Auxiliadora Obando

Auxiliadora, also known as Chilo, is one of our newer students in the Casa Esther girls home. She is from near where Sergio is from about 3 hours from our town of Jinotepe. She is in the adaptation process of our program and hopes to study a technical career related to business.

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Xenophobic Britain drives foreign students away public hysteria and paranoia over immigration

It is indescribable what is happening to England. I wouldnt even dare say Britain. And even England is such a strong approximation for I dont believe that all English people share the views Im about to distill, but it is in England that Ive been sensing spontaneous and punctual acts of hatred towards migrant workers. Im not talking about Sports Direct or even Amazon, Im talking about going to the barber shop and the dentist. Two activities that in their nature should be harmless and plain simple to the extent of going in, being seen, paying up and leaving out. Wait!, thats it, the pay up part is whats really upsetting most of the fellows I have been sensing that. Suddenly for them I am the adequate receptacle of the constant moaning towards migrants, borders policies, the EU treaties and the incapability of British governments to stand up to I-dont-know-who-and-why. In all sums, Xenofobia and nothing else.

When I seek for the professional help of a dentist and suddenly from the entrance door, to the pain chair, and then back again to the pay counter I am greeted with "... the problem is that migrants come here and they dont have to pay for their treatments... and the government think that NHS can pay for everything, well it cannot... and the migrants come here and ask for treatments...". The same exact thing happened on my journey to the hairdresser, the same moaning, my same red hears to engulf this profound discontentment of the English workers towards the migrants that I happen to be one of.

Are this people insane or havent they noticed that I am no David Cameroon. I am not a political representative of your country. I am a person that happened to leave the house where I pay rent, to get in the car with petrol, insurance and car parking associated to high taxation taken from me (and I am not complaining at all), I used a service that the government for some reason believe should be made free for me, whether it is because I have a son, I am a student or just because my monthly wage doesnt even reach nowadays the minimum wage... and suddenly these people think I am the one to retrieve their political complaints and somehow take these long sentences of pure Ignorance (thats it) to the House of Commons/Lords, I dont know what??!! 

Are these people mentally challenged or just xenophobic? I am not even going to profess the immense oblivion that is having to listen to all that without feeling disgusted. History shows that the biggest powers in Europe have STOLEN, LITERALLY STOLEN from everywhere in the world with brutal force, ignominy, tremendous greed and inflicted terror, and when a migrant comes to England seeking for a better life he is shown intolerance? I am Portuguese, therefore I havent broken any rules in coming to England and looking for a better life. Whenever I asked for state support when I most needed, the governmental services had the chance to say no - NO, WE WONT HELP YOU! No one imposed altruism on them. It emerged from the need to dignify workers and citizens as in any other EU country that did sign for these practices to be applied.

My hairdresser spends more time complaining about Muslims and Chinese people than paying attention to my style requests. Then he goes on and on about the migrants from Europe. Hasnt he noticed that most of the people that actually sustain his business are students from Middle Eastern countries, Asian countries and European countries? Is everyone ignorant about the millions that are put in the English economy by students, researchers and other professionals that travel to England for whatever reason and bring their best talents to make this country the strong economy that we see?

My dentists receptionist complains that I take money from the system and I see everyday migrants generating revenue for this country. Paid miserably in comparison to their physical and psychological exertion. Universities are piling up with students from all over the world that get money flowing at high rates in this country. Suddenly I am forced to believe that you are only a welcomed migrant and student and foreigner in this country if you bring the dough. PAY FOR YOUR DIGNITY is the system, and that cannot be that far away from NAZISM, Im sorry but its not that far-off.

Everyday we have doctors, science researchers, managers, pizza fillers, taxi drivers from many different countries doing their best and serving you with the best, saving lives, providing quality of life to everyone who uses their products and services. But the dentist, the receptionist and the hairdresser in England think that its the migrants fault the idiotic options different governments have been negotiating with their different social partners.

PAYING FOR DIGNITY RESEMBLES NAZISM AND XENOPHOBIA. Can please someone tell them that?

If a migrant, who some English people state cannot even speak proper English, takes away English peoples jobs so easily, than my friends something is profoundly wrong with that pool of skills. You can only understand what it is to be a migrant when you become one and wear his shoes. I dont agree with people being given without even trying to give back as there is a social synergy that needs fulfilling, but someone tell these people that that has not been the case. The scale needs balancing but its not the migrants fault. When a taxi driver saves your life the moment that ambulance came a bit too late, when you were having a heart attack, what will you tell this lad? And why do we always have to go to extremes to justify the need to dignified lives.

Its not the migrants fault, its globalization, poorly discussed and poorly played, but if you are scared just wait for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, we will be on each others necks until we all perish due to ignorance and stupidity.

1st Image taken from The Telegraph, [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/10304634/Xenophobic-Britain-drives-foreign-students-away-claims-professor.html]

2nd image taken from hercampus, [http://www.hercampus.com/school/u-mass-amherst/response-sears-nazi-ring-anything-fashion-statement].

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Alma Bonilla

Alma is another one of our Nursing students. She was able to get into the local nursing school as a technician and is in her first year of school, with two more to go. Her long term plans are to become a licensed Nurse which is a 5 year course of study.  Alma is 18 years old and is from a rural community about 4 hours away by bus in the State of Leon.

She is a very happy young lady who loves her career and shows appreciation constantly. Her classes are all day long and when school is on break, she volunteers at the local health clinic or hospital a the direction of her school.

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Our students as of June 2012

Since acquiring the property we call El Trillo, we have since been able to construct a Rancho, or covered meeting area that has no walls. Our rancho can fit about 35 people comfortable for meetings with our students and also we loan it to the local church where our student receive discipleship training and have home group. We have had numerous get togethers with our students. In the spring we got together for a dinner and some training.  The pictures of our boys from the Casa Juan Marcos, and our girls from the Casa Esther are shown here.  

Almost all of our students come from poor to extremely poor homes. Most are also from deep into the countryside where transportation limits their ability to get to a University or Vocational school. For this reason we have homes located in Jinotepe, where both Universities and Vocational schools are readily available.

In this group we have student engineers in many disciplines (Agricultural, Industrial, Mechanical, Computer Science) and we have 4 in Medicine (both nursing and PhD.) We have Business administration and Accounting. We also have a handful of auto-mechanics.

Our program is not easy to participate in. These young people are required to set high goals, be productive and give voluntarily to others.

We believe that in the rural areas, as well as the cities, there are many young leaders who are overlooked because of a lack of opportunities. Our program mines these exceptional kids and offers an opportunity not only to achieve a career, but to be a standout in life. In a country that overlooks these kinds of young people, and excellence in general, we believe our students have the potential to stand above the crowd. They are the future of Nicaragua.

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Nehemias Pavon

Nehemias was with us until last July 2012. He completed his studies as a technician in auto mechanics at the local vocational school. He has since acquired a job working for one of the premier hardware stores in Managua, SINSA, as a diagnostic technician for vehicle electrical systems. Nehemias is 22 years old. Prior to leaving our program he, much like Uriel, had class in the mornings and volunteered in a shop during the afternoon. As a result, he was one of two classmates who were recommended by his school administrator for the job. He also is a quiet young man ready and willing to serve at a moments notice.

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Public Engagement with NUAST students and parents

The University of Nottingham offered me the opportunity to repeat what I had brought to life with the Science in the Park - Wollaton Edition! Only this time the public engagement opportunity emerged from a colleague of mine, Hazel Silistre, asking me if Id like to participate as a team of two. 

The Nottingham University Academy of Science and Technology has brand new premises opening soon and students had the chance to come visit several informational stands in the Main Park Campus. These stands introduced students to a range of different areas of science, and talks attended offered insight on the different activities provided by NUAST as well as bringing attention to other scientific topics.

But the students were only satisfied in all their fullness when they happened to find the The Toxicologist Todays stand. Hazel and I worked really hard to develop what we advertised, in situ, as "the most reliable tool these days for one to know his/her inner predisposition for a career in science", aka THE SCIENTOMETER.

Participating students had to respond to 10 science-related questions distributed through different science fields, from Chemistry to Molecular Biology, from Physics to Microbiology, etc etc etc. We had participants of all ages since some people got so enticed by the game and the atmospheres created that they had to take part in it. Vibrant people with a lot of Pub-Quizz experience like the lively Psychologist Paul Garrud who completely destroyed his opponents by scoring 10 out of 10, learning he is still in time to get to be a Freakin Einstein!

The goodies were kindly funded by the University of Nottingham and consisted of chocolate of fine quality (everyone was thriving to get the Toblerones)! All participants got sweeties and by the end of the event everyone looked fairly happy with the experience and the knowledge gained.

What really impressed me was how dedicated some of the kids were, especially when their parents were around; they really wanted to do well and show that the future of the country, if not of the world, is secured, for they were all EXCELLENT.

Some of our work colleagues also present in the event, however representing their own stands, asked us to have a go because the fun was so contagious. The Scientometer made its way to the hearts of everyone there present, and even at some moments we had people queuing for half an hour just to have a go. That made me really proud!

By the end of the event the two of us were really happy that we made it to the end without a scratch. We had loads of fun, promoted science in a funny entertaining manner, learned from the experience, also learned that some parents who have careers far away from our science, such as lorry drivers, police officers, etc, were actually people with very capable sciency brains and very good in untangling the complicated questions.

We were invited to repeat the experience once again on the 25th of November, this time not in campus but very close by; more precisely at the NUAST brand new premises.We will definitely be there, but a few new surprises are going to be created just for this upcoming event.

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Manuel Pavon

Manuel is 20 years old and is studying Electro-mechanical Engineering. His courses are on the weekends in Managua, an hour away, so he spends his weekday mornings volunteering at a local mechanics shop, then in the afternoon he has study time, and in the evening he is learning English at a local school. He will complete the English course at the end of the year. He still has over three years left with his university degree.

Manuel is very motivated to learn anything he can. He is a hard worker and has a plan for his future.

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Ivan Bismarck Gutierrez

Ivan has been with us for a year now and is finishing up his first year at the same agricultural school and Franklin attends. He is from San Gregorio where Milton is from. Ivan is another one of those students that constantly shows his gratitude for the opportunity to study. He and Franklin travel to Rivas every day, Leaving on the bus before  6 am and returning from class after 6 pm. Ivan is 18 years old.

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Erling Jose Perez

At 19 years of age, Erling came to us a few months ago with hopes of studying medicine. His goal is to be a Doctor of Surgery. He still needs to take the entrance exam and pass with very high scores if he is to continue in our program. Presently he is volunteering a lot of time at the old folks home during the morning hours and studying for the exam in the afternoons. Erling is also very involved in the youth movement at church. He is a solid kid who comes from a very poor home south of Rivas about 2 and a half hours away.

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Casa Esther Students Give to the Less Fortunate

One of the things that impresses Julie and I so much is the heart of the young people in our student program. The girls of Casa Esther sell iced juices (Helados) out of their house in order to accumulate funds for an outreach. They also will put on a movie night, selling tickets to friends form the church, to save money. Once they have enough, they will buy some staple items, place them in a basket, and wrap it up as a gift for a needy family.

Isabel holding one of the baskets.



What really makes this special is that all of our students come from families with economic conditions nearly the same as those they are giving to. They understand the blessings encompassed in the small gift.




See the short video at the top of this story. In Spanish, the ladies give thanks to our girls.





A photo of the family with three of our girls. Isabel, Jeansy, and Martha are shown with the family. Nellys is taking the picture.











The house the first family lives in. The smaller basket on the bench was given to another young couple in the community







The giving doesnt stop with the girls. Our boys home, Casa Juan Marcos, also reaches out to the poor.



Osmany represents the boys home in giving an elderly lady the basket assembled by the Casa Juan Marcos boys.

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