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Farming provide crops

!n April we had several tremors/earthquakes over the course of two weeks.  The damages in the country were very few in spite of the strength of some of the tremors.   As a result the government took extra precautions by canceling school week to week.  By the end schools in this part of the country had missed a month of classes.   We were very thankful once the government allowed schools to open once again.  We were happy to have the children of the orphanage back in school and back in the routine of the daily life.  The children have now been back in school for about three weeks.

 

The vocational training for the children is marching along well with the occasional issues/problems or other logistical challenges.  We recently had many of the crops dying that the children had been planting and taking care of.  Our agronomist Ada Francis was making sure they were being taken care of so we were confused as to why the plants were dying.  We've come to the conclusion that it might be a result of a water filter we recently installed for the well.  It is possible the filter is taking certain chemicals and nutrients that are vital for the plants.  We are continuing investigating and hope to have this issue resolved soon.  It is a good learning experience for the children to learn that in life as in this project the little things can make a big difference in determining success.  The greenhouse is all prepped and ready for planting bell peppers but we are wanting to get the water situation figured out first so we don't kill a whole crop.  We are also doing some experimenting growing a special variety of onions.



The children have begun their activities in the project

The project with the children continues to advance and we are happy with the great opportunity it is for them. In the last report we were just getting the project under way, setting up the schooling farm and hiring some of the staff. In this quarter (January - March) the children have begun their activities in the project. The children attend primary and secondary school in the mornings during the week. After school, the children will eat their lunch and then get together for some of the learning activities of the project. They will spend some time in the classroom where Ada Francis will teach them about what they will be doing and then they will go out in the field and carry out some of these tasks. In the beginning they were mostly learning about pest control and eliminating any threats to the crops. After that they began learning how to properly plant and take care of crops. They have successfully planted 75 fruit trees, a crop of cucumbers which have already produced and they are working on the green house. This has been a huge learning experience for these children and it is very evident how much they have learned over the last three months.

In addition to their daily activities in the project, the children also meet with guidance counselors during the week that are able to speak with them on an individual basis helping them through some of the problems they me be having, whether it is personal or problems with other children in the program. The staff for the project have been great, they have the children's best interest and want them to succeed. Friday nights the children get together with staff for a time of fun activities followed by someone from the staff sharing with them. They will share with them on topics ranging from honesty, integrity to hard work. The children love Friday nights, it is a fun way for them to finish off a week full of learning activities.

I have attached some picture of the last quarter which include the children in the schooling farm, the children at meal time and in their rooms. I also attached a few pictures from a workshop for the Verbo leaders.

On behalf of all of us here in Nicaragua we want to thank you all for your support of these children in the project and your help in guiding us through the steps necessary to completing this project. Please let us know of any questions or concerns you may have.

Blessings,Michael Trolese


Children´s Lives

Hugo Martinussen

Treasurer 

Phone: + 45 40 64 20 01

E-mail: hugomartinussen@gmail.com

 

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