February 28

Today we had our work experience afternoon. Almost all of the kids who go to the Diria Institute go to school for half the day and then work for the other half. After lunch, we went around the village and visited some of the homes to see the what they did and what their living conditions were. The family made clothes for the people in the village, uniforms for the kids at the school, and traditional dresses for the folkloric dancing. Walking around and seeing a day in the lives of these kids was incredibly enlightening. When we are at school with the students, we get to see their carefree side, but going into these workshops, I really noticed that even though they were in their homes, it also meant they were at work and were therefor treated like adults and expected to produce. This reality was grounding because I really got to see the juxtaposition between our lives as kids in Canada and the lives of these kids here.

Marcella Maria Da Silva

 

Today we visited more of our scholarship winners, and honestly today really hit home. I am sponsoring a student named Valeria (she’s studying medicine), and today was the day where we finally got to go visit her. I never thought it would be as hard as it was to go in to her house, and stand there trying to keep myself composed. We couldn’t even all stand in her house. She started to thank all of us from the bottom of her heart and then began to thank me. She said how grateful she is that I am supporting her and finding space in my heart to put her through university (as she could not have gone without the scholarship). This was when I realized that I cannot even find the words to express how complex all this feels. Valeria works incredibly hard and I cannot wait for the day we can call her “Doctor”. She deserves it and so much more. I am so grateful that I am connected to Valeria and have been able to have such a big impact in her life, as she has had on mine.

Jamie Shore

 

Aujourd’hui, pour la sixième journée du voyage, on a passé tout le matin avec les étudiants de l’école. On s’est reveillée une demi-heure plus tard que d’habitude, et on a quitté l’hôtel vers 8h30. Autour de 9h00, on est arrivé à l’école et on a joué des jeux avec nos « buddies » et quelques-uns des garçons de l’école. Avec l’aide des filles de l’école, nous avons mis les robes typiques du Nicaragua. La mienne était blanche avec des lignes roses au bas, elle était tellement belle, j’en voulais une pour pouvoir la rapporter à la maison. La professeure de danse de l’école était en charge de nous montrer la danse et on a fait trois danses différentes. De ces trois danses, nous allons choisir notre préférée, et là présenter en avant de l’école vendredi. On a aussi pratiqué notre danse québecoise avec nos « buddies ». C’était une journée très amusante et je ne vais jamais oublier cette expérience.

Justine Henrichon-Goulet