I’m way behind on posting because we have not had good internet but this post needs to be done in any case. It isn’t about our recent activities, it is about Education Plus Nicaragua which we visited back in May last year.
I didn’t give this organization enough mention in my May 15, 2017 posting. We visited the school and talked at length with a couple of staff members and met some of the kids. The children love going there each day, if for no other reason that they get a decent meal. But most of them appreciate the supplemental education that they get as well.
I received this email today and feel compelled to post it and ask anyone who reads this to consider giving $5, $10, $25, or more one time or on an ongoing basis. I can just about count the monthly contributions that I do regularly on one hand and this is one of them.
“Dear friends and family,
Where to even begin.
Last week, political protests erupted all across Nicaragua, leaving more than 30 dead so far. Protesters are sick of what they view as their corrupt and inept government, and government forces have met peaceful protests with guns and mortars. New laws were announced increasing income taxes, higher taxes on social security payments, and decreased medical coverage. At the same time social security is almost insolvent, its funds having allegedly been used by the main political party, the Sandinistas, to purchase luxury housing and private businesses for themselves. Censorship has kicked up – news channels that are not pro-government have been shut down, and things only seem to be getting worse. “President” Daniel Ortega has announced he will be rescinding the social security reforms, but the number of protesters is still growing, with some police forces disobeying orders and joining the side of the people. Businesses in the capital are on strike today, demanding the release of political prisoners and an end to censorship and violent repression.
While the social security reforms were the main trigger of the protests, this really has been a long time coming. Several other issues have caused the protest, including the government’s inept handling of a recent natural disaster in the Indio Maiz region, and because the people are sick of a public education system that says it averages 25 children per classroom but actually averages 50 or more. Now, a common protest against non-profits such as Education Plus is: “why are you educating that children? That should be the government’s job. If you provide the education, then the government has no incentive to do their job. Therefore, you are actually contributing to the problem.”
Well, in Nicaragua, the endemic corruption is so bad that even if there were more funding for the school system, little would find its way to the children. More fundamentally, the current government does not want its people educated. University students are a main faction of the protesters. The government knows that with education comes greater awareness and a decrease in the sense of powerlessness. Uneducated people are poorer – so the government can buy their votes cheaply in election years by going around giving out sacks of food and cheap building materials to repair homes. Additionally, it is the poor and illiterate who are the easiest to manipulate. We have firsthand accounts of the police going into our community of Pantanal and paying men 200 cord (about 6 USD) to attack peaceful protesters.
This is not the e-mail I wanted to be writing. But big things are going on right now in Nicaragua, and I want to let you all know that with Education Plus, things will be business as usual as much as possible. While public schools are closed for now, our doors will be open. Our employees do not want to stay at home, in fact, they say they feel safer at Casa de los Sueños. We have arranged transportation so they can get to and from work safely. If the power is cut across the country as is rumored (in order to prevent communications of what is going on to the outside world), we will keep our doors open. We will cook with wood and teach in dark but still enthusiastic classrooms. We will remain a safe place for the children to come and be children throughout the crisis.
If we start to argue about “government responsibility”, it is the children who will lose. It falls to us who actually have the economic power to make a difference, to educate the children who will be the future leaders of their country. As Cardinal Obispo Silvio Baez recently told a gathering of university students at the Metropolitan Cathedral, “The students of Nicaragua are its moral reserve.”
To make a donation to help us continue feeding the children during the crisis, please click on the button below:
| Click Here to Help us Feed the Children During the Crisis |
Thank you for standing with us during these heartbreaking times.
With hope and gratitude,
Monica, Jim, the staff, volunteers and children of Education Plus
Monica Loveley
Executive Director
Education Plus Nicaragua
www.eduplusnicaragua.org
www.facebook.com/eduplusnicaragua”
Most people only come to Aguas Calientes for the day or at best overnight. Breakfast at our hotel started at 4:30 in the morning because some people get up and hike up the mountain to be at the ticket gate when it opens at 7:00! Others get in line to get the bus so that they can be at the gate at 7:00. The buses are fairly new and comfortable for the ride up the mountain with 14 switchbacks.
We wandered into the area that is where the locals live. There was a lot of renovations in the past 5 years or so. New government buildings and a wonderful soccer field where we saw a game going on at night.
In Peru, there are three important symbols: the condor (sky/heaven), puma or cougar (earth), and the serpent (wisdom). You see the three symbols together frequently. There is a nice explanation of them 
Drainage is done in two ways. Walkways on the slopes tend to have a grate down the middle. Along the short street and a few other areas, there are holes in the concrete next to the curb. We saw this in other towns as well.
Despite what the sign says, you are going to take a train or hike the Inca Trail to get to Machu Picchu. They take you as far as possible by car but then you still have to take the train the rest of the way. (Don’t you love the spelling of the word “by”?)
Here you see some people in costumes representing some of the figures in the Aguas Calientes stone carvings. (Sorry it isn’t clearer, this event was going on as we passed in a taxi or bus.)
All of the buses I remember in Latin America have a driver and someone to collect money. In this case, the woman has her daughter riding along. While she was good for her age, 3?, she was bored and climbing all over. Not very safe but I am sure the woman didn’t have an affordable choice for day care.
When we left Aguas Calientes, we took the train back to Ollantaytambo. We wanted to see a few more of the ruins and the general area before we left the Sacred Valley. We enjoyed walking along the sidewalks with ancient stone walls built 500 years ago.
We rode to another area where the indigenous welcomed people to their village. There had just been a village meeting so there were a lot of people milling around in their local dress. We talked to one man and he joked that the beaded strap on his hat was for his wife to pull him. The guide told us when to pay a small sum (the equivilent of a dollar or less) for the photos and when not to. Not sure what his criteria was.
Dyes are made from plant roots, leaves, seeds, and berries. The colors are beautifully bright and they wear their clothes with much pride.
Roofs often have a little bull on the top which is thought by the locals to bring good fortune to the house. It was fun to see them.
If you walk from Aguas Calientes towards Machu Picchu or the museum or the hikes that some people take, you pass a work area on the outskirts of the town where the stone blocks are being carved. There are a series of very nice signs. 
See Dan’s being made and enjoying his.
In the parking lot of the ice cream store was a barrier in the handicapped parking space. We had seen something similar in Costa Rica and asked Tracey about it since we could talk in English and really hear the explanation. It seems that they expect the driver to be able bodied and move the barrier when they pull up. She didn’t know what happened if the driver was the disabled person. Interesting way of looking at things. Not practical but interesting.
How many people does it take to paint a stripe on the road? Apparently 4 lot when you do it by hand.
It is common in Ecuador to see dogs that are on roofs of houses. They bark at everyone but seem to know it isn’t a good idea to jump down.
