Filtron Visit

Last week I had a few out of town visitors. In fact they were from the United States and from Jacksonville, Florida. The program I am working with, Filtron, wanted to show off their partnership with Peace Corps and some of the work that has been completed by the volunteers. Since I am one of their new recruits the director figured I would be worthy of a visit. For those of you who don’t remember, Filtron is a nonprofit organization that was developed after Hurricane Mitch as a cheap and quick alternative to filter water. The basic system consists of a plastic bucket with a ceramic pot that rests on top and functions as the filter. The ceramic pot is coated in a silver compound that removes all the organic pathogens from the water. The system is only $30, but that is quite a cost in my town. The idea was that they would be passing through my town for the day and wanted to meet with a few of the groups I had partnered with.
It was quite the show. They showed up in a chartered microbus and come piling out with their backpacks and cameras hung around their necks. It was a Rotary Club that I guess sponsors the program financially and they were down on an exploratory trip to see how they funds were being used. I think before the last person stepped off the bus the entire town new that there were new gringos in town. To make matters worse, we had to walk around and I felt like a middle schooler being chaperoned by his mom at a school dance. It was pretty embarrassing, I know I am a gringo as well, but I have been in town long enough and have at least deceived myself into believing I blend in. With a group of 15 gringos snapping pictures at anything that moved there was no hiding. I guess if I was in their position I would be doing the same, I mean where else do you see pigs running in the street, more horses than cars, and who knows what else I now accept as normal.
With my group in tow we went to visit the Casa de Materna and talk with the directora. It turned more into a talk about what the goals are of Casa Materna, but they were nonetheless interested. We learned how this organization tries to educate women about the difficulties of parenting, teach family planning, and stress the importance of good nutrition. We then headed to PCAC, which is a farming nonprofit in town. Again, the director was amazing and spent about an hour with us talking about the importance of sustainable farming and reforestation. I then took the whole group out to lunch and gave a small presentation about why I chose the locations that I did. I talked about how I wanted highly visible locations that would appeal to the targeted audience. I actually felt quite professional and it was again a humbling moment to see that I had the attention of 15 older professionals listening to me and my work. After my short little spiel I then got to meet them all on a more intimate level and was surprised about how the first thing they all mentioned was their gratitude. I guess I have kind of forgotten about it, but I am making a sacrifice by being here and I am serving my country. This visit helped me refocus my priorities about being here and to see this as an opportunity not only to help Nicaragua and my community, but to also see it as a continuing classroom to grow personally.