A Machete can Make a Difference
By Blue, January 16th, 2011
He found a Smile. This beautiful old man had lost his eye to an axe accident years ago. Single and poor.. he asked Cesar if there was any way he could get a towel ... and we were happy to report that there was one in his bucket:)
Well… anything you can give makes a difference… especially here in Nicaragua.
This post is to thank all of you that so generously donated to our efforts to make a difference in our little corner of Nicaragua.. namely Escamequita, Las Brisas, Ojo de Agua, La Libertad and Las Parcelas. Over 100 families benefited from your generosity. The buckets included kitchen basics such as cooking oil, salt, sugar, coffee, soup mix, dish soap and household items such as candles, matches, laundry soap, blankets, towels, tupper ware, rice sacks and of course the bucket itself.
The best part of the gift without a doubt was the machetes. A tool used by virtually every household for harvesting rice, beans and fruit, cutting trails, cutting firewood for cooking, building and butchering. .. so needless to say a brand new quality one was a treat! We saw some that had been sharpened down to next to nothing.
It took me 4 trips to get them all delivered and I thank you for the experience it provided. I think next year I’ll start earlier and do even more!
It’s been so busy for us on the ranch that I’m going to let some of the photos that were taken during the distribution to speak for themselves. Thank you so very much for making a difference.
Here’s also a little something I wrote when I was first purchasing the supplies:)
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- Cesar was like a mountain goat the way he hiked up these hills. I had a little trouble keeping up
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- Pretty simple living
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- Interception. This young boy came on horseback to ask why we missed his home. We were trying to limit deliveries to the poor and those without employment. It was tough.
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- Not sure this road will ever get repaired. There’s just too many others to fix
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- I’m not sure it means the same thing here when a kids is ‘Full of Beans’
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- Shy but Grateful
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- We didn’t include toys but we did have the odd ball to give out
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- Cesar was getting better with the camera :)
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- His first time using a Camera: I brought along Cesar, one of our crew, for deliveries. I asked if could take a photo but he explained that he had not used one before. He got better.. but this is one of his first tries.
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- Despite my 4×4 experience this road was definitely not passable. Check out the white building in the valley below.. it’s Rancho Chilamate
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- It was a nice feeling to finally get the buckets loaded and ready to go
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- When I asked him where his wife was, he said she was in town praying. We passed her on our way out with bible in hand.. and was somehow grateful that maybe a prayer could be answered.
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- Clowning Around
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- Fields of Plenty. It was quite beautiful to be on foot and walk through the fields they work so hard for.
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- Nice to see a smile for the camera… they don’t do that much
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- Another One
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- The Stuffings. Thanks again for the help to purchase it all!
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- Poor and widowed.. but enthusiastic.
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- This little girl was particularly curious
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- He found a Smile. This beautiful old man had lost his eye to an axe accident years ago. Single and poor.. he asked Cesar if there was any way he could get a towel … and we were happy to report that there was one in his bucket:)
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- He was happy to get a visitor. I got the feeling he didn’t get many
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- A Home is still his Castle
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- A Machete really does Make a Man Happy
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- My Friends from School
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- Another bucket delivered
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- Big Smile
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- It’s the gift of giving. They had so much gratitude and didn’t even know what was in the buckets
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- Loved this guys shirt. And he loved a new Machete too!
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- Deb and Alicia joined me on this delivery… and helped prepare the buckets to leave roadside as we didn’t have the time or light to wait for them to arrive.
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- Selma Hayek as a Child
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- Self Portrait
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- Alicia Hanging Out. My Nica mom Alicia helped co-ordinate the distribution for us too.
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- The Whole Family. Note the mom had her leg amputated due to Diabetis. It’s unfortunately all too common here.
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- He wanted a picture with me. He was quite a flirt
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- Thanks for Elf Deb for assisting with the prep of the buckets.. and to Brian for purchasing them!
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- They had their school photos up on the wall and were excited to have a visit
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- A little Shy
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- More Hiking
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- Little Ones
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- Production Line
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- Another Bucket Delivered… thank you!
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- Another Happy Family. This family lives across the school at Las Brisas
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- Another Happy Delivery
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- Cuties
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- Very shy boyz. But liked seeing the picture of themselves in the camera
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- This man did a happy dance when he got his machete. And if you could hear his giggle….
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- Oranges of Gratitude. This family was so thankful for your generosity that they quickly ran to their trees behind the house and loaded us up with oranges.
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- Little Ones
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- Typical House style
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- They just don’t smile much for the camera.. but she tried
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- Anyone Home? We realized that late afternoon was best to catch them at home
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- Delivering After Dark. The sun sets at 5:30 here so it doesn’t give you much time to get things done in daylight. Cesar and I lost light but decided to walk through the jungle nonetheless. I could hardly keep up! but wanted to get these buckets delivered.
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- Earth Angel Deb. Deb joined me on a delivery up behind our ranch. It was pretty tough going in the dry river bed. She was trooper!
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- Road a No Go. We were to drive to where the road got too bad and the folks from La Libertad were to meet us on horseback. This is as far as I could go… even with my 4×4 experience!
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- Showing off his little Brother
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- Family Pic
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- As we waited for the arrival of more people from La Libertad this man and his son were passing us with ANOTHER load of beans. We eventually paid him to guard the buckets for us and gifted him a machete too!
Great work you 2 are doing for your community.
Enjoy your pictures!
GR
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful….bigger than words. Big love!
From Humble to Humble. Thank you for helping our beloved families. I admire the help and contribution you both provide to your neighbors and friends; specially “The Childrens, Disables and Elderlies !!!!!