

Our Little Brothers and Sisters in Life and Death

From Nuestros Pequenos Hermanos International

Dear NPH Family,
It is with deep anguish that NPH is confirming the deaths in Haiti of international volunteer Molly Hightower, 22, of Port Orchard, Washington, and Ryan Kloos, 24, of Phoenix, Arizona, who is the brother of NPFS volunteer Erin Kloos, 26, also of Phoenix.

Ryan Kloos, a 2008 graduate of the University of California-San Diego, was recovered from the Fr. Wasson Center in Petionville on the afternoon of January 13. Erin Kloos was rescued from the Fr. Wasson Center on January 13 and is currently in stable condition in a south Florida hospital’s intensive care unit. Her prognosis is good.

After an extensive search, Molly’s body was recovered from the same location at approximately 4:30am ET Friday, January 15.

A friend of Molly’s visiting Haiti, 22-year old Rachel Prusynski, a University of Portland graduate and resident of Boise, Idaho, was also rescued from the Fr. Wasson Center on January 13. After medical treatment for a broken arm and severe cuts, she has been reunited with her family in the U.S.

Both Erin, a University of Washington graduate, and Molly, who graduated from the University of Portland, worked as international volunteers for Nos Petit Freres et Soeurs in Haiti. Molly assisted in the physical therapy program, and had begun her service in June 2009.

Erin’s initial volunteer service spanned September 2007 to October 2008. She had recently returned to NPFS and served in many capacities. While at NPFS, she helped in the lab at the hospital, assisted with visitors and volunteers, translated for visiting doctors and was the Home Correspondent.

Both volunteers spent their evenings and weekends caring for and playing with the children in the hospital and those with special needs.

The Fr. Wasson Center in Petionville served as a guest house, volunteer residence, administrative offices and a day school for children with disabilities, and completely collapsed during the 7.0 magnitude Haitian earthquake.

Our NPH Family extends our prayers and deepest condolences to the Hightower and Kloos families during this extremely difficult time.

There will be a prayer service TONIGHT for victims and their families of the Haitian earthquake, including 22-year-old Molly Hightower of Port Washington who died during the disaster, and University of Washington graduate Erin Kloos, 26, who was rescued and is in stable condition in the ICU of a south Florida hospital.

When: Friday, January 15, 7:00pm Pacific Time
Where: St. Louise Church
141 156th Avenue, NW
Bellevue, Wash.
Directions can be found at http://www.facebook.com/l/9c147;www.stlouise.org

Additional Information:
Please RSVP to Katie Hultquist at 425-646-3935 or khultquist@friendsus.org and join friends and supporters in offering prayers to those affected by the Haitian earthquake tragedy.

Monica Gery
Information Officer
NPH International

The Dimming of the Day

Today is my last day of work with Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos International. And so my natural instinct is to reflect on these past two years.

When I left the US, I had no real idea what I was in for, and I knew that. Now, I'm pretty sure I know what happened (although I'll know even better with some distance), and I wouldn't change that choice for anything.

I have learned, experienced and seen things I never imagined and it will shape the rest of my life.

Here's some highlights - (there are a few errors and typos which I'm not changing in the interest of an honest representation of what was said originally)

The Opening Act

Arrival in Nicaragua

Learning about the Culture

The Ball Starts Rolling (Because We're Pushing)

The Plot Thickens

Interruption of Service

House Beginnings!

Eruptions

Christmas at Casa Asis!

Construction,

Construction,

And More Construction!

A New Place

Lights

Water

A Change

A New Future

Starting the Next Group of Houses

So I guess it's a good thing I'm leaving.

As I've indicated in past posts, the direction that NPH Nicaragua seems to be going is both forward and back at the same time (I use the word 'seems' because as construction coordinator hired by NPHI to manage the construction, I'm not actually informed of construction decisions, meetings or directions by NPHI).

Since I began, I have always fielded the question 'Why doesn't NPH have a standard home that it builds in all countries?' And it's a good question. It's a question I asked too. And it's a question NPHI seems to be starting to address.

First the reasons why a standard home hasn't existed until now -

When I first began, NPHI couldn't provide me with plans of homes for 16 children it had already built in other countries. This was because either a particular country didn't have a home like that, it had lost the drawings, the drawings never existed in an official form or the leaders in that country never responded.

Also, there is desire to recognize that each country has a distinct culture, climate and history. When I began to work with the design that had been used in Bolivia to make it work well for Nicaragua, I was told we needed to find our own architect and design by NPH leadership even though with proper planning, all local factors can be taken into account with a standard building with modifications.

So, even though it isn't NPH's tradition, many of us believe the idea of standardization is still good, so why not start now?


And that's what NPHI is working on. Yay! Good forward thinking step for NPHI! (We won't mention that thousands of people already thought of it right off).

Next step? What will this standard design consist of? Well, here's model of the current idea -

Model provided by NPHI to visiting donors during the International Meeting

I'm not sure if that's the final version or not. I had been given this in plan, but then received subsequent versions. None of the revisions were translated into this new model which was brought last week by NPHI.

I'm not sure if things went backwards, or there were just more communication problems.

This design is not bad. It's actually extremely close to the modified design we had done last October from the original houses built.

Nicaragua design modification from houses at Casa Padre Wasson. While directed to make the design with architects and engineers (and already paid for), this design will not be used.

The main differences are that in the new model: there is no storage room, the caregivers' room gets lot's of natural light (even though they're supposed to be taking care of the kids, not in their room during the day), but the kids' study area doesn't and the windows area is so small that electricity will be used more for both light and fans for ventilation.

And there are probably other good ideas as well, one coworker at the office stopped by this morning and made other observances that would make him (as someone who had grown up in the home) possibly be okay with the design.

While these items can be changed to better the design, it doesn't make sense to me that we're throwing out the design we already have with these changes in order to use a design that still needs them.

I must admit, I am glad to be leaving the grid paper final drawing world of NPHI. It's fine to start with, but for a place that will house children, I really believe local licensed engineers are necessary as we had with the first four homes.

Standardized design from Honduras and the latest version I received. My guess is that this will be the next phase of home to be built. You can click on the picture to see a larger version.

For example, when we received the 'standardized' plan from NPHI, we consulted with a local engineer to get his read on it. He thought it was fine in general, but the foundation needed to be changed as the one drawn was illegal according to Nicaraguan building codes (they do have a few). None of those contracted by NPHI to built this next group of homes knew that.

Not that the detail doesn't function in general or would cause certain mayhem here (apparently it's been used in NPH homes in other countries that don't have as many earthquakes), but it's an unnecessary risk.

It may all be a moot point, however, because the last great reason for me to leave now (that happened after I gave notice), is that the word on the street (which is what I have since Marlon hasn't met with me or informed me of anything relating to construction in over a month) is that we are halting progress on the new property.

The gossip is that we will not be starting major new construction projects at Casa Padre Wasson until an understanding is reached with the national government with regards to 'Programa Amor'.

I hear that they are trying to hammer it out this week, but who knows when it will be completed, and then, even more unknown is when the next phase of construction would actually start (and if it should be started this year since we are just a few months away from the start of the rainy season).

I truly and sincerely wish the best to all the donors and the caring, hard-working people within NPHI.

It's clear that I have had my fill of frustrations in this particular locale, but the NPH mission is important.

And I believe that with enough loud and reasonable voices (many of which I have had the fortune to meet), NPHI can start to take baby steps forward without any major steps back.

The New Way

We have a new road! With the pressure from having 200 NPH staff and supporters from North, Central, South America and Europe coming to visit, we finally got approval to put in a durable, travel-able (even in bad weather!) road!

We used heavy equipment including a rolling vibration compactor! Which is not necessarily something to take for granted. Marlon had previously wanted the teenage boys to do the work by hand.

One area of the road crosses a large runoff area, so long concrete tubes have been installed so that the water can drain underneath. How professional!

It means that this road will last a long, long time. And that getting in and out of the property will not be and question. (And the International Meeting with everyone went well too from what I hear!)

Water Tower Re-Do

Here in Nicaragua, liability doesn't exist in the same way it does elsewhere. I've mentioned before that due to the legal system (or lack thereof) and a lack of clear communication about businesses (such as a Better Business Bureau), some people can screw you royally with very little consequence.

One example would be our topographer. He delivered drawings and plans that were incorrect, but the NPH lawyer (who wrote the contract) said we had no recourse. We couldn't get that kind of money from him personally and he didn't have a company backing him up to go after either. So we lost $3,000 for pretty much nothing.

Another potential mess happened more recently. But this situation has resolved in a vastly different way, however, because we used a company that we knew and they want to keep us as clients.

The water recycling system is fairly straightforward and includes a (relatively) small elevated tank to gravity feed water to the toilets.

We happened to be on the jobsite when the platform of the tank began to fold and broke the pipes containing the water. The structure didn't completely collapse because the legs were stronger than the platform and because the breaking of the pipes released water which reduced the weight.

Sumerinsa, the company responsible, just happened to be there as well and immediately began calling for new materials to replace the original. While I assume they're taking the funds out of the project profit, I know that they had been hoping to use that profit to shore up other jobs they still haven't been paid for (getting worked over can go either direction).

So this story has a happy ending (for NPH). All was taken care of, and now we have a really strong tank platform!

Move in day!

So it's been a little while in coming, with many false starts and many temporary visitors, but there are finally NPH pequenos living in the homes on the new property!

They're in their last years of high school and going to the public schools in the area. They're clearly still in move-in mode, but it's good to see kids using the homes!

Gray Water

This is gray water about to be recycled, am I the only one who thinks the picture is prettier when you don't know what it is?

Update: By the way, this picture starts to look prettier again (or at least advantageous) when you're on the city's system and you have been without water in the house for 24 hours.

It's less common than it used to be, but still happens with enough frequency that they don't feel a need to issue an explanation or notification of when it will be turned back on. Can you imagine if that happened in the States?!

Happy Friday!

Announcement

The old audaciousness blog header from a lifetime ago. Photo taken during my first trip to Ometepe at the beginning of 2007.

February 27th will be my last day with Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos International.

This is a long considered decision.

My time here has been a worthwhile sacrifice. Any choice we make involves a sacrifice of the alternatives, but we make those choices because we believe they are the best for our lives.

And it was.

But the sacrifice is no longer worth it. I am tired.

Inefficiencies, frustrations and low professional standards in certain areas existed within NPHI since my first day. But I dealt with them because I saw them as cultural differences, normal non-profit difficulties and the challenges of growing into a multi million international organization.

The difficulties, however, have grown over the last several months and worn me out with the constant struggle.

The lack of response by those who authorize the projects over the last several months has left me unable to my job.

The lack of communication from those who have decided to do my job for me has left my work of the last few months with little worth.

The lack of consistency when the need for saving is preached, but the action of spending, giving steep raises and hiring unnecessary staff is taken.

The lack of professionalism where the value of donors is extolled, but donations are lost in the system.

Don't get me wrong.

NPHI is an organization with a wonderful mission. My struggles were not 100% of the time, nor with all of NPHI. That it has flaws is to be expected as it, along with all other organizations, is made up of human beings.

While two years feels like a long time to me right now, trustworthy others who have been here many more say that over the long view, NPHI really is improving, and I believe that.

But it is time for me to move on to another audacious project.

I have another month and a half here, so I'll let you know what this new project (a.k.a. job) is when I figure it out. If you have any ideas, suggestions or contacts, feel free to let me know.

I hope you stick with me for my last posts from Nicaragua and beyond.

Programa Amor

Approximately 50 kids visited the property for a few days. Here they are completing homework at one of the tables in the living room.

A little over two years ago, Daniel Ortega was elected president and brought with him the FSLN party. Some things have changed, some have not.

Medical care is now free to all, including most medicines. This is a huge gain for the very poor and the very sick who couldn't afford the attention they needed before. Small wounds no longer necesarily become amputations. Less women will die of cervical cancer because of late diagnosis.

On the other hand, I have a friend who broke his leg badly almost a year ago. The surgeries were free, but the doctors didn't install the screws very well. He is 24 years old an will walk with a cane for the rest of his life.

School is and always has been technically free to all. But with the new Sandinista government, school supplies, uniforms and other costs that had previously kept the poorest children from attending are free.

However, schools still lack quality teachers. Teachers who not only show up every day, but also understand their subject matter enough to teach it. Nicaragua has won a great battle against basic illiteracy, but do the people have enough knowledge to leverage themselves out of poverty?

The government started a program last October called "Programa Amor", the Love Program. One of it's aim is to get more children living in families, off the streets and out of orphanages.

It's a wonderful idea that children who are not able to be raised by their own parents due to death, addictions, abuse, mental illness and extreme poverty can be raised by others who can give them the love, attention, education and support they would otherwise be lacking.

Girls hanging out on the porch of their home.

However, in returning 17 children from Casa Asis in December to their original families that had been previously deemed incapable, and the lacking evidence that other substitute families (more or less foster families) who are paid to take in the children are really providing for the children better than NPH, I question if in the reality of Nicaragua, this program of love is really more loving.

In the meantime, rumors have been running rampant since October when this portion of the program was initiated that NPH Nicaragua would be shut down. While the national director has been assured by the Family Services department (Mi Familia) that this is not the case, the rumor still persists in the community the house is based in.

And due to the particular interest the program has in children 15 and under, when the new school year starts in February, the new property will have approximately 50 kids 16 and over living in the first four homes.

The kids keeping occupied in one of the new homes.

A Crossed Connection?

Telephone lines at Ingenio, a sugar processing company, one of the largest employers in Rivas.

Do the lines of communication sometimes feel like this in your office too?

Planning Ahead in Design

In the NPH Nicaragua Construction Department (a room approximately 10'x10') we recycle old plans as window coverings.

The NPH Nicaragua office was built about 10 years ago like a concrete bunker when the mentality was to build cheap and quick. The windows in all but the front offices are tiny and the concrete block walls are thick enough to hold and transmit heat, but not insulate from it.

Cool breezes in this semi tropical clime are precious. So it's important to design buildings to capture natural cooling in whatever way possible.

Traditionally, Nicaraguan homes are very open to the air. Windows are generally covered with metal bars for security, but often nothing else, especially in rural areas. And roofs are generally zinc set on top of concrete walls, where every wave in the zinc leaves an open space for air to pass through.

The homes on the new property have been designed as well as sited specifically to take advantage of consistent easterly breeze and natural lighting (without the heat of a lot of direct sunlight).

But due to the financial crises happening in the US and Europe, all NPH countries have been instructed to cut their 2009 operating budgets by 30%. The preparation started at the beginning of December with NPH no longer providing lunch for their workers and continues with a round of layoffs to happen this week.

Even though we're not part of the operational budget, this has impacted us as well on the construction of the new homes. Not because we don't have money, we have many very generous donors and nearly a half million in the bank (with additional funds currently being promised). But because over the last several months the emphasis that we have been receiving has changed from 'what's the best long term plan' to 'how can we save money in construction right now because we don't know when the money will stop'.

A different design for the home has been proposed and strongly recommended by NPHI, and while not a bad design in general, it will cut down on natural lighting and ventilation causing an increase in electricity usage for lighting and fans.

In the meantime, here in Nicaragua we were also working on revising the plans of the houses previously built to lower costs, but keeping the core values the same.

The problem is that our house design is approximately $3,000 more expensive than the other (approximately $58,000 to $55,000), so I'm not sure what will be the final decision.

Marlon (the National Director) returns from his holiday vacation in Honduras this week, so hopefully he'll have time to make a decision soon.

And hopefully, this time, the decision for natural ventilation and lighting will be seen as a long term value and not just an upfront cost.

In the meantime I'll sit here sweating in front of my computer hoping for a breeze!

Recycled Water System

While we haven't been starting any new projects in the last few months, we are still finishing up some old ones.

Just recently completed is the water recycling system to re-use grey water.

Potable water from the main water tower is used at the sinks and showers. From there it drains away to a grey water septic tank where it is treated in the standard septic system (someday we'd like to have a second step biofilter).

Once the water is clean it gravity drains to a cistern. From the cistern, it is available to be pumped to another smaller water tower.

Once in this smaller tower, it is ready to run to the toilet the next time there is a flush.

From the flush, the water drains to a second septic tank specifically for black water. Again it is treated in a standard septic system and when clean, drains into the ground.

This particular system was designed for 14 homes which is the girls' half of NPH Nicaragua.

Dark Days

A hiding moon

Literally, yesterday was the darkest day of the year for the northern hemisphere.

Figuratively, things have been somewhat dark around here as well.

Apparently, while Gunther and I were doing our construction coordinator jobs, some within NPHI decided that we should built what they would like us to build. A different home, a different system, with different people.

Some of what they have is good. Some is not realistic. And a small portion is illegal within Nicaragua building codes (Yes! We have a few building codes, mostly earthquake related). But we have been told this is what we are doing, because it is what some within NPHI who have power want.

It doesn't matter that while it is our job to coordinate, plan, contact, present, negotiate (not to make final decisions, that's the National Director's job), we have been kept in the dark about this new plan until just recently.

It doesn't matter that while we've been kept in the dark, we've been doing our job, planning, negotiating, presenting this information to them, spending money and time for what they would now like us to throw out without regard to spent resources, wasting all that has been given.

So we'll see what happens. Nothing within NPH is ever sure. Even once it's been 'decided' what actually happens depends on who criticizes what.

But in the meantime, these days seem a little darker than they should be.

The Insider's View

The view from on top of the water tank at the new property

I like to give people the benefit of the doubt. My friends and family can all attest to one moment or another when I was a little too trusting.

And for that reason it has taken me a long time with NPH to commit to this blog some of the little daily frustrations.

For example, I received a phone call last week from the phone company. My account was expiring that day, so they need payment or my service would be cut.

Now this isn't my personal phone. This is my NPH phone, used to accomplish NPH things, but apparently not very important to NPH accounting.

Also, I generally receive these calls every month. As I understand it, they cut my service most months because my payment due date is before the bill normally arrives in the mail.

The most fun is when I arrive at the airport in Managua fresh from a trip to help support NPH and I discover I have no phone service because my bill hasn't been paid and it wouldn't be a problem except the office has forgotten what time my plane gets in (7 PM) and isn't there to pick me up.

After I visited the phone company and was assured that they could not sent the bills out any earlier and I couldn't pay online because I needed a number on the bill to do so, the only option was to go each month and pay in person.

Since I am not part of the payment department at NPH, I can't do that, but I worked it out with someone who would. And so for 3 heavenly months I didn't get my service cut off. Then the worker went on maternity leave and for 3 additional mysterious months, I didn't get my service cut off.

But of course, it couldn't last.

So when I received the call I went to the accounting department to ask if they had paid. I learned well long ago that just because they say they're going to cut off your service, it doesn't mean you haven't paid.

Accounting said they haven't paid because they didn't receive the bill. They also made sure to let me know it wasn't their responsibility to pay bills that didn't come in. So I asked whose responsibility it was to track down these bills, and I was informed that it was the responsibility of the company that is billing.

Ok, so I've lived here for a short while, but I'll let you in on what is apparently a secret, the companies don't always sent the bill on time! Incredible! I know! But apparently the people in the NPH accounting office don't know! Shhh!

So I was told I was welcome to go to the phone company myself that day(although there was no transportation available) and get the bill.

I decided to decline the exciting field trip like so many other similar opportunities I've been given (got to draw the line somewhere or I wouldn't have time for construction!) and let them figure out what to do because I've got a secret weapon. The director's phone account expires the same day mine does and sometimes he gets slightly better help than I do.

So all the accounts will be paid in the end. Whether or not there is a fine this month is yet to be known.

But one thing I HAVE learned!

If I don't worry about all the little things that happen every day like this, nothing would get done!

On the other hand, if I do worry about all the little things that happen every day like this, I won't get anything done!

And I would get an ulcer. Trying not to worry wins!

I Thought This Day Would Never Come

Happy day!

After only 14 months of requesting, wheedling, threatening, cajoling, persuading, complimenting and coaxing the head of the accounting department and the National Director, I have all the documents showing everything we've spent and what others have spent for us in the name of construction for NPH Nicaragua.

I know how much we've spent and how much we have left to spend (within $2,000)!

At least for today.

Susie is a good example of how tickled I am!

The Fast Way Down

The view from the top of the water tank (almost 40 ft)

Craning the Water Tank

So if you've been a reader here for a little while, you probably already know that we seem to have issues with water at the construction project. Not that we don't have water, thank goodness we do! It's just that all construction relating to water doesn't seem to go very smoothly.

Case in point. The Elevated Water Tank.

First was a long debate through several countries, over time zones and many, many opinions about how big it should be. We eventually settled on 15,000 cubic meters. Enough for a city of 500 children and their support staff, but not a lot extra.

We decided on this because once we have 500 children and everyone else, we really should have another well in case something happens to the first one, like the pump breaking down.

So the well itself took a loooooooong time.

And the elevated water tank was supposed to be finished in 45 days (according to the lovely Microsoft Project timeline put together by the company), the end date falling at the beginning of September.

Well that didn't exactly happen.

First it was stuck at the border (it's parts were fabricated in Honduras, it would be like having an international border for everything manufactured outside of Washington state.

Then that delay caused us to be in the middle of the worse part of the rainy season when they were trying to solder. And last, but not least, the crane came out, put up the support structure, and proceeded to get stuck in the mud so that it couldn't life the tank.

We have, however, reached that happy day where weather related delays are behind us (both because most of those activities are done and because the weather is starting to get nicer.

And, while it's been a somewhat stressful time since the first children move from the island in a month and a half, the company, Imnsa Argo, has been responsive to all our concerns and good to work with. Phew!

So now we're onto the next stage! We're currently working for approval from NPH International to begin the next phase of 3 or 4 houses!

We've Got a Lot of Work to Do!

So we're getting back to work!

What? We weren't working?

Ok, well we were always working, but over the last month, we were just finishing up jobs that we had already started, like a temporary school and kitchen for the 80 kids moving into the four houses in December. But now we can start the next houses!

All because NPH's National Director had a meeting with the President of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega yesterday. Well, him and many many other people.

You see, for the last several months, the government of Nicaragua has been talking about non-profits being the center of money laundering in Nicaragua. NPH received notice about two months ago that we would be audited (along with lots of other non-profits). And about a month ago, it was announced that street children would go to foster homes and all other children's homes would be shut down (and here at NPH we stopped making contracts for future construction work).

Remaking an cow feed shelter into a four classroom school

Apparently that was a miscommunication.

In the meeting, the Sandanistas announced that they would not be shutting down all of the orphanages in the country, but that with teamwork and financial transparency we would continue on together.

So we're getting back to work!

Closing up the fire stove to funnel smoke outside (and it's being painted)