More to do in Nicaragua

One of the things I really love about Pastor Gahonna, is that he is never satisfied to stop at ‘good enough’.  He’s already doing so much to change the lives of all the people in Bluefields, and works tirelessly to help families succeed in life.  He could easily look at what is already being accomplished and sit back with a contented smile.  But he doesn’t.  He is always finding new areas of desperate need that require action.  And each time we come, he has a new project or two for us to look at.  This time was no different.

He took us meet Coco.  Coco has a ministry of rescuing boys who live on the streets of Bluefields.  These boys have had to flee destructive and/or abusive situations in their homes so have taken to the streets to try to survive.  They are often conscripted into dealing drugs, human trafficking, and forced to endure the most horrific living conditions imaginable.  And so, in the worst part of the city – where prostitution and drug trafficking are conducted right out in the open – Coco has a rundown building which the government allows her to use, and is taking in boys who want to come out of life on the streets.  She knows exactly what they are going through, because as a young girl she was forced to leave school and work to provide for her family.  She constantly had to fight for survival, and believes that God was the one who kept her from being raped – which is a common occurance.  She felt utterly alone and helpless at a time when she should have been protected and nutured.  Today she is determined that other children not have to experience what she did, that they will know the love of a mother and a God who can do the impossible.

At this time everything she does is out of her own funds.  She runs a little shop that sells imported goods, and all the proceeds go to run the shelter program.  Sometimes she doesn’t have enough to buy food for the boys and it breaks her heart because it drives back to the streets.  The building she’s in has no bathrooms, no beds, and the roof leaks.  While the team was listening to her story, standing in the hovel she called home for the boys, there wasn’t a dry eye in the room.  We couldn’t fathom such a strong compassion in the face of the most devastating of circumstances.  We knew that we couldn’t just stand by, and so Feed the Hungry has committed to providing as much food as she needs to feed the boys every day.  We also hope to be able to find a more suitable place for the home.  I’d sure love to see them get a plot outside of the city, where the boys could run around in safety, where they could go to school and learn a trade, and grow healthy and strong – body, soul, and spirit!

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