{"id":859,"date":"2019-09-01T21:05:23","date_gmt":"2019-09-01T21:05:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/genuineactivist.com\/?p=859"},"modified":"2024-11-12T17:07:07","modified_gmt":"2024-11-12T17:07:07","slug":"bountifully-blessed-weekend-in-central-america","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/genuineactivist.com\/index.php\/2019\/09\/01\/bountifully-blessed-weekend-in-central-america\/","title":{"rendered":"Bountifully Blessed Weekend in Central America"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

Bountifully Blessed Weekend in Central America<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Another wonderful and very fulfilling adventure on the books. I have been making my way back all day today from\u00a0 Nicaragua\u00a0\"\ud83c\uddf3\ud83c\uddee\".<\/span><\/p>

It\u2019s nearing midnight, eastern time, and here I am in my home airport of Atlanta, GA but I am not going home, instead I am about to board my fourth plane of the day to head to Panama City Beach to pick up my children and drive them back to Atlanta before the hurricane hits Florida. My husband has to stay in Florida a few more days for work.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\u00a0<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

Why was I in Nica?<\/strong><\/p>

I was there attending the once a year event for Keller Williams for all of Central America. <\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\"\"<\/p>

It would have been three planes but this little hopper had to turn around after 30 minutes in flight to return to the Costa Rican \ud83c\udde8\ud83c\uddf7airport of Liberia due to a mechanical issue. I barely made my next flight out of the capital of Costa Rica (San Jose), but luckily I was able to quickly board another plane and turn right back around.<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
Volcanoes in the distance.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

This trip was not only my first international speaking gig it was also my first time public speaking in Spanish. I had the pleasure of being on a panel at the event and as passionate as I am in public speaking, I must admit that I was a little nervous because of having to use my gringo Spanish to explain a program I am working on.<\/p>

I made it through and felt great once it was over. I had a ton of encouragement.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>

I may have met the sweetest people on earth in Nica.<\/span><\/p>

What an absolutely stunningly beautiful country. It is truly incredible. Lago Cocibolca- wow!!<\/span><\/p><\/div>

The people are so warm and friendly. I felt very safe there. I made friends that I believe will last a lifetime.<\/div>
\u00a0<\/div>
\"\"
Monkeys in the trees.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Nica is also so very poor.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Entering a poverty stricken country, I couldn\u2019t pass up the opportunity to do something for those in a situation of complete inequality and perpetual poorness. With the help of Dr. Lan Vo and Dr. Sean Breckley of 32 Dental Practice<\/u><\/strong><\/a>,<\/u> <\/strong>Kwon Pediatric Dentistry<\/u><\/strong><\/a>, Great Expressions Dental Center in Marietta<\/u><\/strong><\/a>, and Rory B. Sprouse of Sprouse Dental<\/u><\/strong><\/a> I was able to bring with me to Nica 364 toothbrushes, 571 toothpastes, and 216 flosses all fitting in one suitcase.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

There are two places that these toothbrushes and toothpastes were planned for. One, to the children that work in the dump. <\/span><\/p>

\u00a0<\/div>
\"\"<\/div>
\u00a0<\/div>
I was able to go by there and bring the children and their parents each a toothbrush, floss and toothpaste.<\/div>
\u00a0<\/div>
\"\"<\/span><\/div>
\u00a0<\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\"\"Nicaraguan customs counted every last one of the items that I brought. I explained to customs that they were gifts, but they weren’t having it. That was my first experience not being able to talk my way out of paying taxes on items I am bringing into a country for their poor. A couple months back when my entire rental car was jam packed with socks the Mexican officials turned a blind eye. In the end, I only paid $25 taxes on the items. All good.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

These people gather 100 pounds of cardboard or 100 pounds of plastic for making between $2-$10 per 100 pounds.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

It takes a while to make that. Weeks. Sometimes longer. What I learned from my contact there that is very familiar with and works directly with helping the people in the dump is that out of desperation to eat and survive, it is a common theme that parents of these children pimp out their kids to the drivers of the delivery trucks of the trash in order to get the first picks for sorting. That way they can be first to choose what they take and they can pick out metals and items that are heavier and will get them to their 100 pounds quicker. *This has not been reported from the dump I visited, but the only confirmed reports of this are from a dump named Chureca near the capital.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\"\"
The house in the background is where a family that works in the dump lives.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

It is a sad and numbing reality.<\/strong><\/p>

Brushing their teeth seems like the least of their concerns, and at the same time, they are grateful and will use what we gave them. They feel comfort in the love shared by being given such a wonderful gift of something for their basic hygienic needs.\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\"\"
Plastic everywhere as you enter the dump…and have a million dollar view of the volcano in the background.<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\u00a0<\/div><\/div><\/div>
\u00a0<\/div>
\u00a0<\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

But there is hope.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>

Pam was my Canadian connection to Ana who founded a place called Bethel Home of Hope Rivas, which is strategically located right down the street from the dump.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

\"\"<\/p>

Ana and me.<\/span><\/em><\/p><\/div><\/div>

\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\"\"<\/div>
Best part of the trip was this hug right here.<\/span><\/em><\/div><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Through Bethel Home of Hope Rivas now these kids have resources to them and encouragement to get educated and out of poverty.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\"\"<\/p>

She even has had a well installed ($10,000) that everyone that works at the dump and all those who live in the little makeshift (as I call them) houses with dirt floors, all surrounding the area with no utilities and leaking roofs have access to this free clean water.<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

She has created sustainable living for the workers there with a garden and animals.<\/p>

\"\"<\/p>

\"\"<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

It was such an incredible place and very fulfilling to be at Bethel Home.<\/span><\/p>

The other place the remainder of these\u00a0 toothbrushes are going to is a dentist in Managua the capital of Nicaragua (two hours from where I was) that has been wanting to start a program to teach dental hygiene to the children in the poor areas. This dentist has been writing Colgate and Crest trying to get donations and has not had luck so she has now hit the jackpot, in a sense, to start her program. I left the remaining materials with Pam to deliver these in two days. I will be in touch with the dentist and follow her program.<\/span><\/p>

It is hard to believe we share a world\u00a0with people in such a situation as this. It is very sad. But, coming together, we can help a little bit and be a ray of sunshine. It brought me immense joy to spend the afternoon with these sweet children who need as much hope as possible instilled in them to be motivated to get out of poverty.<\/span><\/p>

On my 40 minute drive to the town of Rivas where I went into the dump, I couldn\u2019t be more motivated to get spay and neuter programs started in Nicaragua and other parts of Central America where they are so desperately needed. I saw starving street dogs\u00a0everywhere! Also, horses were tied up on the sides of the roads. They were also starving!<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\"\"<\/p>

Pam explained to me that the owners of the horses are poor and can\u2019t afford to feed them so they have to tie them up on the sides of the road to eat the grass. In certain times of the year, there is less for the horses to eat. I probably saw 50 horses along the 40 minute drive to the dump that all had their ribs showing.\u00a0In the little town of Rivas, many people ride around in carts pulled by these skinny horses because they can\u2019t afford cars. I saw dozens of emaciated horses pulling carts with people in them.<\/span><\/p>

On this trip, I have also secured what I believe to be the correct contacts to bring forward spay and neuter clinics into Nicaragua\u00a0\ud83c\uddf3\ud83c\uddee,\u00a0 Costa Rica\u00a0\ud83c\udde8\ud83c\uddf7, and further into Mexico\u00a0\ud83c\uddf2\ud83c\uddfd. I also met people who said they will be donors to the projects in their countries. Stay tuned for developments on this. Next to come, my family and I will be attending our next spay and neuter event on September 29th in Ensenada Mexico. As of today we are at 600 dogs and cats spayed and neutered on our project to spay and neuter 2000 dogs by the end of 2020. If you are interested in learning more about our charity or if you want to support the suffering pets with us, you can support us at JO Gives<\/u><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

We are just getting started.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bountifully Blessed Weekend in Central America Another wonderful and very fulfilling adventure on the books. I have been making my way back all day today from\u00a0 Nicaragua\u00a0. It\u2019s nearing midnight, eastern time, and here I am in my home airport of Atlanta, GA but I am not going home, instead I am about to board […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":884,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_header_footer","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-859","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-humanitarian-animal-advocacy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/genuineactivist.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/859","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/genuineactivist.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/genuineactivist.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/genuineactivist.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/genuineactivist.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=859"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/genuineactivist.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/859\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1692,"href":"https:\/\/genuineactivist.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/859\/revisions\/1692"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/genuineactivist.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/884"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/genuineactivist.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=859"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/genuineactivist.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=859"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/genuineactivist.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=859"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}