Pittsburgh Rotary Club installs a fence at Los Perez school
November 2010: 6 members of the Pittsburgh Rotary Club travelled to Nicaragua on November 17th to install a fence. With the leadership of David Slick, this is the sixth fence project they have completed over the years. Partnering with the local community, they were able to complete their share of the project in 2 short days. This year we travelled to the Los Perez community were some 70 families live. The majority of the community members are farmers. This proved to be beneficial as they then also had tools and ox carts.
As North Americans living in Nicaragua we often joke about “Nica time” and how everything seems to be much more complicated here. This project is one such example. The only access to this community is via ox cart, or walking in. While most of us chose to walk the 3 Km in across fields and through barbed wire fences, the supplies had to be hauled in on ox carts.
The sand, gravel, cement mix, and metal poles were all unloaded on the side of a main road. We then scooped it up into bags to transport it to the school. Due to the poor conditions of the road and the strain on their oxen, the ox cart drivers chose to only take a few loads each day. Good thing we started this process on Monday!
By Wednesday all of the supplies were at the school and the post holes were being dug. Community members greatly assisted in both of these efforts so that when the Rotary team arrived on Thursday we were ready to begin installing the fence.
We began with preparing the poles. Cutting them down to size was not an easy task, so many hands were called for. As poles became ready others began to pound them into place as still others removed obstacles such as trees. With all the poles pounded down and level we were ready for the concrete.
Friday was mesh day.
Everyone soon understood what needed to happen, and two teams were formed. Working from opposite ends, they began to quickly move forward in laying the mesh.
Gringos and Nicaragüenses worked alongside one another, at times communicating in fluent Spanish, while other times gestures and nods got the meaning across.
By noon on Friday the mesh portion was completed. After eating a fabulous meal prepared locally, we packed up our things and for the last time journeyed around rivers, plod through farm yards, and squeezed through fences as we headed back to all of the demands and realities of lives that for a few short days were tempered by joy of giving to those less fortunate than ourselves.
The 27 students that attend the Los Perez school are extremely grateful for all of the hard work these men put in. While a fence may not seem like a huge improvement to many of us, Nicaraguans see this as incredibly important. It not only keeps the school more secure, but also keeps animals from wandering in and making a mess of the school yard. This community is exceedingly proud of their new fence and were honored to have been the recipients of such selfless giving.
We at Hope and Development were thrilled to partner with this group as we work to form partnerships between the rural communities of Villa el Carmen and those who are looking to give of their time and talents.