The Rio Baqui Tilapia Project

For some years now, Food For The Poor donors have been funding tilapia projects of all different types and sizes in may of our countries. The tilapia is a hardy fish that matures quickly at a small cost and it has become very popular in the US and the world. For our purposes, it supplies the much needed life-saving protein that is often times lacking in the diets of the destitute (protein deficiency is largely responsible for the orange colored hair and distended bellies of the children who live in extreme poverty) while at the same time supplying a steady income to the families involved in the project. Our loyal friends from ICDF (Taiwan) are our partners in these ventures. They supply much appreciated technological expertise in all aspects of these initiatives. They also oversee the maintenance of these projects to ensure their longevity.
In a recent trip to the Dominican Republic, I visited the Most Reverend Julio Cesar Corniel, Bishop of Puerto Plata (and a wonderfully warm man), in order to inaugurate our largest tilapia project to date. It was truly an auspicious occasion, where NGOs, church, local and foreign governments and individuals came together to celebrate this truly magnificent project - the Rio Baqui Tilapia Project. It was a multi-faceted endeavor, for besides the tilapia ponds, Food For The Poor had constructed homes, completed a large water project, brought in electricity to the area and built a large community/skills training center.

During the ceremony, Bishop Corniel expressed his plans to have this project be of support to many other self-sustainable initiatives in many of the surrounding communities, as he commented that there was still much work to be done. As if to prove his point, a spokesperson for another neighboring community spoke and expressed her joy that the citizens of that area would now have clean water to drink. At the same time, she held up a 20oz. plastic bottle that once contained Coca-Cola for all to see. I looked and saw a liquid in it that was light brown, contaminated, filled with pieces of dirt, leaves and debris. She said, “This is the water that our people are forced to use to bathe, wash our clothes and cook. This is the water that we are forced to drink and to give to our children to drink.” The bishop was correct – we have much work to be done.

I have always wondered what Jesus meant when he said, “…if you have faith in me, you will do the same things that I am doing. You will do even greater things, now that I am going back to the Father.” (John 14:12) This project helped me to better understand His words. In the well-known feeding miracles of the New Testament, Jesus feeds 5,000 and 4,000 of his followers on separate occasions - miracles that have achieved a high degree of fame. At Rio Baqui, we have 29 large ponds that are each capable of producing 7,500 adult fish (of approx. 1 lb. weight) every 4 – 6 months. If you do the math, we are talking about a possibility of more than half a million fish per year. Here we have the miracle of the 500,000!!! This modern-day miracle does have much similarity to those performed by Jesus two centuries ago: Jesus gave thanks to the Father and blessed the food. Likewise we give thanks to God realizing that without His blessings and grace none of this would be possible. The donors, Food For The Poor, the church, other organizations, the missionaries and the poor, all come together in order to fulfill His will. God continues to perform great miracles through His people!

Buying Container Loads of Musical Instruments

For some time now, Food for the Poor, through the generosity of its donors, has been buying container-loads of musical instruments and sending them to the poorest areas of our countries, to schools and communities, hoping that the young people who receive them will choose a musical instrument over a knife or gun. The program has been successful beyond our expectations. On a visit to Cite Soleil, in Haiti, considered one of the most dangerous slums of the Western Hemisphere, a newly formed musical group, proudly brandishing their recently acquired instruments, played for us the most soulful rendition of the Star Spangled Banner that I had ever heard. It’s ironic that my most emotional response to our national anthem happened in the worst slum of the Caribbean. Amazingly, they had received those instruments only a few months before. Music victorious over violence; the sound of music conquering the blast of gunfire!

In my most recent trip to Nicaragua, we were welcomed at one of our Angels of Hope orphanages by a marching band of boys and girls from a nearby high school. It was amazing to look at the faces of the young people as they played their horns and drums. There was the fire and energy of passion in their eyes and great joy in their faces and smiles. The entire group that traveled with us felt truly welcomed!

Some weeks ago I traveled to Honduras and landed in the beautiful city of San Pedro Sula. My very first visit was my very favorite of the entire trip. We had sent a variety of instruments to this city and a talented musician and teacher called “Fonchin” (don’t ask – we Hispanics have a strange relationship with nicknames!) decided that he was going to use a number of these instruments and begin a music school for underprivileged kids. Anyone who knows of my love of the arts would realize how thrilled I would be with this type of project; particularly since that evening they were performing their first public concert in my honor. I felt like royalty!

Considering that we had sent them the musical instruments only 3 months before my visit, I was expecting to hear a few scales and at best some simple songs that could be performed with a few chords. Instead, they played Bach, Tchaikovsky, Brahms, Beethoven… I was stunned! Did they make mistakes? Many. Did they detract from the joy of listening to them? Not at all. There were solos, duets, trios and quarters that showcased the shining stars of their talent and the errors here were almost eliminated. Yet, my greatest joy was listening to the songs of the entire ensemble and seeing the look of pride and joy in their faces as they made every effort to entertain their appreciative audience. But that wasn’t all, immediately after the concert was over, the kids went directly back into the practice rooms and started practicing their respective instruments. Talk about devotion to their art! We are sending them some violins and kettledrums soon, as a complement to their existing instruments. These were kids that may never have had the opportunity to hold a musical instrument in their hands – and now they were music lovers and musicians!!!

There was something that truly saddened me, though. Before the concert, I was taken on a tour of the facility. The building is large, the walls are solid, but unfortunately the roof is severely damaged which caused many of the rooms on one side of the building to be flooded from the previous day’s rain. But that wasn’t the worst of it. The roof was made of materials containing asbestos. If it were in the U.S., the building would have been condemned, but in San Pedro, they had no other choice. I promised them that as soon as they sent us a project proposal for the replacement of the roof we would try to get one or more of our caring donors to save those beautiful children from that dangerous hazard. I have faith that it won’t be long…

La Chureca, The Garbage Dump Outside of Managua

Seven years ago, I visited La Chureca, the garbage dump outside of Managua, Nicaragua. There, I met a man of my own age (52 then) that had been working in garbage dumps since he was 12 years old - 40 years!! He looked 75... life had treated him so discourteously. He told me that he had lost the ability to dream. This simple statement was both incomprehensible and heartbreaking for me. It saddened me. I wondered what exactly had driven him to that dreamless state: was it the 40 years?… was it the horrendous stench of putrefaction?… was it the thousands of flies that force you to speak with clenched teeth?… was it the toxic smoke?… was it the rotting food that they often find and eat?… the hundreds of vultures?… the scavenging cows, pigs and goats?… was it the mountains of filth and refuse?… was it the sight of hundreds of people there doomed to the same fate?… was it the 13 year old girl that died there of chemical poisoning?… or the 6-week old infant that was crushed to death by a garbage truck?…

I thought of the scriptures… of the hell that Christ described as Gehenna, the garbage dump outside of Jerusalem. I thought of the words of the prophet Isaiah, “Without a dream, the people will perish.” Yet, I am grateful for that encounter, as it made me realize that our real mission is not to provide the poor with food, water, homes, medicines, educational materials, jobs, or training. No, our job is to provide those who are feeling hopelessly defeated by poverty with the ability to dream again.
Three weeks ago, I returned to La Chureca, now chosen as one of the “Ten Horrors of the Modern World.” I had never seen so many people in all my visits there. The conditions were no better than what I described above. The anger and frustration of the crowd were almost palpable. We were advised by our contact there not to go far from our vehicle. I had never felt threatened there before. I barely stepped out of our vehicle when I was surrounded, in close proximity, by a number of the men who work there and a couple of the women. I felt embarrassed that my hands were so clean. I wanted to hide them in my pockets… their hands and their faces were covered with a black soot that would seem to defy the strongest detergent or scrub pad. Their eyes expressed an indescribable mix of emotions – hurt, resignation, pain, fatigue, suffering, distrust, rage, despair…

They said that they had received countless promises by government and non-profits, but all promises had proven to be empty. Thirty-three non-profits are supposedly working in La Chureca, and yet there has been no help for them. A spokesman for the group described that many news agencies would come and take pictures and videos with promises to tell their stories, only to betray their trust and write negatively of them. Many have been offered training with job placement at the end of the training. One man was trained as an electrician and when time came for job-placement he said, “They were brilliant in their absence.” No one would hire him and he had to return to the hell of La Chureca.

They explained that until 3 years ago they were doing a bit better. They were being paid 8.5 Cordobas (approx. 42 cents) per kilo of recyclable metals. Then, suddenly, about two years ago, the prices fell to 1.5 Cordobas (approx. 7 cents) per kilo. “If the prices of food and other goods went down also, it wouldn’t have been so devastating,” one worker said. I tried to explain how difficult it would be to distribute goods there at the dump, as there could easily be chaos and riot conditions. They said that they were willing to take numbers and stand patiently in line, and they even suggested that we get the Mayor to lend the services of his police force to keep the crowds in order.

I asked them what they most wanted us to do for them, expecting the answer to be money, or food, or some other material goods. Instead, they asked if I would speak to the Mayor on their behalf. They told me that the garbage truck drivers were making 4,000 Cordobas every two weeks (approx. $100 p/week) and they have great concern because these drivers were picking out for themselves all the best recyclable items as they emptied the garbage into the trucks. They complained that the drivers were robbing them of their livelihood. The workers at the dump are now making approx. US$2 per day – less than was the case 7 years ago!

At the end of our visit, we prayed together, asking God to bless and help these battered people. I left La Chureca having absorbed the anger and frustration of its inmates. I promised myself that I would not return to that place without a serious commitment to help relieve their misery. My heart and mind have been restless after that experience, but I am not unhappy with that restlessness, as I also promised myself that I would not rest until we found some way to help them. I will not forget that promise.