Volunteer Stories
Katie Pommert
I’ll never forget the first drive to the Batahola Center. I had imagined naked kids running around in the streets, abandoned buildings, and trash everywhere. Unfortunately, I was right and felt that our short time in Nicaragua would amount to nothing. When we pulled up to the gates of Batahola, I had a change in heart. The Center was beautiful, and it gave me an overwhelming sense of hope that we can make a difference.
After listening to a few students who came to the Center, we learned that the chances of these kids getting a job in their trained field would be almost impossible. Yet, they still had the drive to learn as much as they could, not for money but for self- satisfaction. This is when I realized what the Center is truly about. Batahola is a place where people of all kinds can come to get away from the hardships and poverty. At the Center, they are people in control of their happiness. Everyone I met at the Center was always smiling and very optimistic. It changed my view on life and what is really important. Visiting the Center made me see that life is really not about material things. It’s about using what you have been given to make the world a happy place, one day at a time.
Andrea Bejarano
The neighborhood of Batahola Norte is a place I will remember for the rest of my life. Skinny, hungry dogs wandered around and litter was strewn throughout the streets. What we would consider poor housing was really considered a luxury, and people struggled to make a living selling whatever they can from their homes.
However, even more impacting than the sad sights and sounds were the happy ones. Seeing the way the children smiled when we arrived at the center and the way they were so friendly with and accepting of perfect strangers was wonderful. I was amazed to see their happiness and love of life despite the poverty they live in. Their joy was contagious. Every time our group went out to play with the children there were smiles and laughter everywhere.
Overall, the center is a place that is full of hope. From the moment of entering and seeing the bright and beautiful murals on the walls in the center, one can feel the positive, loving atmosphere of the place. There is a deep sense of community and it is wonderful to know that as a result of the classes at the center, adults are able to learn skills they need to have jobs that allow them to provide for their families. It is a safe location for the neighborhood children to play and a place where they can extend their education by taking classes outside of school.
I now feel on a deeper level a desire to take on an active role in the responsibility we all share as brothers and sisters. That is, the responsibility to care for each other and to do what we can for one another with an open heart and an open mind. I feel this not only as a result of the experiences I had in Nicaragua, but also as a result of the interactions I had with the people I met there. I learned from their example to be both appreciative of what I have and to be generous with it.
Keara Sherman
The first thing I saw when I entered the Batahola Cultural Center was a huge mural stretched across the back of their chapel. It pictured a Nicaraguan baby Jesus surrounded by many people offering him gifts. Some of these people are actual individuals who hold special meaning for the community of Batahola. Others are just ordinary people following Christ. This mural was so bright and inviting that when I walked in there, I felt as if I was immediately welcomed into this special place. All throughout my days there that feeling remained, that I was so welcome in this center.
The people who work at the Center are really amazing people. Some of them were scholarship kids who came back to help the people in Batahola, while others are just people who see this as a worthy cause that is devoted to helping Nicaragua. Regardless of why they decided to come to the Batahola Cultural Center, they are all there, working together to help the people in Nicaragua make a better live for themselves and having a little fun along the way. They truly are a picture of Christ at work in the world.
