Improve the Rights of Disabled Adults in Nicaragua

Introduccion

From  30th May until the end of June Rob from the Netherlands has been a guest at Casa Hogar, the Ruach community home.  In spite of the disturbed situation in Nicaragua, he was glad he came. He had booked his journey before the turmoil started. And fortunately the political situation did not prevent him from doing what he came for: to spend some time in the community”.

Rob

"Let me introduce myself. I am Rob Hennekens (61) and live in Groningen, the Netherlands. I’m a guest at Casa Hogar, the Ruach community home, for three weeks. I arrived on 30^th May. The journey from Managua was eventful with lots of barriers on the way as reported in the previous blog. After a few days of getting used to the place, I feel totally at home now. I can converse in Spanish at a basic conversation level. I participate in the running of the household and in the stimulation programme for the residents, using the SonRise method. I’m not an experienced pedagogue, but I’ve picked up a lot; it’s a matter of empathizing, listening and looking. And there are tangible results: I’m getting more and more contact with the residents and I feel included in the community.

The home
The common area is spacious, with a large veranda and a garden at the back with mango trees. As is common here, the roof consists of corrugated iron sheets. It is the mango season, and ripe mangos drop to the ground, ….or onto the sheet-iron roof ,which makes a heck of a lot of noise!. At first I got a fright, thinking I was hearing gunfire. The bedrooms are fairly small, also because the ones on the ground floor and first floor are partitioned to create two sleeping spaces out of one bedroom. I had a choice of two sleeping spaces and opted for the one in the garage. The first night I felt as if I was sleeping under a bridge as there was so much outside noise around, but I soon got used to it.

Routine
The day is tightly scheduled to help the residents function well within a clear structure. Breakfast is at 7am, followed by a contemplation using a bible text or something else; at 9am we sing children’s songs; stimulation sessions for the residents start at 10am. After a delicious lunch, the main meal of the day, there are more individual stimulation sessions of 30 minutes each between 2pm and 5.30pm. Evening prayer is at 6pm followed by the evening meal. Within this rigid structure everything happens with a lot of attention, love and complete acceptance.

Extra activities
On my first day we celebrated Mothers Day in the activities centre where the more able compañeros have their afternoon activities. I had brought stroopwafels ( syrup waffles) from the Netherlands, a Dutch delicacy, much liked as people here have a sweet tooth.

I was in Nicaragua once before, in 1985 with the summer brigade in Northern Nicaragua. I was taught a children’s song (De Colores) there, which I am now using to teach at Ruach. As singing is my big hobby I’ve found some other songs that I’ve been asked to introduce in the 30 minute daily singing slot.

My education background is in architecture and engineering. Last week we had a look at a site where potentially we could construct a new Casa Hogar and maybe the activities centre. Although the plans are still vague at present, I’ve given the ideas some thought, based on an assessment of the current home, to find what the possibilities and challenges are.

As due to the political situation it is not safe to travel, Astrid, Jonathan and I spent a night away last weekend at the holiday centre Finca Los Angeles, not far outside Juigalpa; a good place to swim, eat and spend the night. It was a nice outing to break the daily routine and to generate new energy for the remainder of my time here.

In spite of the disturbed situation in Nicaragua, I’m glad I came. I’d booked my journey before the turmoil started. Fortunately I’m able to do what I came for: to spend some time in the community. In my contacts here I am learning a lot about myself which is very worthwhile. Differences and judgements disappear, there is no duality. It is giving and receiving. Here I can be who I am".

Volunteers

Rob’s visit of course shows that Ruach is open to receiving people who would like to live and work in our community for at least one month. Prior experience in working with intellectually disabled people is not essential, but it is important to be adaptable, curious and eager to experience the different way of living we offer in our community. Basic ability to communicate in Spanish is important. If you are interested or would like to know more, please contact Ruach directly via: ajdelleman@zonnet.nl.

No activities club for now

On Tuesday the 15 th of May the political situation in Juigalpa was so tense that we had to decide to close the activities club for the rest of the week.

There have been demonstrations in Nicaragua since 18 April in the wake of the Government’s decision to clean up the Institute in charge of collecting pension premiums and paying out pensions. The country went up in flames after many people were killed or injured as a result of the violence used to contain the protests. It was somewhat ground-breaking that many Nicaraguans who for years had tolerated the increasingly authoritarian and anti-democratic government, now took to the streets in protest.

The week after the situation was stable enough in Juigalpa, so that we were able to welcome our ‘compañeros’ again.

Juigalpa

On 15 May all shops closed and everybody, except for the protesters, stayed off the streets. The unrest that started in the capital a month ago had leapt to Juigalpa. The riot police were around and a confrontation with peaceful demonstrators seemed imminent, especially those who raised the barricades that had cut Juigalpa off from the rest of the country (there are about 10 places now were they have raised barricades). They only let pass the cars every 2 or 3 hours. Farmers in particular had raised barricades to stop traffic in and out of Juigalpa, to add strength to their demands for reform and for a halt to violence by police and paramilitary groups. They have the sympathy of a lot of people. Although it had a big impact on daily life, because shops were no longer supplied, and neither buses nor private vehicles were able to get in or out of the town. As in other towns, also in Juigalpa, Roman Catholic priests played a pivotal role in preventing violence. They were ready to negotiate and placed themselves between riot police and demonstrators. Although the riot police did not accept it just like that, the campaign of the priests was successful: no blood was shed.

For our community home we stocked up on emergency supplies of food and drink and candles etc. Jonathan, who is autistic, has had a difficult week as he is frustrated by not being able to go outside for his routine activities and by the fact I had to cancel our planned trip to Managua to stay with a friend there.

After

The 19^th of May the national dialogue started, led by the Roman Catholic Church. Many people were somewhat put out by the president’s starting position in the negotiations. After four meetings the bishop announced a pause because it was impossible to achieve some compromises between the government and the civil movements. Demonstration against the president are going on.

Nicaragua has disappeared from the headlines in the international press. But this doesn’t mean that the conflict has gone. Demonstrations still occur daily. Nicaragua is shaking on its foundations. Oh Nicaragua, Nicaraguita…….