Returning to the U.S.

July 20, 2008
So much has happened on this trip. Each journey to the island I enter like a whirlwind. Picking up right where I left off. I immediately start walking, visiting each school, home, business I know. Checking in and up on life and how things are going. Letting people know what TALICA is up to this trip and how we are continuing our conversations from the last trip. This takes about three days. After that, the time takes on a life of its own. Have you ever noticed that when your work evolves organically, the value of the outcome is priceless? Accomplishments seem to just appear out of nowhere and that never ceases to surprise me.

We have accomplished quite a bit. This particular mission has been very different. We are entering a new phase of the program in our first school, The Secondary School Jaime Marza in Balgue. Since our first book buying trip in May 2007, their collection has really come together. The phrase that I have always said, “Poca a poca” "Little by little" is coming to light. I wasn’t really sure how I could pull it off either. Building a lending book collection for a high school was very daunting to me, and well, the teachers from this particular school didn’t have much faith in their dreams coming true of having books in their mist. Wow, their collection is lovely and the changes in the school are visible: more reading, better teaching, organized system to maintain materials and plans to keep it going. http://www.talica.org/Marza.html

The other schools we adopted in January 2008 entered the phase of upgrading the infrastructure within the schools. How could I bring more books without proper book cases and storage? I had thought this might occur as I found more isolated communities and schools, but I didn’t know it would be as grave as this. Two of our newest partners had no book cases, not one! Security was scarce, roofs open to the sky. With books coming, changes started happening. With motivated families, the roof of one school was repaired and hope arose. So, this trip was dedicated to meeting local carpenters and opening accounts with the local hardware store. Ordering wood, glue, varnish, nails, and finding transport to the villages was never on my radar! This learning curve I’ve been on, well I will say has not been all that pleasant, but in hindsight, it has been extremely valuable. I now have the network for this part of the work. The whole community is coming to know us not only as “the library lady” but as an organization that will be here for a while and is on the move to follow through. Our ability and willingness to come back to the same villages time and time again reinforce a network that will only make the work easier and more efficient in the future. The success of TALICA is dependent on our network of people here. Organizations can’t survive without one.

The last days are always the hardest. I am trying to get all the last minutes good-byes in and all the loose ends tired so that we can neatly untie them upon my return. I giggle with the idea that I will see my family in a couple of days, and I cry to think I will be leaving the Nicaraguan families I have come to know and love. I worry about the state of things upon my return. We talk a lot about sustainability and how to keep going in times of challenges. We talk a lot about staying patient and focused and in time all our work will be easily seen. This is no easy task for people who live day by day, it is hard to trust what is not visible, and it is hard to convince families to trust that it WILL happen. The relationship is everything!