Coming to Nicaragua I wasn’t expecting to be shocked or all that surprised by the conditions in which people live and survive, and I would say that I haven’t been. The things, however, that strike me the most are the slight variations and specificities of life that aren’t surprising, but rather under-the-radar. The everyday, almost mundane, glazed-over outcomes of a historically intervened upon, economically poor society.
On Tuesday we concluded our time at the NicaHOPE community center by driving around the neighborhood they were created to serve, which lies directly outside of La Chureca, the city dump (which Olivia talked about in her post). During our drive we were accompanied by Sofia Salgado, a young woman who had spent a significant portion of her childhood collecting recyclable materials in La Chrueca alongside her mother and sister. She told us that the three of them combined would collect enough pounds of glass, plastic, cardboard, etc. per day to earn 80 Córdoba (about 3 USD). For reference, today I bought two headbands at a market in Masaya for 80 Córdoba exactly.
She told us of the dangers she faced while working in the dump that ranged from the physically small: syringes, broken glass, fungi, particles of burnt trash in the air, etc. To the physically large: unaware or irresponsible garbage truck drivers and often the movement of large piles of trash following their paths. Her experience of childhood was forever marked by these experiences, she told us. In other words her experience of childhood was forever marked by the risk of losing her own life while trying to sustain it.
But her experience of life wasn’t just marked by the simultaneously life-threatening and life-sustaining work that so many people of Managua had to resort to due to their lack of opportunities; but also by the classmates that made fun of her mucky socks (stained by the meeting of rainy season and trash piles) and the garbage smell which had become entrenched in her clothing.
The macro effects of a poor economic standing are obvious and not all that difficult to name, but the small and personal experiences which shape life on a day-to-day basis are so much more difficult to see from afar. Being able to listen directly to Sofia Salgado about her childhood as a student, daughter, and worker for the recycling plant of La Chrueca was the epitome of what I had been hoping to gain from this experience.
Sofia told us that she is very happy experiencing less risk in her daily life, working at the NicaHOPE center, and telling her story.