Agros Blog

Seven years is a long time for hope to flourish. For the 28 families clustered on the outskirts of this coffee farm near El Tuma, far in the Nicaraguan highlands, hope in a promise the local municipality made to them seven years ago is all but extinguished.  The government moved the families from El Tuma, where they were squatting on tiny plots of land near the main road, to a coffee farm 30 minutes away.  The owner of the farm said the families could use a corner of his land to build temporary homes, while the government looked for a permanent place for them to live.

Today, seven years later, the families are still on the coffee farm, and hope the landowner doesn’t force the government to move them once again. Over the years, their families have expanded, new children have been born, and the little homes they’ve built of sticks and tarp are more crowded.  They’ve come to the realization that the government may never find them a new place to live, permanent homes, and improved living conditions for their children.

Young Yamileth recently told me about her life in Siempre Viva, a name the families gave to themselves, which translates to Always Alive.  While there’s no electricity, “lack of access to water is the hardest part about living here,” says Yamileth. “There are no latrines, which means we have to relieve ourselves in the local river – the same place where we bathe and fetch water to cook and to drink.”

Yamileth showed me the small home she and her husband, Pedro, cobbled together from tarp and wood they found in the forest.  Smoke fills her home as she cooks for her three children from an open fire. Yamileth’s grateful that her oldest daughter, Eva, is getting an education. Eva walks 30 minutes to and from the primary school in the nearby town each day, where she attends first grade. Yamileth stays home with her two younger children, Pedro age five, and Jennifer, now two.  Because her husband Pedro works two hours away from the farm, he walks to work at the beginning of each week, and returns home only on Saturdays. He brings money he’s earned from jobs he’s picked up during the week, either planting corn or clearing fields with his machete, the single tool he owns.  Many days, there’s simply no work to be found, and Pedro returns home with less than enough to supply daily food for his family.

Two doors down, Maria Isabel, another young mother with two children, shares a similar story. Each day, her husband Moises travels to nearby farms looking for any work he can find – but often he finds nothing. Maria Isabel longs for a home of her own, where she can raise her baby Andy, now four months old, and Antonio, her six year old, with better prospects for their future. She hopes to live in a place with clean water, a latrine for her family, and perhaps even electricity. For now, she shares her tiny home with another family, enlarging their space by adding two hammocks in the front yard, covered by a tarp.

What amazes me most about the 28 families of Siempre Viva is that, in spite of their circumstances, they have retained hope that life can indeed become better for themselves and their families! And they are striving to improve their lives. They’ve organized themselves and work together to advocate for their rights in any way they can within the local municipality. On their small parcel of land – owned by the gracious farmer – they have built a temporary preschool. One of the women from their group teaches the younger children there each morning.  Another woman from Siempre Viva serves as a health care provider, using a first aid kit a local ngo has provided to treat minor health issues within the village. The families truly hope for more permanence, a place with improved access to water and better sanitation. They long for homes of their own, with gardens where they can grow their own food to provide for their families’ needs, and a place where there’s more opportunities for dependable work, so they can be more productive. They’ve demonstrated they’re willing to work hard to improve their prospects for the future. They simply lack opportunities.

Just last week, the staff of Agros Nicaragua learned about Siempre Viva from Agros Nicaragua Economic Development Coordinator, Amanda. Amanda’s mother heard about the plight of these families, and passed along their story to Amanda. The families of Siempre Viva are exactly the type of families Agros exists to serve: hardworking, capable people who desire to be productive and provide a better life for themselves and their children.

Next Thursday, Amanda, will return to Siempre Viva to meet with the families and discuss the work of Agros and the opportunities we provide to hardworking families, to own land and boost their incomes. If the families are interested, Amanda will return again to share more about Agros’ community development model. In time, the families of Siempre Viva may indeed qualify to become part of the next Agros village. As they wait, Agros will continue to meet with them and help to strengthen community organization and their ability to advocate for themselves.

As I said goodbye to these families I met here, I was filled with a mix of emotions. The conditions here break my heart. Yet the work ethic, persistence and steadfastness these families have exhibited over the past seven years give me incredible hope for their future. I know that with their willingness to work and take advantage of opportunities, Yamileth, Maria Isabel, and the other families of Siempre Viva can truly thrive in an Agros village. I’m encouraged to know the dialogue has begun, and that Amanda will begin meeting with them next week, as she returns to share more about how Agros can help them turn their dreams into reality.