Researching Hope & Opportunity

Limonel is located at the edge of what the locals call "The Triangle of Death"––surrounded by a large garbage dump where whole families scavenge every day, a cemetery, and the septic field for all of Chinandega. Because of the flooding, the sewage flows in the laneways of Limonel. We are researching the feasibility of building small cement block houses with concrete floors (all the homes in Limonel sit on the dirt, and when the rains come the floors turn into...well...you can imagine. So we looked at some existing models in another village. This week Pastor Myorga will find out more about material costs. We may put up just one so that the villagers can see it. (Is this a show home?)

On Wednesday, Christina and I had a terrific meeting with a lady who is the president of the Prostitute's Association of Chinandega. Really. She is intelligent, compassionate and eager to see employment opportunities for women who want to get out of the sex trade. She presents a list of 82 women that want out. So we talked for a long time about possible businesses that they could start with a bit of startup capital. We also talked about business training, accountability groups, support and recovery groups, prayer support etc. She presented some well thought out business ideas. As Christina shared with her our desire to bring hope and opportunities to these ladies, she wept. Then Christina prayed with her. It was a powerful time.

As a result of that meeting, I have been walking the streets of Chinandega with Jair, Osvaldo's administrator. We have looked at a lot of businesses in the past two days. We have looked at various fruit and vegetable markets, roadside barbecues, corner stores, clothing stands, and vegetable carts that are pushed around the city. The bottom line is that life is hard here in Nicaragua. Most of them work from 5 am until evening, seven days a week. And for this, most make just enough to pay for the basics of food and accommodation––about $12 a day. But nowhere is there complaining; this is simply life here. And the opportunity to work these kind of hours for this level of profit is what the sex trade workers are longing for. It is all rather humbling.

Over the past two years, we have been able to partner with Osvaldo, Rosie and El Shaddai ministries to provide clean water to a village, food for children, a farm, building feeding centers, repairing schools, health education and mobile medical clinics. The needs are huge, and the road to healthy & hopeful living stretches a long way ahead of us. But we are taking ground. We are moving forward. And now, perhaps the Lord will let us offer the hope of building small businesses for women who are abused and scorned in this city; and with that hope will come dignity; and with dignity, an understanding of their incredible value to their loving Father.