witnessing transformation in el ojoche

My earliest wake up call yet in Nicaragua came on Wednesday when Andrea and I awoke just after 4am in order to leave Managua with our Nica friend Peter to go to El Ojoche, a small community of 35 families up in the mountains of Nicaragua, 5 kilometers from the border with Honduras. The drive is a good four hours, and that's if the rain hasn't made the all dirt and extremely uneven roads impassable. The trip was beautiful in every way—physically (the volcanoes and landscape of northern Nica are breathtaking), emotionally (making new relational connections in a community), and spiritually (seeing God at work). So why did we go?

First, Peter was going to buy products. El Ojoche is one of several poor communities involved in an economic development project called NicaMade being led by one of my FHI colleagues Shannon. Each community has developed marketable products (Ojoche's is pottery) and NicaMade helps sell these products in Nicaragua as well as in the States in order to help provide a sustainable living wage to these hardworking people.

Second, the participating community members participate in a monthly training/Bible study on business and communication ethics—this month's topic was honesty. The idea is that it is not enough to provide economic opportunity—without an appropriate worldview, more money will not do much to transform a community. There were about 12 women present, and as Peter's talk progressed, it became clear that they all understood the importance of honesty and the truth in their development as a cooperative business enterprise, but putting that into practice had not been happening consistently. Herbert, a Nica community development worker, was present, and he made some wise remarks to the group about the importance of including one another, giving others the benefit of the doubt, and sharing information and skills within the group in order to make the most of this opportunity for everyone.

Third, I was there to interview community members to learn more about the story of Ojoche over the last few years in order to write a story about the community for future publication. I spoke extensively with three people, Herbert, Bernancio (another CDW), and Pacita (a participant in the NicaMade collective). From these conversations I learned that for many years prior to the involvement of FHI and the ECS program (“community health evangelism”), Ojoche had a reputation as a “dirty” community, and its people were given little or no respect, nor did they have much pride in themselves. Work was scarce, disease was rampant, and the community and its leaders were divided.

But, as a result of the equipping of a group of leaders through the ECS program and the grace of God, things began to change. The two “sides” of the community (arriba and abajo) began to communicate and collaborate. People learned better health practices to reduce malaria, diarrhea, vomiting, and fevers. Churches came together and formed a leadership committee that represents every denomination in the community. Families have begun to find ways to solve their problems without violence. And now NicaMade has entered the picture, and people are beginning to see economic changes as well.

And all of this change has not gone unnoticed by Ojoche's neighboring communities. When it came time for the 9 surrounding communities to select their area representative, they selected as their president a resident of El Ojoche. The smallest, formerly least respected community in the area is now the home of the region´s public representation to higher levels of government here in Nicaragua.

If that isn't transformation, I don't know what is.