Exactly a week ago Jonathan and I landed again on Nicaraguan soil after a month’s stay in Ecuador. Upon arrival at the airport in Guayaquil we were lucky enough to have our yellow fever vaccination document with us as for a year now Nicaragua demands that visitors from several countries including Ecuador prove that they have had a valid yellow fever vaccination. We did not know about this new regulation, so who knows what could have happened if we had had no proof of vaccination.
We enjoyed being back in Guayaquil. We lived there between 2003 and 2006 when I was working there through Mensen met een Missie (People with a Mission). With its 3 million people it is not an attractive holiday destination, but we have many friends there whom we enjoy visiting. The welcome committee at the airport proves the point!
Fundación Sergio Plazas Aguas Part of our time we spent visiting Fundación Sergio Plazas Aguas, a foundation like ours which offers activities for people with an intellectual disability. The SPA foundation focuses on offering artistic activities. Unfortunately, due to the holiday period, I could not see the arts centre in operation and had to make do with admiring the products that were displayed in the centre.
Glenda Aguas, the initiator and director of the SPA foundation, and I got to know each other two months ago via a friend in Guayaquil. It was very nice that we could meet each other and that I could get a close-up view of her work. The participants Tatiana, Luis, Angel, Juan Carlos, Michelle, Fernando and Marienela were also very open towards us visitors. SAP even organized a meeting with the mothers of the participants, as is common here, not in the office, but in a restaurant at 9 a.m. over a delicious breakfast. (see picture).
On behalf of the Ruach Foundation I handed over a letter from our chairperson, Ana Alicia and a gift: a wall decoration of a home painted in orange and blue to symbolize the work we are doing. We very much appreciate collaborating with other organisations. At our last meeting I received a painting made by the SPA participants that now adorns a wall in our activities centre (see picture).
Lessons learned
It is always instructive to visit other organizations which do similar work. It struck me that although the SPA foundation has already been operating for three years lots is still arranged in an informal manner. This has to do with the fact that Glenda, a mother of a daughter with an intellectual disability, is not formally trained in this line of work, so the work is not rooted in a well thought-through vision. Glenda is like a millipede who busies herself with anything and everything. So it made me feel even more grateful for the way we at Ruach have been able to organize our work so well in such a short time!
The SPA foundation is less dependent on donations. In principle participants pay for the activities and for the transport that SPA provides to collect them from and return them to their homes. A big source of income is the monthly contribution paid by the rich parents which enables SPA to cover the costs for some participants from families who are less well-off.
But that is not Ruach’s situation. We have made a conscious choice to work with the poorer families who are not able to provide the necessary attention and care. We cannot ask for a monthly financial contribution, although we do encourage the families to contribute towards the drinks we would like to offer during the 3-hour activities sessions. The families should also be able to drop their disabled relatives at our centre and collect them.
Back home ´East, west, home is best? Not really… we felt at home in Guayaquil and we are at home again in Juigalpa. ´If you live at peace with yourself, every place is your home!’ This philosophy suits me better. It’s here in Juigalpa where we have a task to fulfil. Our work, our mission beckons. That feels good.
‘Once you have jumped into the stream there is no way back. The only way to reach your goal is to surrender to what is’ J. Noorloos.