Nicaragua - Part 2

La Chureca

La Chureca, la Chureca

I can't get you off of me.

My shirt carries the smell

of methane and burning plastic.

Where did the plastic from that bag of chips I ate end up?

My eyes are tired from your dust,

but I keep them open

so as to see you through the haze.

My feet wear the shoes

of all the little children:

Your dirt, your basura.

I washed them once,

but I can't get them off.

I've walked in your shoes for a day,

Now I carry your shoes with me for a lifetime.

Tomorrow my shirt

will smell like fresh soap,

My eyes will have rest

and again see clearly,

Will they choose to see the world as it really is?

Even my feet will find home

in cotton socks and converse shoes

But la Chureca!

I will never be able to wash you off of me.

No soap can scrub off

the tin scraps and cloth you call home.

Didn't I used to use those Disney sheets that are your wall

as a sanctuary from the boogey man?

Do they protect you from the boogey man?

No laundry machine can wash out

the mouth of the little girl eating garbage.

Why didn't I finish my dinner last night?

No shoes can hide

the discrimination you receive.

How many times have I walked right past you?

Are you as forgotten

as the waste you live off of?

No matter how many times

I splash my face in potable city water,

When I look up into the mirror

I cannot wash your face away.

Why would I want to?

You still smile,

even if you don't have teeth,

You still love,

even if it is only with a goodnight kiss.

Your children still play,

even if its with a three wheeled Tonka truck.

You still laugh,

Even if it lasts for only a moment.

You can praise God

and believe in his faithfulness,

When sometimes he only give you

His Holy Spirit as sustenance.

Don't ever leave me Chureca.

Teach me.

And maybe one day,

we will wear the same shoes.

*There is something surreal and transforming about seeing a city inside the city dump. As one of my peers put it: "When did the city dump, become dump city?" Populations in Nicaragua and other countries around the world make their living off of the waste of their neighbors. They breath in toxic chemicals everyday, die from preventable diseases because of discrimination in health centers, suffer from physical and emotional abuse and so much more. Most people don't wear shoes and walk across the dangerous garbage looking from plastic and scraps of metal to sell for meager amount of money. The cycle is vicious and is caused by so much more than poverty. Things are changing at La Chureca. In the recent years Spain has come in and started a clean up project providing temporary jobs for many of La Chureca's inhabitants. This will come at a cost. At the end of the project hundreds of families will be kicked out of La Chureca, forced to find a home and a life elsewhere, and many others will lose their jobs. You and I can make a difference. We can sponsor a child anywhere in the world who come from a similar place. Our money transforms their lives, and if we forget to pay, they don't forget that they don't get to go to school or eat that month. Another way is to look into microloans. These small loans (of $100) go to members of poor communities like La Chureca and help them get a business started. Businesses we encountered were selling snacks such as Maruchen noodles, tortillas, and salsas, or raising pigs. It seems like so little, but to these people it could keep them alive and teach them valuable life lessons about responsibility and stewardship. They may not get out of La Chureca, get new shoes, find a sturdier house, or be able to bathe in clean water, but they can live a more full and meaningful life not having to worry about where their next meal will come from. Another way you can make a difference is to appreciate all that you have. We are given so much, and we throw so much to waste. Have you ever considered re-using or recycling the tupperware peanut butter or butter comes in? Or washing out and re-using zip-loc bags. The less waste you put out there, the better world you are creating. You can make a difference. It's your choice.