A Fence

Hey All,

Not too long ago GVI tried to build a garden behind the school. We provide the children with fruit twice a day and, naturally, the costs do add up. The garden would be a great addition because it would help divert some of the costs of the fruit to other projects GVI is trying to accomplish.
Unfortunately, when the first garden was built it was overrun by wild credos (pigs). So, we quickly determined that a fence would be the solution to our problems. However, our fence was quoted at $1200 US dollars. The cost was simply too great. We would simply have to continue on without a garden until the time when we could properly construct a fence.
At our meeting last week we Carla, Aaron and myself talked a lot about the people not taking advantage of the opportunities that GVI was providing—the stoves, the school, and so on. I think we half way guilted people into agreeing to meet this morning and construct such a fence. People had promised their time and their materials. Promises in Nicaragua, however, often never come to fruition.
So, Aaron and I dragged our asses out of bed this morning at 645. Neither of us was expecting very much—maybe one or two people to come and then rapidly disperse. And when we showed up, on time, we were not surprised to see not one person there.
Aaron and I sat in Carla’s house, next to the school and waited. Imagine our surprise when people began coming to the lot, first with shovels, then with concrete posts, and finally with the concrete itself.
The scene was beautiful—Nicaraguans and Gringos working side by side. You have to realize the significance of this… It was not too long ago that America was supporting the suppression of the Nicaraguan people through the support of an evil dictator, a support that ultimately led to a civil war where many, if not all, of the people that we were working with lost brothers, fathers, or uncles.
I spoke to a man who fought in the civil war. He detested Americans, calling us imperialists, claiming that we impose our culture on others. I have to say, I agree with him. It was a profound experience. I told the man that I am here, in no way, to influence these children in American culture. I am here to learn about his culture, and to do the best I can to give his people a better life. At the end of the day the same man offered to paint a mural commemorating the building of the fence, of us working side by side.
I hope his attitude transcends to the people in the community. I hope they can see that we are here to help, that we care, and that we are not leaving.
Patrick