P entered La Chureca

This Thursday, MJ followed the rubbish' way from the bin to La Chureca on board a rubbish lorry. After having left the little one at his pre-school, I followed, observing the observer. They work quite efficient, I must say. Just to follow the white lorry speeding through Managua, was hard enough. And they ran with rubbish as well!



One person at the back of the lorry, two on the street, collecting the bins, sacks or just rubbish piled outside the houses. The two on the street throws to the one on the lorry, who sorts valuables to the plastic bags and the rest into the stomach of the lorry.



When the lorry was full, it had to be emptied. I followed it in our, rather too old and too crappy Mitsubishi Space Wagon, into La Chureca. Since the day was very windy, the burning plastic on both sides of the road entering La Chureca created a rather scary tunnel the last hundred metres before the entrance. The car's tires are not in good shape, but then again, it seemed quite suitable for a dump. So, in I went, hoping not having to change tires in the fumes - where people live. It was, eh, apocalyptical (like Mad Max, but more smoke and dust).



I couldn't follow the lorry all the way to where it got emptied (tires!), instead I stopped and talked to people. Well, when I could open the window a little bit in between the smoke and dust attacks, I talked to people. One man I spoke to, stood there, directing lorries. We said hello and such, and then he took out his sandwich and started to eat. I had to close the window. It was either that, or coughing to death. He ate. After that i kept my window and mouth shut. Scary place! Impressive inhabitants!



I guess teaching and writing blah blah blah isn't that hard, after all.

Chureca and Managua

Yesterday night we visited our dear friend Josué from Matagalpa. Since the last time we met, Josué got married and bought a small house in Managua. From his house's yard, the view of La Chureca, the garbage continuously burning, shaken by the intense winds of January. Of course La Chureca is more than Acahualinca and its inhabitants. It is about Managua, the lake, its water, its air. It is about Nicaragua.

Juntos contigo! Together with you

Last Wednesday I had the pleasure to meet Juntos Contigo, a Nicaraguan-Dutch NGO based in La Chureca since more than six years ago. Juntos Contigo has a focus on youth education and sports as a means to support community development. www.juntoscontigo.com


This scorpion embodies how some local NGOs operating within La Chureca, as Juntos Contigo, have reviewed their role during this transition period, as a result of the Acahualinca Project. Juntos contigo is now implementing some joint activities within the framework of the Acahualinca Project as the one I attended today. The objective was to encourage internal communication channels and self confidence through the development of handcraft abilities with recycled materials.


When Rubén explained for me that Juntos Contigo trains the kids in computing, I did not get the how, until he showed me this! I could have never imagined something like this in the middle of La Chureca.


Rubén asked Tere to come with us for a walk around the Chureca community. Tere has lived 19 of her 22 years at La Chureca. Even if the afternoon was chilly, the wind made the air almost unbreathable. Together with this, the mountains of garbage removed by the construction works are just getting this situation even worse. However, during this short work in the calmed afternoon I discovered a peaceful and more or less harmonic society that gets ready for the hard work of the following day. Now it is almost dinner time. This lady lives in the near neighbourhood of Acahualinca and comes daily to sell homemade food to La Chureca


To do some shopping at Pulpería La Económica is also another option.


The municipality has now also presence in the community. After years of laissez faire now the municipality and the sandinist government is entering to La Chureca through the Acahualinca Project. There are frequent visits of municipal officers to the community and the NGOs as Juntos Contigo that perform as hinge or gatekeepers.


The municipality has also established direct connection with the "twelve community leaders". One of them is Oscar, who sells delicious homemade cajetas (godies) in the neighbourhood.


Playing football. This is one of the activities that Juntos contigo supports in the community.


Cleaning clothes after a hard day of work at La Chureca. There is water supply in most households by the intervention of one of the local NGOs, Funcofundes, the same one that runs the health centre. To what extent has the intervention of these NGOs supported the isolation of this community within the garbage dump instead of promoting a way out? This is one of the main discussions between the NGOs operating at La Chureca and Acahualinca. Having said that, and as Rubén replied to me: "we give credibility to the ones operating from the outside". These local NGOs also embody a window to the world, by means of which people from the outside, as me, has a safe entry, and can have a contact with the community.

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Trying to avoid that children come with their parents to work, this kinder garden supports the community taking care of the small ones free of charge. The poster says "God Bless you. The registration time for the kindergarden is open



But when you almost forget that you are in La Chureca, then you notice again the streets flood of rubbish, the young boys sniffing glue, the little boy dirty in black, and then you just want to disappear. I was impressed by the way Rubén coped with all these situations, calling by their name to all the characters we met during this tour, giving friendly advises to some of them, cheering up some others. Six years working in La Chureca... Rubén has seen how kids have become adults, how new born babies have already started working.

When I look at this people, the two years left to end La Chureca seem like an eternity.