pre-departure

I'm going to post all the emails I've already sent. So here's the first one that I sent!

I left for Nicaragua on January 3. In case you've forgotten why I'm going to Nicaragua, I'll remind you. I'm going to work at an orphanage for a year. This isn't a traditional orphanage. Some of the kids have one (or maybe two) parents living, but their parents are unable to care for them. Many kids have other family that they know, most often aunts, uncles, and cousins, but sometimes grandparents or older siblings. But for whatever reason (poverty, illness, drug/alcohol abuse problems, etc) these family members are not able to care for the kids. Many kids come to the orphanage with siblings. They have often led very unstable lives. Perhaps they lived with their parents for a while; then one parent left and the other had to move; then something happened to that parent and they were sent to live with grandma; then grandma died, so they went to live with an aunt; then the aunt decided she couldn't care for them and her own 4 kids. Other kids come to NPH orphanage from the streets or because of abusive situations. For all of these reasons, the kids are not adopted out of the orphanage. They are promised a secure place to live (with all their siblings) where they will be loved and cared for until they choose to leave. All pequenos (the name for the "orphans", which means little ones) give back at least one "year of service" to the orphanage. Some give more depending on how much education they choose to receive. (The orphanage will support the pequenos through university, but I think then they give back more years of service, rather than just one for high school grads.)

I will be living at the orphanage in a house with other volunteers and working as a tutor. Because of the unstable background of the kids, many of them are behind in school and so need some extra help to get caught up to grade level. There are also some kids with learning disabilities who need extra help. The orphanage is located on Isla de Ometepe, the largest island in Lake Nicaragua. The island is made up of two volcanos, one active. Because of the active volcano, the orphanage has bought new property and is buiding new facilities a little ways south of Managua. This will also enable more of the kids to live together. Right now infants through age 6 or 7 live on the mainland, while the older kids live on the island. Upper grades of HS, tech school, and university students are all in Managua. There are 350 kids total, and I'm not sure what the distribution is. The orphanage is connected to other orphanages in an organization called Nuestros Pequenos Hermanos (Our little brothers and sisters). The first orphanage was started in Mexico by a Catholic priest. The orphanages are Catholic, but I'm not sure how connected they are to the Catholic church. But they do raise the kids Catholic. However, volunteers do not have to be Catholic, as long as they don't mind that the kids are raised Catholic.

I hope this helps you know a little bit more about what I'm doing here!