One Man's Journey '08

One Man’s Journey of Discovery … and Purpose

By James M.S. Johnson

I consider it to be tremendous good fortune that I was able to meet Louise Brunberg. Having spent fifteen year founding first a soup kitchen, and then a school, all with the purpose of helping poor families in Nicaragua,she is a woman who quickly gained my respect. Two weeks after meeting Louise, I flew with her to Managua,Nicaragua, where we were enthusiastically met by all of the school’s teachers. The school itself is located in the town of Nagarote, about thirty miles west of Managua, so it didn’t take long to get “home” to the school.

Many, but not all, of the school children come from homes that are wretched beyond belief — houses made from black plastic and cardboard cartons, dirt floors, no water or sanitation. It is heart-wrenching poverty, and Louise’s school is a major source of hope and opportunity for these kids.

I am a carpenter and have worked many years in construction, so I brought a few of tools with me, but really had no idea of what I would be asked to do to help. My first visit to a developing country was a sobering experience, I assure you.

The First Project – Shelves and Cubbies.

School of Louise’s Dreams follows a Montessori curriculum, a system that incorporates many “hands-on” teaching tools that require careful storage and order. So, first I made four sets of shelves for the teachers. Then, to the delight of the kids, I built two cubiculos, each with 32 cubby holes for storage for the children’s prized mochilas (backpacks).

I wanted to be productive immediately but found that even getting supplies is hard in Nagarote. You cannot simply drive to Home Depot and pick up a couple of sheets of plywood! It required a lot of labor and protracted negotiations to finish these seemingly simple projects. However, during the course of my labors I made some nice friends, learned some Nicaraguan history and culture, and became very fond of helping Louise and her school.

The Second Project – The Water Tank.

The first month that I was in Nicaragua, it never rained and the municipal water system provided water to the school for only about three hours each night. If your house is not connected to the water system, you have to find, carry and store water as best you can. So access to good water is a big issue for everyone, including the school.

Next to the school is a fountain at the mirador, an observation point from which to observe the ominous vista of Volcano Momotombo. The water department would pump about a thousand gallons of water into the fountain of the Mirador between midnight and 3:00 AM. People would then come all day long with their prized 5-gallon plastic buckets, which we often see lying along the roadside in the USA, and they would haul the water from the fountain to their homes.

The school received much of its water in this way, serving lunches and cleaning dishes with water from the fountain. I believed that there had to be a better way. So, in April 2008, I returned, and working with Louise and the staff, I designed a water collection, catchment, storage and filtration system that captures rainwater from the library roof and stores it for the school’s needs.

The Next Project – A Proper Kitchen.

The morning and afternoon sessions at the school consist of a total of about 200 students, plus teachers and other staff. All of the food is cooked over wood fires. As in most Nicaraguan kitchens, there is no chimney in the kitchen to release the smoke, so it consistently becomes horrendously smokey inside the kitchen. The kitchen staff struggles through in order to provide the nutritious, filling and tasty food that the kids need – sometimes their only meal of the day. Such is life in the developing world.

In October, 2008, I am scheduled to return to help build a new kitchen. Some money has been donated to reconstruct the portion of the building where the kitchen is located, but we still need financial help to get a proper gas stove, refrigerator, cabinets, and counters for clean food preparation. I’m happy to donate my time and labor, but we do need financial support, too.

I don’t know where this journey will lead, but I am certain that Louise’s school is making a HUGE difference in the lives of these kids and their families. I’m happy to be able to help, in my own way.

James M. S. Johnson