Ministry Statistics
Rainbow Network
3834 South Ave
Springfield, MO 65807
417-889-8088
info@RainbowNetwork.org
Trip Report, Day 2: San Ramón
"Chuck" Charlie Sauer
San Ramón is north-northeast of Managua. Since we left at 6:30 a.m. and were already on the northeast side of town, I assumed we would see little traffic, but we still encountered bits of congestion before getting out on Carretera Panamericana. A couple of hours later we were in bustling Matagalpa. After stopping at a Texaco we headed out on rougher roads for San Ramón in the Matagalpa province and got there about an hour later.
The Rainbow regional office and dental office share the building with other tenants but use most of the space. The dentist, Dr. Ricardo Antonio Hurtado Obando, mostly handles cleanings, fillings and extractions. The rest of the Rainbow space includes a pleasant open meeting area, a (locked) pharmacy room, several work rooms with computers and a large garage.
Much of the countryside we saw the day before was beautiful yet contradictory in the contrasts of nature and poverty. But nothing there prepared me for the grandeur of the drive up the mountain to La Laguna and the incongruity of the century old Italian villa vacation retreat, with exterior walls once a canvas for revolutaries' paintings of Che Guevara and Sandanista founder Carlos Fonseca — a villa which is now used by Rainbow for a medical office, public health education, school and a feeding center. Do click on the photo at left and enjoy the view from the villa.
Dr. Ana María Membereño Baca was very busy that morning, seeing 40 patients vs. normal schedule of 25. Yet she found time to meet with us and answer many questions, about patients, handling emergencies, the prevalent conditions, her degree and residency, etc. Those discussions, along with the prior discussions with Drs. Mejía, Morales and Obando, instill great confidence in the hiring and management of Rainbow medical staff in Nicaragua.
Continuing up the mountain to Las Rosas, we visited more primitive housing, similar to what we'd visited in El Crucero, and met with the family that lives there. The feeding center at Las Rosas is in a one year old building made with 3-4" diameter branches chinked with mud. That construction does not weather well; the building looks much older than it is.
An hour on severely rutted roads later we arrived at the Las Limas school in Santa Martha for a micro-loan distribution meeting. The video clip includes five of the recipients describing the crops and plans for the loans.
The last scheduled stop was an after-school meeting of Rainbow scholars, high school students subsidized by Rainbow donors. Sponsorship provides uniforms, shoes, a backpack, school supplies, transportation, tuition, tutoring, field trips and correspondence with sponsors. Students then give back to their community by volunteering in the elementary schools and community service projects.
This report captures only part of what we experienced.
The other photos and the
videos may bring you closer to Nicaragua and pull on your heart
the way Nicaragua now pulls on mine.
If so, I've had the privilege of helping you get there.
Gracias. Que bueno!
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