Zulu 10 blog- Agua and Arenilla

As most of you sit reading this blog in the UK, most probably in the pouring rain it may be hard to imagine facing issues of water availability. However, as we have discovered during our first five days in Nicaragua these are problems constantly faced by the villagers of Arenilla. 

Despite facing a fairly substantial language barrier, we spoke to Danilo, the head of the village, about the impact water has on everyday life. One surprising fact we learnt was that even though the main income of nearly all the families in Arenilla is agriculture, the main priority when using water is drinking and cleaning themselves and their homes whilst farming remains firmly at the bottom of the pile. 

Whilst we are lucky enough to be living in houses with direct access t water, there are several households still with no running water. They make a long trek to the main village water source everyday, even though the water is not safe to drink. Luckily, Arenilla never faceses serious shortages of water even in the dry season due to its altitude of 1360mts but the villagers are still careful to conserve water as much as possible. For the 19 days that we are part of the community so will we. 

A message from the Turrisantos Trek

Dear concerned parents of Zulu 3, we will not be returning your children next Sunday. Instead we will be returning warrior men and women who have conquered Costa Rica. Over the last 17 days they have been transformed into self-sufficient capable adults who have climbed hundreds of mountains both physically and mentally. The trek adventure stage has pushed them out of their comfort zone and well into their challenge zone. They have worked together as a team and supported each other through many a tough terrain.

No longer will you have problems getting them up in the morning as they have been getting up at 3.30 everyday walking between ten and twenty kilometres a day. You will no longer hear complaints about trips to the shops. Living only off Raleigh rations of noodles and refried beans, they’ll be sure to appreciate your home cooked food. Also having only worn the same smelly shirt and shorts for seventeen days, they will never take for granted freshly laundered clothes.

Through the entire Raleigh expedition they have stepped up as young leaders and guided their fellow peers. Together they have built schools, houses and a remote medical centre, as well as ensuring the conservation of the Costa Rican rainforest. However on this final phase they have pushed themselves to their physical limits and had the opportunity to trek across the beautiful and mountainous landscape. The skills they have learned over the last ten weeks will ensure they are better prepared to take their next big step into the wider world.

‘Although at the start we thought that our feet would fall apart, here at the end they are still intact and stronger than ever! We love trek!!’

By PM Marie

Who will benefit from our work in Siares?

Ten minutes after stepping of the bus in Siares, San Ramon we found ourselves surrounded by curious eyes and big grins from the children of the community. Straight away it became clear that they were the motivation for our work.  It was also an indication that they would become central to our daily life in San Ramon over the next two weeks.

Over several days we began noticing the differences between the lives of these children and the children back home. The pre-school we are building is next to the existing school and so we can observe a typical school day. At around 8.30am clusters of children show up outside the school, and much like English playgrounds, begin playing as they wait for lessons to start. However, the teachers turned up and all the children (who were aged between 4 and 15 years) are separated into only two classes.

Due to the age differences the classes seemed more chaotic than back home. We were lucky enough to teach one class English and witness for ourselves the keen attitude to learning that exists here. For some school was the highlight of the day.

Although to us it seemed that there was very little for the children to do around the area they constantly found various ways to entertain themselves. Age was thrown out of the equation and games were universal. Football was especially popular amongst the boys. Despite the very basic football pitch it seemed to be a hotspot for the community. One of the most amusing things to observe were the children wondering around listening to music on San Ramon's version of the iPod - the jukebox. Music didn't stop there, as we discovered in the morning waking up to loud tunes from surrounding houses.

Living with the families of the community we were able to experience family life at first-hand. Here the theme of children continues as it was rare to find a house without any. Brothers, sisters and cousins all lived under one roof as extended families were the norm.

There are roughly 800 people in San Ramon, spread between 80 houses meaning the average household has 10 members. We found that the presence of children brought laughter and love into every family. It was clear that the community valued their children and one of the reasons we feel they were so welcoming to us is because we were helping to build the pre-school. They made us feel like part of the family.

By Cecilia Ricks & Emma Holder