The word "La Chureca" is a Latin American slang term for city dump - and that's exactly what La Chureca is. It's the Managua city dump, and, until recently, the largest open air landfill in Central America. It started in the early 70s, and since then, there have been people who live in the dump, building houses/shacks out of whatever they can find, and making a tiny living by searching through trash piles for recyclable objects they can sell. It's estimated that about 1,000 people live in Chureca, and about half of them are under 18 years old. Manna's work in Chureca consists mainly of helping fund a clinic and running a child sponsorship program, where people in the US (or elsewhere) can sponsor a child for $20/month. That cost covers milk, oatmeal, and vitamins for the child, as well as a birthday and Christmas present. If the child is young enough that the mother is breast-feeding, the money covers beans and vitamins for the mother in order to help produce more nutritious breast milk. In addition, we teach a few English courses at Chureca as well.
I don't think it's useful to show you a lot of pictures of La Chureca, and I won't be taking any for a LONG time. Chureca and its residents get exploited a lot as is, and I want to form relationships without a camera lens between me and the people I am trying to connect with. But I will tell you about my experiences in Chureca so far, and about the people I've met there. As we drive into Chureca, there are two things that hit you right away: the sight of huge mounds of trash to your right and houses to the left, and the stench of the trash. It's an overwhelming smell - I'm not really sure how to explain it to you, but I promise you that it's unpleasant. A typical house in Chureca is made of plastic or tin, with sticks as the frame. There is electricity and running water, at least, but the houses are very basic, small, and made of whatever the family could find. There's usually at least one child outside each house playing, often naked.
We go to Chureca three times a week. On Wednesdays, we hold a health-related discussion for the mothers of the children in the child sponsorship program. This is a requirement for the program, and we think it's very important for the mothers to be committed enough to attend these "charlas" - not only does it show commitment, it gives the mothers information to help their families be as healthy as possible. The other two days we go to Chureca, Tuesday and Thursday, we walk around and talk with the mothers and kids in the program. This allows us to keep tabs on how they are doing, if there is any dire medical need, and also to gather information to send updates to the sponsors of the children.
On Thursday, we had the chance to spend some time at the house of a beautiful boy named Douglas and his family. We spent about 15 minutes just hanging out with Douglas and his mother, a wonderful woman who is very dedicated to her son and to the program. Here's Douglas' latest picture from our child sponsorship website:
Douglas was playing with the one toy we saw when we were in the house - a plastic fishing rod with three plastic fish. We had a good conversation with Douglas' mom, and then we got up to leave the house. Douglas' grandma also lives there, and she let us out the "door" (wooden piece which provides a break in the pieced-together metal fence which surrounds their house), and as we walked out, she said something which really struck me and has been on my mind ever since. She said, "One day, the Lord will give us a beautiful little house. But for now, this is what we have."
I stood there with tears in my eyes, and no idea how to respond. She continued and talked about how bad the conditions were at Chureca. We chatted about that for a few sentences, and then headed on our way. But her words echoed in my head the rest of the trip and have been echoing ever since. Douglas' grandma didn't say anything profound - she simply wished out loud for something which we all consider almost a right - a small house. What struck me the most was her faith. Yes, she was resigned to the realities of Chureca for now, but she had such hope in the way she said the sentence that there WOULD be something better in their future.
It's easy to get discouraged at Chureca or thinking about Chureca. I will be the first to admit that what Manna does there, or what any NGO is doing there, is woefully insufficient. We can not fix Chureca - that is beyond us. Walking around to visit the 33 kids in our child sponsorship program, we pass many more who could and should be a part of the program. Kids get sick frequently and stay sick for a long time. Many have skin diseases and parasites due to the rough living conditions. People literally dig through the trash as a living. If there is any place that I have trouble finding hope, it is Chureca. But I only have trouble finding hope until I hear a woman who lives there have the hope and the faith that I struggle to have. When I hear her hope, I find mine again - after all, if she can be hopeful in her situation, can't we all be hopeful with and for her as well? If she has faith that the Lord will provide, can't we all have that same faith?
Chureca, to me, is a screaming example of faith and hope shining through the darkness. I wish I could take you all there - not to show you the poverty, or the piles of trash, or so you could smell the stench. I wish I could take you all there so you could see the smiles on the faces of the children. I wish I could take you there so you could hear the faith and hope of the adults who live in the reality that is Chureca. I wish I could take you there to hear Douglas' laugh, to play with the one marble a sweet boy named Kevin owns, to play with the kids when they are on recess at one of the two schools in Chureca. Seeing Chureca has changed me as a person - interestingly enough, into a more joyful person and a more hopeful person, which may be a strange reaction to the closest thing to a living hell that I have ever seen. But I believe it would do the same for you if you were able to meet the people who live there. I will do my best, throughout the year, to share Chureca and the lessons it teaches me with you in the best way I can. In return, I beg you to pray for the people who live in La Chureca - for their health and safety, and that one day their simple dreams will come true. Please pray.
We currently have a wait list of children who are waiting on a sponsor so that they can participate in our child sponsorship program as well. If you are interested in learning more or becoming a sponsor, check out http://www.mannaproject.org/nicaragua-child or send me an e-mail at fiona.turett@mannaproject.org.
Well, I think you did a pretty darn good job of painting us a picture of La Chureca. Gives me chills. All my prayers for you, your team, and the community members there.
ReplyDelete