This post is also available in: Spanish
*chapín/chapina is a word many Guatemalans use to refer to themselves.
“Dale”—a slang word that means something like “go for it”—is one of the most common words among Nicaraguans. This year as a MCC volunteer has served me a lot to identify myself as a stronger person than I thought I was, and at the same time has made me a little more sensitive to the situations that affect us every day as a society.
Nicaragua is a country with a great natural wealth that opened its doors to me, giving me the opportunity to serve and develop myself a little more as a teacher in different areas. Because in the center where I was serving there weren’t trained teachers, I had to develop much of my learning that I brought and make it known in order to have a better dynamic with the students, but also with young community leaders as they were the ones who helped with the children’s classes.
I could tell that I was going to learn a lot in Acahualinca, the community where the Huellas para la Paz center is located, in spite of the challenges residents face every day. And that’s exactly what happened. My time serving with Huellas para la Paz made me see small things in a different way, with more love and solidarity, because great things can come from those small actions, and that made me identify more with the reality of the community. I could see that the children felt good about my work, and that was one of my biggest satisfactions
I also had the opportunity to teach Taekwondo, a martial art focused on self-defense, to the group of children. Through this experience we implemented better discipline by teaching self-control, respect, and tolerance. Most importantly, they learned the ability to face situations with courage and bravery, using self-defense techniques if necessary. It was interesting for me to observe that the girls were the most interested in these classes. Not surprisingly, given the context of vulnerability to which girls are exposed, spaces like this can be very valuable. In Nicaragua, girls and women are the main victims of sexual violence, according to CODENI, the national coalition for children: “In Central America, Nicaragua has the second highest rate of complaints of sexual crimes. […] 73% of the victims are children and adolescents, that is to say, 3 out of 4 women in a situation of sexual abuse are children and adolescents.”
Now with the pandemic I’ve been working with Huellas para la Paz virtually. It’s been a little more difficult stay in tune with the young people, but I think that has also served to use technology from a learning perspective and not just as entertainment.
This year was a whole box of surprises, challenges, joys, but above all a lot of learning—not only personally, but also in terms of getting closer to God, who has supported me through all of my ups and downs during this time. I am deeply grateful to the MCC Nicaragua team because they have been a fundamental piece in this new and unknown world that I was facing.
And now in this new phase of my life I will open a new door without knowing what will be behind it, and face a new challenge of continuing to learn from both good and bad experiences under the guidance of the Lord who does not leave us at any time of our lives. I’m also taking a suitcase of laughter away with me from my experience as a volunteer—a new culture, a new cuisine (gallo pinto, one of the most common dishes in Nicaraguan homes, but also other delicious dishes like indio viejo, vaho, vigoron, and of course I can’t forget tostones), new folklore that is very different than mine, a new accent. All of these things are what make a country unique, and our challenge is to discover the richness that characterizes each one. Now after a year I can say that I am a chipi/nica.
Angelica Natereno, from Guatemala City, is serving as a community assistant as part of MCC’s YAMEN program with MCC partner Huellas para la Paz in Managua, Nicaragua.