Nicaragua has been an amazing experience so far. There are many fascinating things about this country, including the thing which drew me here in the first place—the political history and their experiments with socialism in the past. And not even the past, but right now as well since Daniel Ortega was re-elected in 2007 (and probably will be again next year). One day I’ll get around to writing a lot more on Nicaraguan politics, and U.S. past interference here, and how it permeates many aspects of Nicaraguan life.



For now just let me tell you a little bit what I've been doing. I’ve been working on a project about “Dependency and Development” because a big issue in the aid community is how people intended to benefit from aid can actually be hurt in the long run if they develop a dependency on the aid money or the people distributing the aid. When the project comes to an end or the money runs out, they’re worse off than they were before. Nicaragua is an interesting place to delve into this issue because of the country’s long history of foreign interference and dependence. A big part of the Sandinista revolution was about freeing the country from foreign influence (including ideas of capitalism which they believe keeps the poor poor and the rich, rich). But now, 30 some years later, the country remains the 2nd-poorest in the Western Hemisphere (2nd only to Haiti) and dependent on foreign aid and nationalized social services for it’s over 50% of people who live below the poverty line. While working on this I plan to explore many of the NGO’s who operate here, some government services, and also to talk to as many people about their views in different parts of the country as possible.


There are many ways development and aid projects can be done—some good, some really really bad. What’s interesting to explore and hasn’t really come up in debate until relatively recently are questions of empowerment, sustainability, and how to inspire the people themselves to take responsibility for maintaining what a project is meant to accomplish after the NGO/Government Service pulls out. In the long run the goal should always be for the organization/aid money to leave, and the community to be accomplishing the goals that were intended, now on their own.



So far I’ve been around Granada (in the south-west of the country), villages outside of the town—accessible only on my sweet mountain bike or by foot, the island of Ometepe, and the capital city of Managua. Although Nicaragua is decidedly poorer than Guatemala, the poor here seem to be in a much different situation in terms of quality of life. Granted, they don’t have much, but the quality of life does appear to be better than in most of the rural villages I witnessed in Guatemala. For one thing, their indigenous population is all but extinct, and thus most people speak the same languages and feel a lot more integrated as a whole (and oh yeah, the government didn’t try to carry out a genocide against any of its citizens a few years ago…) Also, they are much more “Americanized” in some ways-- including dress (some women even wear short-shorts or skirts here!), generally knowing more about American culture, and even accepting the dollar along with their native Cordoba as a form of payment. I guess this isn’t all that surprising, considering the history of American involvement here. Anyway, they also have free health care more or less available, free school, many public services, and – most important of all, I think—a much increased sense of safety and security. Unlike Guatemala, here people feel safe enough to sit out on their stoops after dark to chat and enjoy the breeze, business owners can trust that gangs or police forces won’t exort them for protection, and the police in general can be trusted not to be incompetent and corrupt. Most of all, there isn’t a culture of violence and guns here—its more “tranquilo”. Maybe it’s just because I drastically feel the relief of being in a place where I feel personally secure that I’m projecting that feeling onto them, but I really do think that personal security and a culture that respects a person’s right to security is a big contributor to quality of life.




This week I’m planning to head up north to Leon and some surrounding towns, as well as to visit Waslala. Perhaps those of you from Villanova have heard of Waslala, because one of our alumni started the program “Water for Waslala” a few years ago. They are an NGO which builds pumps and well-systems for people in this rural town who before had no access to clean drinking water. To get there requires a 5-hour bus ride to Matalgapa and then getting another bus to go east a few hours, and then possibly hiring a 4 wheeler, horse, or walking through forests/fields to get to the town of Waslala. Apparently it’s realyyyyy out in the middle of nowhere. I’m really looking forward to visiting since we will have Villanova contacts there and because I’ve heard so much about it before. It will also be interesting to hear some thoughts from Nicaraguans from the North, since the north-central area is supposedly much different.

Well, I think I’m going to end this post for now. Over the weekend I must have eaten something contaminated with bacteria and I’ve had a fever and severe stomach problems ever since—thank God for Cipro (antibiotic)! I’m hoping not to have to discover the state of the Nicaraguan hospitals from ending up there myself.