To Nicaragua with love: Lincoln students learn gratitude from former street kids

By Ani S. Delmont
North Forty News

They flew down a wire over miles of steamy, monkey-crammed jungle, watched baby turtles nudge out of their eggs and spotted a darting jaguar. But what do these middle schoolers say impressed them the most about Nicaragua? The people.

Twenty students from the Lincoln International Baccalaureate Middle School journeyed more than 2,000 miles in November to deliver $5,000 and two-and-one-half tons of donations to children and the poor in San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua.

The trip included jaunts to the beach--a first for some who'd never seen the ocean--as well as a visit to a turtle reserve and "zip-lining" hundreds of feet over the lush forest canopy.

But the students in Marilyn Tiberio's class say they were most inspired by the kids they met at two safehouses for youngsters who cannot live with their parents due to extreme poverty or abuse.

"It taught me that valuing the smallest thing is important," said Jesus "Jesse" Nevarez, who helped his classmates converse with their Spanish-speaking hosts.

He recalled his surprise when one of the Nicaraguan teachers had the former street kids pose next to the new mattresses the Lincoln group had gifted them. "They wanted pictures of themselves with a bed," Jesse said. "They'd never had a bed."

Everitt Merritt echoed his amazement at "how little they had."

"No shoes." he recounted. "The boys didn't have mattresses. They slept on bare springs. The fridge didn't work. The bathroom didn't work."

And yet when the foreigners spilled out into the courtyard of the children's homes of Los Quinchos and Las Quinchas, the Nicaraguans greeted them like old friends.

"Right after we walked out of the bus, the girls ran up to us and gave us hugs," said Paige Denman. "They were very sweet. They said, 'Thank you.'"

Of course, the Lincoln students did not arrive empty-handed. They put on a feast for their hosts, with foods well beyond the orphans' usual daily fare of a cup of rice and half a cup of beans. The strangers got acquainted over fried chicken, rice, potato salad and fresh fruit.

The students found nonverbal communication the most effective. "There wasn't much they wanted to talk about," said Kasumi Collins. "They wanted to hold hands, smile, eat. We handed out stuffed animals. They did gymnastics for us. They asked and pointed at things."

The boys used sports to break the ice with their shyer Nicaraguan fellows. "The kids seemed a little reluctant at first," said James Pitot. "We played soccer with the boys. They're really good at soccer."

The safehouses, named after the Spanish expression for "musketeers," do not receive government funding as official orphanages as most of the children have parents. But these parents are often destitute and drug addicted, said Lincoln Principal Monique Flickinger. "Some were even prostituting their children," she said.

The donations included every necessity from clothing and toothpaste to books and blue-and-white school uniforms. The students packed the loot into their checked luggage, which left them with only a carry-on backpack for their own belongings.

While in Nicaragua, Lincoln staff purchased 14 mattresses, a freezer, sheets, pillows and food. They gave the remaining $2,500 to Loveland native Jane Mirandette's public library in San Juan Del Sur. The students helped Mirandette throw an eight-year anniversary party for the library project, now expanded to 27 "bibliothecas" in the region. A new mobile library reaches readers in remote areas.

Flickinger said the school will be sending two groups next year--25 seventh-graders and 20 to 28 eighth-graders--with 6,000 pounds of goodies, marking the trip's third year.

The Nicaraguan experience was inspired by the book "Three Cups of Tea" about American Greg Mortensen's efforts to build schools in poor villages across Pakistan.

Students raised funds through dinners, a talent show, T-shirt sales and carwashing to come up with $1,500 each for the 10-day jaunt.

"It's a lot of money for them," said Tiberio. "Even for families with average income, it's hard with this economy."

But the prospect of giving to children in obvious need brought out the town's generosity and parents' bravery.

"Some of these parents didn't know where Nicaragua was," Tiberio said. "They were afraid of their child flying on a plane. Parents were taking a risk, letting them go."

It was a risk that seems to have paid off.

"Their world just opened up," Tiberio said. "If you asked the students which ones wanted to come home, none of them would have answered yes."

Though students said they had to overcome their jitters dealing with persistent street beggars and starving stray dogs, not to mention the odd jellyfish sting, they found comfort--and a valuable lesson--in the Nicaraguans' friendliness.

"It really changed my perspective," said Alexandra Ore. "Here in America we're too closed up with our emotions. In Los Quinchos the kids put their arms around you and hug you. When you have nothing else, the one thing you value is other people. We have everything in America, but we've forgotten the importance of people."