Thursday, March 31st
Today we woke up to our last wonderful breakfast at the hostel. We were quite reluctant to leave the friendly staff and footpath to the lookout tower, which provided many of us a safe haven for reflection and self discovery. We climbed into the bus for a 5-hour drive through the Nicaraguan countryside. After stopping at a gas station for a quick and delicious snack lunch, we continued on our journey to Los Quinchos, a program for former street kids.
When we arrived, Alberto (one of the directors at Los Quinchos) gave us a wonderful history of the program. It was founded 25 years prior by an Italian woman who, upon vacationing to Nicaragua, saw the over-abundance of street kids and wanted to give those kids the love they truly deserved. Alberto was a former street kid himself, and he told us about the hardships and difficulties in completing the program. The name, “Los Quinchos,” comes from a tale about a boy who was killed at the young age of 14 during the Nicaraguan Revolution. The children chose his name to honor his memory.
After Alberto finished presenting and answering our questions, we were led outside where a few kids were playing while on a short break from school. The kids were making hammocks, riding unicycles, and hula hooping. I fortunately got to meet a 10-year old boy named Jimmy, who likes math, science, and soccer. He was also skilled at hammock making, which I struggled with. The skills these kids acquire are incredible. Unfortunately we had to leave only a few minutes after meeting these kids to head out to a girls’ farm.
When we arrived at the farm we were greeted with hugs from a young girl named Maria, who had an adorable cat named Mancha (Spot/Smudge). Only four girls weren’t in school during our visit because most girls go to school in the afternoon. The girls were studying under a pavilion in their courtyard. We got a run-down of the way the center worked and then had the opportunity to play with Maria, Pilar, Amy, and Mancha. Upon leaving, we received many hugs from the girls, and we were sad to leave them but excited at the thought of our fast-approaching dinner.