On April 28, I had the opportunity to visit the Community “La Esperanza” in the Municipality of Waspam, on the banks of the Coco River, in the North Atlantic Autonomous Region (RANN), on the border between Nicaragua and Honduras.
Together with the Nicaraguan Conference of Religious (CONFER), we reached out to this community to provide some economic and food aid to the people affected by hurricanes IOTA and ETA. Leaving Nicaragua, we traveled in vehicles and small boats until we reached our destination. In the community, we were greeted with great joy, acceptance and hope. This is a community that is more difficult to reach because of its remoteness. The geographical situation of the area, the poor state of the road infrastructure, along with the fact that it is not located along a major route for any commercial activity, makes the community relatively isolated from the rest of the country.
A typical house in the area’s capital is built on wooden stilts, either with a zinc roof, or covered with bamboo and a thatched roof. There are few homes built of concrete, and those that do exist are primarily in the urban part of Waspam and the community of San Carlos.
We helped families rebuild their homes, and purchase rice seeds to resume cultivation following the devastation of the hurricanes.
We also met with the parish priest of the town, and it made an impression on us when he said that our presence was a miracle, as no one had visited the town or brought aid in this time of need.
We learned that the parish is called Our Lady of Guadalupe, just like my current province. However the miracle for us lay in the richness we experienced, and the time spent with people. We were able to share the greatness of creation and, above all, faith in God. These people have nothing economically, but they are happy with the little they have.
We entrust to the Blessed Virgin of Guadalupe these people and all those in the world today who are affected by wars, famine, natural disasters, and are forced to leave their homes and their countries.
Sr. Xochilt Calero, MSC