D’Arcy Nicolle with one of the youngsters who will benefit from the trip that his employers, Rihoy & Son, helped fund. (0630893)
SIX local volunteers have helped to transform lives in Nicaragua. They spent two weeks in the Central American country working with the Guernsey arm of the Peace and Hope Trust.
Jamie Hooper, Michelle Stanford, Kevin Stevens, Ann Stevens, Anne-Marie Brehaut and D’Arcy Nicolle were the islanders who joined volunteers from the UK.
For Mr Nicolle, last month’s trip was something of a homecoming. He spent a year there from 2006. The team was involved in building a bakery in Bluefields, a poor district of the country, where the 90% of people who are unemployed live off a rubbish tip.
In the fortnight they were there, the building went from scratch to floor level and will now be completed by Nicaraguans.
The volunteers were also involved a child-feeding programme on the rubbish tip.
It ensures that more than 100 children, plus any pregnant or feeding mothers, get a good meal every lunchtime.
The team were working in tough conditions, with temperatures regularly in the 30s, coupled with very high humidity. There was a threat of dehydration, malaria and stomach bugs.
But Mr Nicolle said that was nothing compared to what they saw the local population go through.
‘It is always such a sobering and humbling experience. These people are literally living off the tip. It always brings a tear to the eye,’ he said.
The trip was helped by a donation from Rihoy & Son, where Mr Nicolle works.
The firm made sure all the materials needed for the bakery were there before the team arrived.
And the project’s intention is obvious to Mr Nicolle.
‘The aim is to help the community as a whole by initiating projects for the locals to take over and run themselves.’
Article posted on 2nd September, 2008 - 11.30am
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