They don’t call it the “Mosquito Coast” for nothing.
My team and I have been on the Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua for five days now, living in Puerto Cabezas at an orphanage/school/church compound called Verbo (“The Word”). Pastor Earl heads up Verbo, which partners with OrphaNetwork to provide education, housing, food, healthcare and personal development for the 80+ children who live here.
While we are here, we are living alongside the children and their caretakers, serving in the youth group and church services, ministering at the local hospital, and building houses for community members whose homes were destroyed by Hurricane Felix last September. And though technically the coast is aptly named after the Miskito Indian Tribe which inhabits this region, the abundance of little biting creatures have led to a lot of itching, and a lot of praying against disease!
ready for anything…
many homes in the area are roofed by USAid tarps
the view of the town dump, where our current building project is located
a beautiful new friend at the hospital
I know statistics can be boring for some people, but I felt it important to share these facts with you:
- Nicaragua is the poorest Spanish-speaking country in the world. It is the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. The country’s poverty most severely affects women and children.
- Nearly 50% of all Nicaraguans are either unemployed or underemployed.
- Distribution of income in Nicaragua is one of the most unequal on the globe. 2.3 million Nicaraguans live in poverty. The majority of Nicaraguans live on less than $2/day and more than 800,000 live in extreme poverty (less than $1/day).
- One of every three Nicaraguan children has some degree of malnutrition.
- One of every four Nicaraguan children is born to a teenage mother.
- Less than 30 percent of all Nicaraguan children complete an elementary education. On average, Nicaraguans complete fewer than five years of schooling.
- Ninety-five percent of all disabled children in the country receive no appropriate support
(statistics provided by OrphaNetwork.org, also check out verbonicaragua.com)
Who cares what they’re wearing
On Main Street,
Or Saville Row,
It’s what you wear from ear to ear
And not from head to toe
(That matters)
On Main Street,
Or Saville Row,
It’s what you wear from ear to ear
And not from head to toe
(That matters)
