Nicaragua Day 5: “Human Backhoe”

 

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The alarm goes off and it is time to get up and start our fourth day in Nicaragua.  My years of education in Canada to become a Chartered Accountant has landed me the starting job as the human backhoe in Nicaragua (irony at its finest no?)

My first responsibility was to dig a five foot hole for the septic.  One of the local moms observing brought over her daughters to help… before I knew it they had bumped me out of my job and were digging at a much faster pace!

Looking for a new job I was quickly appointed as a landscaper to clear all the debris and weeds for grass and a sidewalk.  By this time, a few local children had gathered around as our work site is on a school property for children up to grade six. They were all so eager to help out!

To show my appreciation I handed out some candy…and boy did that start something! Before I knew it we had children from everywhere eager to help out.  Looking for work again I was then appointed to use my first power tool to drill bolts onto the galvanized steel for the roof, my use of this tool eventually led to me (using for the first time) a skill saw.

The excitement and challenge of learning new things is amazing but what I have found to be the most amazing is the warmth and friendliness of the Nicaraguans. Everyone I have met has been very willing to allow us into their lives, to see their homes…and their pets! One family even had a baby monkey.

Their enthusiasm and willingness to help out is fantastic,  and these will be my fondest memories I take home with me. This is what makes it easy to get out of bed and get back to work no matter how hot it is or how much my body aches from being a “human backhoe”

Jeff Clarke

 

 

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