Ms Earth Americas Spends 3 months in Nicaragua
I spent the last 3 month in Nicaragua at,
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My grandparents founded World Missions Outreach & I have been traveling to Nicaragua since I was 12 years old. On my first trip, I immediately fell in love with the people, culture & country! Now, I am the missions director for WMO!
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I have been involved with their organization my entire life, but I didn't always see myself working as an NGO. I went to Catawba College & got my B.A in Communications & my Masters for Broadcast Journalism at Carolina. I wanted a career in the entertainment industry.
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I landed my first job at Radio Disney. I worked as a promotions assistant and then became an on-air morning show host for Radio Disney. I loved my job, but I always felt like a part of my passion for life was missing.
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After several years of working in Radio and TV, I decided to take a leap of faith & a huge pay cut to pursue something that I knew would give my life meaning. I wanted something more than a fancy job title and a cool looking resume.
I WANTED A PURPOSE FOR LIVING
One of our main objectives at World Missions outreach is teach self-sustainable education.
We took time to teach & equip each student with the knowledge and tools to create a self-sustainable lifestyle while using recycled materials!
Each WMO student learned how to properly plant & take care of their own vegetables & fruits using recycled plastic bottles!
This basic understanding of agriculture & type of trade-skill education ensures that no child should ever have to go to bed hungry!
During my trip I met with the US Ambassador to Nicaragua; received $100,000 dollars worth of donated food, which provides 15,000 meals a day and 5.4 million meals a year for our 70 outreach programs, from the US Air Force; started the WMO school year off for all three of our schools; hosted mission teams; served meals and spoke to the children at our outreach programs; hand delivered new school bags filled with school supplies; taught self sustainability agriculture education using recycled materials; visited La Chureca & delivered donated for their new church instruments; renovated the mission house; updated sponsors with their students progress & secured new sponsors for students!
It was a non stop adventure!
Here are a few individual highlights I wanted to share. Full Story Links at the Bottom.
I love spending time playing with kids at our WMO Outreach Program! We may not understand every word we shared, but love is an international language that needs no translation!
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Since I have been going to Nicaragua for over 16 years, I am able to continually go back to the same programs and see the same faces! It is never about just a one time hand out, it's about investing into relationships & the community.
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This is how you are able to create real change & make a difference for the future.
The relationships and memories I have built with the people in our outreach program communities are ones that have help personally structure who I am as a person. They continuously grow my passion for living life with a purpose and my mission to end the generational cycle of poverty.
Although this sweet soul (Photo Below) is non-verbal, we never miss a beat when we get to see each other! She has shown me the purest form of understanding that love is an international language that does not need any words or explanation to express! Every time I see her, I know I am about to get the best hug there ever was! She makes every trip special for me!
We all have that one friend....
This is my buddy. I have seen him grow up over the past 5 years.... Every time I see him, he is always wearing his bucket hat! Every time I see him, we always capture his bucket fashion... the red is a new model!
The kids at this Managua WMO feeding program bring their buckets to receive their food! The food is cooked over an open fire and are extremely hot. Some of the kids walk a mile or more to get food! The buckets allow them to carry their food home to share with their families without it burning their hands. WMO provides 15,000 meals a day & 5.4 million meals a year. For Some children, this is the only meal they will eat all day!
Speaking to the children of one of WMO's inner city programs in Managua. I think it's important to share my heart & commitment for continuously investing into this specific community. World Missions Outreach ensures that the children and volunteers have a community based & educational opportunity meet up everyday before the feeding program. Every team that comes down has the opportunity to mentor and connect with each program they visit. At WMO, we provide more than just the physical needs of food. We focus on education to solve the cycle of poverty & not just mask the symptoms.
Walking through one of La Chureca's village streets with the team. La Chureca is a garbage dump that hundreds of families call home. We served every child a meal and provided them with a new book bag filled with school supplies.
National Geographic called La Chureca one of the '7 Horrors of the World' and if that is not a detailed enough description, one might say it truly looks like the mouth of hell. This is a place where only vultures should inhabit.
Every time I visit La Chureca, it is hard for me to write about. Why? Well, because there is no way I could ever accurately explain this place. Honestly, you can't hardly even grasp the reality of it when you are standing in the middle of it, let alone, just seeing a glimpse of it though a picture and some words.
Do Short Term Mission Teams Matter?
Of course they do! Still questioning it? Ask the 100 students who now have agriculture knowledge & are able to provide food for their families; not just one time, but for a lifetime!
Want to plan a trip with World Missions Outreach?
We can accommodate your teams areas of outreach & tourism interest. Each teams itinerary is personally customized & you can set your own dates
Featured Post From This Trip
