No words can describe the past five days...

5/20-5/21/2009

Hola familia, friends, and our awesome followers. This is Jo (Joarlynn) blogging from Managua, Nicaragua (CEPAD where our Hostile is located). Right now I would like you to do something for me…check the tags on your clothing and find out where they were made. Was it made in Nicaragua? Have you ever wondered who made your clothing and what they had to do in order to make the shirt and pants you are wearing? About ten minutes ago we had a sit down talk with the Maquila workers who came to tell us about their jobs and life here in Nicaragua. What we learned is that they work in textile U.S. factories that are here in Nicaragua. These factories produce clothing for various brands like Wrangler and North Face just to name a few. Clothing that we buy and wear everyday without thinking where they came from or who made them.

I must say I never gave a second thought to where my clothing came from or who made them. It was something that just did not seem important to me and I figured that whoever made them would get paid fairly. And then I realized how these Maquila factories are run, especially the ones in foreign countries like Nicaragua. The factories here employ thousands of people and they get paid cents per item of clothing that they sell. For instance a pair of pants that you may find at the store may cost $25.00, $13.00 of that goes to corporate (i.e. wrangler or North Face) then another portion goes to advertising $10, a small portion of it then goes to the Maquilia factory owner $2.00, and finally the rest of the money goes to the workers. Which in this example would be $3.00, which would be split between all the workers (sometimes hundreds of workers). Which means that the person that made your clothing only got paid a couple cents (if that) per item.

When Patty and Rachael explained this to us I was shocked and frustrated. I honestly could not believe that this is happening and that U.S. factories are allowing these hard working people to be paid this little. Especially, when it is obvious that they cannot live off of what they make (usually $2.00 a day). The Maqulia workers also said that one of their biggest issues is keeping their job. With the poor economy in the United States, people are buying less in the U.S., which means that the Maqulia workers have less clothing to make since he demand is less and therefore jobs are being lost. It is amazing to see firsthand the effects of one countries struggle on another. In the U.S. we have many options if we were to loose our job. My brother for instance, had been collecting unemployment for the past nine months and he just recently got a two-month extension. Nicaragua doesn’t give these options to their people. The Maqulia workers that came today made me very proud to be an American but it also reminded me that I have a job to do because of this fact. And more importantly because I am here now experiencing this firsthand and have seen and heard the realities that they live in everyday.

My eyes and ears have seen and heard a lot these past five days and it is amazing that I am still able to absorb it all. I no longer feel “bad” for these people, they are the most resilient people I have ever met. They live life with love and passion everyday. I saw the resilience in the eyes of the little boy who jumped on the back of our moving bus when we visited the dump. Even though he was covered from head to toe in dirt, he smiled at me and waved. He’s heart filled with joy, I couldn’t help but imagine what his eyes have seen, or what his ears have heard. I couldn’t process that fact that his next meal will be the leftovers of several others. I also had a chance to hold a little baby boy when we went to visit the clinic yesterday. He reminded me so much of my niece Bella when she was his age. He was so active and alert for a four month old. His parents easily handed him over to me, they trusted me so much to hand me their young son and that itself felt so good. When was the last time a stranger let you hold their child or invited you in their home? The clinic had so little yet so much. I can’t even begin to explain what visiting the clinic did to me. So I am not going to attempt it. No words can explain the resilience in these people, it is simply something that you have to see firsthand.

Tomorrow we are going to Los Quinchos, which is a street children rehabilitation project where we are going to intereact with the children and teachers. We will even be eating lunch with the children and going out to dinner there so I am very excited, we will be spending the whole day with them. At night Patty and Rachael are going to take us out into the town so I am very excited for that as well.

Before I go, I must say how worried, anxious, and scared I was before this trip. I pretty much had a panic attack about two days prior to our trip. And now I must admit that I haven’t felt homesick or miss my family that much. Hahaha I love my family very much and I do miss them, but being here now is where I know I am meant to be so it makes this whole process so much easier for me. Plus, the bugs aren’t so bad as I thought and the food is AWESOME!!! Until next time Team Nica followers (that we love so much) thanks for reading our blogs. Much love to my family and Dan, I love You Guys!!

Love,

Jo <3