Friday, March 21, 2008

Why El Pantanal?

Casa Xalteva has a connection with El Pantanal because our good friend Jose Andres, who is originally from the area and whose family is still living there, has been living at Casa Xalteva since he was 9 years old. Andres was apart of Casa Xalteva's educational shelter program which was founded by Dr.Ken Carpenter and Dr.Gregory Calvert in 1995. Before the age of 9, Andres worked daily collecting garbage with his older brother (without shoes) until he had the opportunity to come and live at Casa Xalteva.

El Pantanal is located outside of Granada and is considered by most as the garbage dump or "chureca". 80% of the people in El Pantanal work 12 hour days looking for plastic, metal, and copper in the garbage dump. For one pound of Copper or Iron collected it is possible to earn 7 cordobas. Plastic and other types of metal are usually about 1 cordoba per pound. For your information... the exchange rate between the cordoba and the american dollar is 19 for one american dollar. Both Andres' step father and brother continue to work in this field daily, and continue to suffer economically.

Andres is currently 22 and his education continues being sponsored by Casa Xalteva. He also works as Casa Xalteva's "Tour Guide" for student afternoon excursions . He does a great job taking students to spots off the beaten path and always has them laughing out loud. He is currently finishing his last year of school before he enters university.
It is both Andres' hope and our desire that we can help the children of El Pantanal. We hope that our efforts can enable the children to maintain a meaningful education.





1 comment:

Mitch & Judy Marsh said...

My name is Mitch Marsh and my wife, Judy, & I have been going to Nicaragua for about 3 years (7 times). We launched our own ministry (Mitch Marsh Ministries) here in the US to raise funds for us to travel to Nicaragua approx. 6 times each year to carry supplies, food, and water to those who need it, along with sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

We have a rented apartment near Granada and have been given the El Pantanal barrio as a suggested place to minister.

Please forward any info you would like about this place to me @ mitch@mitchmarshministries.com

We will be returning April 20 - May 24 and would love to hear from you.

Blessings!


Mitch Marsh