Gannon Volleyball Nicaragua Photo Gallery (New Photos Added Daily)
Today we broke into two groups. One group went to a school and helped with The Mobile Library, while the other went to the women’s shelter to help developmentally disabled adults. After another delicious breakfast we departed our hotel for another day of great work by our team.
The group that went to the women’s shelter took a quick ride to the volunteer site. It was my favorite volunteer opportunity so far. We helped the adults make a few products that included artificial flowers and decorative bags. The bags were made of recycled rice bags and burlap sacks. Although they are simple materials, they really turned out beautiful after decorating them. We assisted several individuals that were tasked with sewing flowers and decorating bags. Others cut out stencil letters and numbers, so the bags could be painted with words. It was wonderful to see those we helped get so excited about their finished products. After their products are finished they are sold. The money collected goes directly to the person who made them, so they can contribute to their family.
The charity we assisted was started only six months ago. The two people that run it are our tour guide, Brooke Rundle, and her good friend, Sebastian. For such a young program, it seems to be developing rapidly. We were asked to give our input on certain things such as other products that can be made and where to sell them. It was nice to be able to share ideas and contribute to the new and upcoming program. I hope that it continues to grow and be successful! It is for a wonderful cause and the people that it helps are incredible human beings. The experience was very heartwarming!
The group that went to The Mobile Library traveled a much shorter distance compared to yesterday’s trip. We started off by assisting the mobile librarians with checking in and signing out books to the children. The Mobile Library travels to different schools in rural areas every three to four months. The children were very excited when they saw us pulling in! We met some of these kids previously in El Carrizal. Each student has their own library card which keeps track of the books they check out. They had to check in the books they previously checked out and then were able to choose from four bins, each the size of a closet storage tote, full of different books.
The school we were at today was much smaller than the one we were at yesterday. Because of the school size, we were able to bond with the four classes individually during their recess period after they checked out their books. The students taught us a game we call “Nica Ball”, which is a variation of dodgeball except they play with one ball. We then circled the students up and played a hand clapping game while singing “Down by the Banks”. I think they really enjoyed it. Before we left, we noticed a group of them were still playing except they were singing a Spanish song.
I especially enjoyed my experience today with The Mobile Library because it made me realize how easy it is to take for granted all books and information we have at our disposal.
After lunch, the team walked with our tour guide to Zen Yoga, just a few blocks away from our hotel. We were in an open room upstairs with a beautiful mural on one of the walls. The instructor taught us different strength and balance poses and also worked with us on relaxation and breathing techniques. As the wind blew through the room and the rain fell on the tin roof we listened to an inspirational speech by Jim Carey. Everyone was not only relaxed by the yoga, but also moved by the speech and taking in the greatness of the moment.
We all look forward to playing against the Nicaraguan national team tomorrow night and having dinner with them afterward. We will also be hiking to the Statue of Christ the Redeemer that overlooks the bay on the Pacific Ocean. We are also going on a canopy zip-line tour in the morning.
Kayla Knickerbocker ‘16 and Lauren Beck ‘17
Gannon Women’s Volleyball
