Carlos on the Streets of Managua

Its been a while since I wrote about any of the kids stories here on this blog.  As you can imagine, I have to be sure I am protecting their privacy, which is why I certainly can´t put any photos up here, and is also why I have been avoiding stories recently. 

But I thought it was time to share one of the stories, so that the reality faced by these kids is still a major part of this blog. 

Carlos is almost a bit of a celebrity here at Casa Alianza Nicaragua, as, in the 9 months I have been working here, he has arrived about 8 times, and each time he has managed to stay for a maximum of about 2 days, before leaving us to head back to the streets.

Carlos is 12 years old.  He lives all over Managua, in various locations across the city, always on the streets.  He can often be seen walking around in baggy, dirty clothing, carrying the little jar of glue stuffed under his nose.  He has learnt a certain charm which has enabled him to get by, picking up some dance moves and basic English to entertain people coming out of discos, or foreigners in the main touristy locations.  

He is a good kid, and despite his life on the streets, whenever he comes to Casa Alianza he is usually well behaved and fun to be around.  But, as I have explored in some of my previous entries, the addiction to glue is an immensely strong one, and it is his need to get back on the drugs that has always prevented Carlos from staying with us for longer periods of time and really receiving the support he needs. 

On Monday morning, as I got on my bus on my way to work, and to my surprise, I saw Carlos get on the bus at my same stop.  He was on his way to Casa Alianza, he had decided it was time to give it another go.  He arrived in bear feet, a pair of shorts,  a long baggy t-shirt, all filthy, uncut nails, and a full head of dirty hair covered in head lice.

Now, Wednesday afternoon, and Carlos is still with us.  We have provided him with clothing and shoes, a tooth brush, and treated his hair for head-lice.  He also been participating in a number of activities, and he was able to impress everyone using his dance skills in this morning's Caopiera class, a new activity we are currently trying out with the kids.

Dealing with a kid like Carlos is tough.  We want to help him and give him the support he needs.  So far, we have not succeeded in getting into the level we need.  Carlos is well awayre of the benefits of being with us, but addictions are incredibly powerful.  All of us are really hoping that this time he will stick around.  We are of course doing what we can to provide activities and sustainable options, so that Carlos will no longer see the street as one of his options.  It might be that once again we are not successful, but whatever happens we will keep trying.  We can only provide support in so far as a kid allows us to support them, and we hope that this time Carlos will stay and allow us to help him. 

That Friday Feeling...Casa Alianza Style

Friday is one of my favourite days at Casa Alianza Nicaragua.  There`s the obvious factor that it means the end of the week, and a bit of a rest after another intense week, but also because a few special things that happen at Casa Alianza on a Friday afternoon.

To set the scene, its time to introduce on this blog the work of the Casa Alianza Nicaragua, Family Reintegration Team.  It is our intention that every kid living at our residential centers, will ultimately be reintegrated in a healthy and sustainable fashion, with members of their family, or, if this is not possible, in a safe and sustainable environment. 

The Family Reintegration Team starts a process for every child and teenager in our protection centers, so that their reinsertion into society, in a way which does not involve falling back into former behavior patterns, is possible and easy to reach.  The Team organizes weekend visits for the kids that we are able to send out of our residential center, and ensures monitoring and feedback of these visits.

The Team also works with the families of the children in question.  As you can imagine, the problems which force a child onto the street or into very high risk situation often come from within the family itself.  As such, the team conducts regular workshops, visits and training opportunities for family members, in order to try and tackle some of the root causes behind the problems facing the child. 

This aspect of the work of Casa Alianza Nicaragua is vital, in order to ensure we are tackling and trying to provide solutions to as many aspects of the problems as possible.

So anyway, back to Friday.  On a Friday afternoon, the families in question come to visit the kids at our residential centers, and then the kids who are able to leave for the weekend, head off with them.  I always love to have the opportunity to speak to family members, and every now and again, it is possible to see a kid laughing and sharing some food with members of their family, all sitting round and sharing stories.  When this does happen on Friday, it really is a wonderful thing to be part of us.

Of course, it isn`t always a good time for all the kids.  There are often plenty of kids who are left feeling neglected and disappointed when their family has not been able to come to visit them. There are many parents who face the same substance addiction problems as their kids, and this explains their erratic behavior and sometimes inability to come and visit.  Other parents come from such poverty, that even though we cover their transport costs, it is too much for them to leave whatever subsistence work they are doing, to visit their kids.  In these cases, we have to work hard with the kids, to help take away this renewed feeling of neglect.  But for the one`s who are able to spend a bit of time with their family, and start the process for something that we might consider a `normal` and healthy family life, it really is a wonderful thing to be part of. 

So this Friday, I spent the morning coordinating a whole series of team activities, games and exercises requiring them to think, as a team ways to improve and plans to keep moving forward.  I then spent a large part of the afternoon speaking to some of the families, and sharing my insight into the necessary steps to help provide their kids with the values they need.

It was a very good Friday, and as I left in the evening, just before the daily storm rolled in, it was defiantly a great Friday feeling, and the Casa Alianza style makes it that much better. 

Love, Respect and Discipline....The Battle of the Colours

Discipline is a major issue when working with kids who come from such traumatic backgrounds as the one´s from the streets of Managua, or abuse and violence.

At the best of times, teenagers are not known to be the best behaved group of people in the world, but for kids who have lived on the streets, been abused and exploited, consumed large quantities of drugs, naturally their behaviors can be far more erratic. 

As members of staff at Casa Alianza we have to provide the genuine and healthy love and respect that these children need, but we also have to help install them with the values of discipline, so that they can to adapt properly to the normal rules of society around them.

It is no easy task, it requires a lot of patience and tolerance, and also innovative thinking, to be able to explain concepts of discipline of the kids, in a way which they can understand and aim to achieve. 

For the past three months I have been preparing a project in order to try and help with this process, and we have now been carrying it out for the past two weeks.  It is a simple concept.  I have divided the approximately 80 kids currently at our main residential protection centre into 4 separate teams (blue, white, yellow and green).  Each team voted for two captains and two vice-captains to take charge of running each team.  The idea is in every aspect of their daily routine, the kids can win points for their team.  Good behavior, decent use of vocabulary, support to their house-mates, active participation in the workshops etc, all wins points for the team.    The winning team at the end of each month will receive a prize.

Thus far, the project seems to be taking us in the right direction.  The kids are motivated and are starting to improve their discipline and values of cooperation in order to work together for the benefit of their team.  Members of staff have also become a bit less stressed as the kids are now helping us out a lot more without job, especially in terms of ensuring the discipline and correct behavior in their team. 

But the main reason I wanted to share this entry is because the project really is very, very simple, and it is working.  Yes, it is of course difficult working with kids with the behavioral problems as the one´s we work with, but at the same time, with the right commitment, finding sustainable solutions is not too difficult.  What I am also learning is that it is very possible to provide the love and respect that these kids so desperately need, but at the same time be a strict figure representing the discipline these kids needs.  The reason I like this project so much is that the kids get to work out for themselves the need to improve their own discipline.  Every morning I publish the list of the total scores for each team, they can see for themselves how their behavior is affecting the progress of their team, and that in itself provides a considerable sense of award or consequence.  It allows us to keep working with these kids in the most positive way possible. 

Love, respect and discipline.  It sounds difficult to achieve all of these things at the same time when dealing with troubled adolescents.  With patience, commitment and understanding, it is, in fact, really rather easy. 

A Tribute to our Teenage Mothers

This past week Nicaragua has been celebrating Mother´s Day.  It has been wonderful to have seen this day celebrated in the way it should be done, focusing far more on the spiritual side of things, and much less of the commercial emphasis that Mother´s Day has become in the UK.

At Casa Alianza Nicaragua we have two main residential homes.  Our ´Hilton Homes´cares for up to 94 street kids, victims of abuse, violence and exploitation.  Our other residential center, cares especially for teenage mothers and their babies and/or children.  The girls have a similar profile of being abused, neglected and abandoned.  The face the even worse burden of living in a country where machismo is the norm, and getting a teenage girl pregnant, beating her up, and then leaving her to fend for herself is far too common. 
Nicaragua is also the poorest country in Latin America, and as such, a baby born to an impoverished mother of 14 or 15 years old, with a violent father, means that both mother and child are faced by an exceptionally difficult situation.

The Casa Alianza Nicaragua Home for Teenage Mothers gives these girls a hope that they might not otherwise be able to find.  In the first place, the girls which choose to join us have access to food, a place to sleep, medical care, psychological support, education and support and constant love and understanding for both themselves and their baby.  The mothers are also able to attend school and the formal education system while the babies are cared for by the other girls at the center, and members of staff.  The mothers are also taught how to care for their babies, to provide the necessary hygiene, support and nurture that their child needs.  

I have now been at Casa Alianza Nicaragua for nearly 9 months, and in that time, I have spent a fair bit of time at the Teenage Mum´s Home.  It has been truly an honour to see these girls and their babies develop in a way we would hope for every mother and their children.  They are learning fast how to care for their children, and themselves, and are no longer forced into a role of subordination that Nicaraguan society in general all too often dictates against women and girls.

In many parts of Managua, it is all too possible to see tiny, dirty kids under the baking sun, begging at the traffic lights.  It is a tragic sight.  We can´t reach every kid and every underage mother, but for the one´s we do get to, both them and their child can have a real opportunity of a life that every mother and their children deserve.  During the process, there have been very hard moments, but as always, we keep working to do the very best we can, to offer the opportunities to as many as we can.

So in this entry, I pay a special tribute to the teenage mothers that I have had the honor to work with, and who have worked themselves so very hard to move their lives forward in a new direction, for themselves and their children.

I also pay tribute to all the young mothers who still face extraordinary difficulties, but as yet, have not come to know the protection and support they need.  I sincerely pray that they will find the opportunity for them and their baby, that they might be able to lead a life of love, support and understading, be it through Casa Alianza, their family, or other organisations. 
……………………..

On a personal note, I lost my own Mum 9 nearly years ago, when I was 16.  It was a very, very tough experience to go through, and it is still with me today.  But the experiences I gained, in particular that of doing what I can to really make the most of my life for myself and for other people, is, I believe, the main reason I am doing what I am doing right now, and the main motivator behind a great deal of my actions in the past 9 years.

So here on Nicaraguan Mother´s Day, I still give my thanks to Mum for making me the man I am today, and for all the strength she gave to me.  But also to my Dad for always supporting me and fostering that strength for me, which has been the other vital reason I am here doing what I do today.

Happy Mother´s Day.

13 Years of Supporting and Protecting Children and Teenagers

Yesterday we celebrated the 13th Anniversary of Casa Alianza Nicaragua.

For me personally, it is an honour and privilege to be working for this organisation, which really does quite incredible work to protect and support children and teenagers.

To give an example, I thought I would use this entry to share some of the successes of Casa Alianza Nicaragua in the year 2010. 

    800 children provided with support and basic medical care through the work of the Street Outreach team

    An average of 70 children and adolescents cared for every month in our principle residential centre, (the Hilton Home)

    42 mothers and 44 babies cared for in our Home for Teenage Mothers

    5650 people trained on the subject of preventing human trafficking and caring for the victims, (judges, police, community leaders, journalists, school children etc.)

    2680 people trained in ways to prevent and handle substance abuse problems, (students, police, community leaders, local organisations etc.)

    116 adolescents provided with vocational training courses and/or reintegrated into the formal education system

    15 mothers of residents at Casa Alianza Nicaragua provided vocational training courses

Being part of this organisation, doing such remarkable work, really is a wonderful experience.  Every day, every member of staff here gives a 100% commitment to improve the lives of children and adolescents living on the streets, victims of violence, victims of substance abuse, victims of commercial and sexual exploitation and the victims of human trafficking. 

We celebrated the day with the kids at our residential centres, kids living in the area and who benefit from our support, and kids who no longer live with us, but to whom we still provide regular support and assistance. 

Doing this type of work can be tough and draining, but it is also exceptionally rewarding, and on a daily basis it is possible to see the difference being made. 

Casa Alianza Nicaragua has completed 13 years of making a very real positive difference to the lives of children and adolescents in Nicaragua, long may it keep doing so!

Swimming with Gangs

Central America is famous for a number of things: volcanoes, civil wars, stunning natural beauty and conversely very high levels poverty. 

Sadly, gangs is also something which has become ubiquitous to Central America.  Most famous are the gangs which have spread across El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and the USA.  There are two principle gangs known as the Mara 18 and the Mara Salvatrucha.  These gangs are organised at the national level, have become involved in the drugs trafficking trade and are in part responsible for having made El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala the most violent three countries in the world that are not currently in conflict.

In Nicaragua, the Maras do not have a quite a presence, but gang membership among young people is certainly a major problem.  Nicaragua, being the second poorest country in Latin America and the Caribbean (Haiti taking the number 1 spot) has meant that there are a large number of gangs organised at the local, neighbourhood level, as above all, a meanns of getting by.

Managua, for example, is made up of many different barrios (neighbourhoods), and normally each of these barrios has at least one or two gangs, with the membership predominantly consisting of youths between 8and 24 years old.  An alarming amount of kids who live in these barrios do not have the opportunity to complete primary education, and due to economic necessities economic needs, many are forced to focus on working to help support their family, rather than continuing with their education.

As such, living in poverty, working from a very young age, possibly abused in their own family, lack of education and lack of other sustainable opportunities means that gang membership becomes an attractive option.

Being a gang member in one of Managua’s barrios usually means a sense of community and pride.  It also means access to alcohol and drugs, and a daily routine of playing football on the streets, promiscuous behaviour, and as a possible alternative to working, robbery.

Dealing with gangs such as these is obviously a very tricky business.  You can lock up the gang members who commit robbery or worse crimes, you can make gang membership illegal, but unless you address real socio-economic needs which lead young people to join gangs, you will never be able to properly tackle the issue. 

At Casa Alianza Nicaragua, one of our main policies is to provide alternatives, so that kids can make the choice, in this case, to make the choice between gang membership or a sustainable and healthy alternative with Casa Alianza.

As such, last Friday we headed into one of Managua’s most gang dominated barrios and headed out with around 30 gang members, between 11 and 19 years old, to a swimming pool and recreational centre.  The idea was, to give them an alternative so that at least for the day, they were doing something different to their normal routine, and perhaps through this, might just begin to see the benefit of joining Casa Alianza’s residential centre, instead of being on the streets.

We provided the kids with transport, entrance to the park, lunch, refreshment and drinks, so that they would equally not have to worry for the day about where their food and drink is coming from.

The kids had a fantastic day.  They played football, basketball and spent the entire morning enjoying the swimming pool.  Rather like the volcano hike of a few weeks ago, once again it was possible to see these kids not as gang members but as normal teenagers.  Normal teenagers going through very tough stages, but in reality desperate for a normal and healthy existence.    By providing this day out, we were at least able to offer a healthy alternative for one day, so they can see, if they decide to join us at Casa Alianza, they will be given permanent access to this way of life

Gang membership and a life on the streets give kids a certain toughness which can be very hard to break through.  On Friday at the swimming pool we made a break through, to be able to see these kids as normal adolescents who want to change.  In the mean time we will keep doing what we can to provide these kids with alternatives, so that a life on the streets and being in gangs will no longer be a necessity, but an option, and one in which, if they choose not to be in the gangs, they know at Casa Alianza they can receive food, education, recreational activities and unconditional love, respect and understanding.

Trying to Get Away from the Daily Rountine of Life on the Streets

Kids living on the street face a gruelling daily routine.  It usually involves different forms of violence, abuse, drug tacking and other very risky behaviour.  It is not a life that any kids should have to go through.

As I have mentioned before, the Street Team, looks for kids living on the streets of Managua, aiming to win their trust and confidence, so that they might consider living in our Casa Alianza protection centres.  Not every kid is able to make the change to come and live under our protection, or maybe doesn’t want to.  For those kids, the Street Team still looks to provide support and friendship, equally offering an alternative from the drudgery of their daily routine.

On Thursday, we took about 35 kids, from two of Managua’s poorest neighbourhoods, to climb Volcano Mombacho, a spectacular volcano about 45 minutes away from the city.  For kids living on the street, the idea of climbing a volcano for recreational purposes is a very foreign concept.     As such, we aimed to provide them with a day away from their normal lives.

It sounds great, go and give kids on the street and alternative to the streets for one day.   The trouble is, the daily routine which I described at the start of this article, is very addictive for many kids.  Although their life is surrounded by abuse, violence and other challenging behaviour, it is very addictive.  Their is nobody to tell them what to do, when to do it, nobody stopping them from smoking cigarettes, taking drugs etc.   For the kids to come with us, they would have to follow certain rules and regulations, such as a somewhat structured timetable, and no smoking for the time they were with us. 

As such, the first thing we had to do was offer an incentive.  In this case, we assured the kids they would be provided with transport, food, drinks and snacks.  When we arrived at the base of the volcano, we then had to take about an hour and a hour working to calm the kids down, to try and get them on side, understanding the rules and regulations so that we could get them up the volcano.  In the mean time, most of the kids tried to wonder us, sneak up onto the top of the bus to have a smoke, or sulk off, annoyed that they had to climb a steep volcano, when they could be doing their own things.

I am making this point, because altruism is great, but it is not always a two-way process, and for anyone wanting to make a difference, it is important to consider that your own good intentions aren’t always best received.

That being said, the best thing we could do giving the situation, was to remain calm and patient, gradually talking to the kids and gaining their confidence, for them to join us on the activity.  Luckily the patience paid off and the kids joined us for the hike.

The hike itself was about 4 hours, and very steep.  The reason we picked this, was again for one of the key principles of Casa Alianza, using physical activity, sport and recreation to provide alternatives to the street.    As we got underway on the hike, the defences and the aggression that kids had been showing at the start of the day began to fade the way.  The enjoyment and pressure of physical exercise helped bring out what they had locked deep inside of themselves, as normal teenagers, simply looking for a sense of belonging and respect.   The hike was thus truly enjoyable as it gave me a real opportunity to see these kids for who they are truly are, without the barriers that the harshness of living on the streets has forced them to establish.  It was during this time that I was really able to talk to some of the kids, about how they can work to move forward in their lives, in a healthy and sustainable fashion.

The trouble is, when you live on the harshness of the streets, it is much more comfortable to put up barriers then not.  As such, as we returned to the base, the kids swiftly returned to exactly the way they were before the hike.  It was tough to see the change, but to have a few hours with those kids, where they were not street kids or gang members or drug addicts or robbers, but normal teenagers looking for a normal life, was great.  It is a long and challenging process to get teenagers such as this convinced in the benefits of trying to turn their lives around, and very often it doens’t work, but there is hope.  There is hope that if we keep working, that over time, kids will become convinced and willing to work with us, so that they no longer have to face the daily routine of living on the streets.