Cedro Galan and Chiquilistagua are neighboring communities just outside of the southwestern city limits of Managua, Nicaragua on the Carretera Vieja a León (Old Highway to Leon). Because of their proximity to both the modern metropolis and the rural agrarian landscape, the two neighborhoods exhibit an interesting juxtaposition of the contemporary and the traditional... 



...Late-model cars and ox-drawn carts share the same roads, and machete-clad farmers and book-toting collegians share the same buses. Still, some common themes permeate the wide assortment, creating a unique, interrelated whole.

These similarities begin at sunrise. Everyone wakes then or soon thereafter, beginning the day with a traditional breakfast that includes any combination of super-sweet coffee, scrambled eggs, gallo pinto, fried cheese, and bread. Maintaining the traditional, a vast majority of households are male-dominated yet female-centered. While fathers and sons make most familial decisions and provide the income – through a range of jobs that include general laborer, farmer, landscaper, security guard, teacher, vendor, taxi driver, etc. – mothers and daughters manage the home with responsibilities that include child rearing, food preparation, clothes washing, and basic shopping. Of course, there are exceptions, but not many. Many families reunite for lunch, which is normally the largest meal of the day. Typical cuisine encompasses much but almost always includes beans, rice, and fresco – sugary juice made from local fruits such as callala, grenadine, orange, pitaya, pineapple, and more. 

Afternoons in Cedro Galan and Chiquilistagua belong to the children, who constitute another common thread running through the two communities. There’s absolutely no shortage of children of all ages, and there’s always a mentorship role to be filled, especially after midday when schools let out and students flood the streets to play. For the most part, children are well-behaved and respectful, especially in the presences of their parents, who often insist that the kids (especially the older ones) contribute to household duties. The household – commonly three generations deep – is an entity always in need of labor. Babies must be cared for, clothes must be washed, and dinner must be prepared. Dinner is a much smaller meal enjoyed together in the relative cool of the early evening, which happens to be the best time of day for visiting. Nicaraguans love to chat and are always welcoming and as hospitable as their means allow.

Means, however, don’t run as deep as familial bonds or the Nicaraguans’ cordial nature. Perhaps the most prevalent theme uniting the communities is relative poverty, which isn’t simply financial but also educational, health-related, and communal. Even for the most industrious breadwinners, opportunity for financial advancement is rare. Jobs are scarce and often temporary, and wages are always subsistent. An educational deficiency is an obvious hindrance, as most adults lack even a secondary degree (high school equivalent). The fault, perhaps, lies with the educational infrastructure, which is exceptionally weak. Parents are not held accountable for sending their children to school, and public schools receive little funding and have few resources. As previously mentioned, children are sent home at midday, oftentimes to perform the same traditional tasks their parents’ parents performed in their youth. And so the cycle self-perpetuates. Families still live in open-air homes with dirt floors and face health-related problems uncommon in the developed world. The healthcare infrastructure fails more than it succeeds, as the population is uninformed regarding prevention and treatment, and public hospitals and clinics are grossly over-booked and under-staffed. While the communities have this and much more in common, they both also experience a surprising abundance of communal poverty. Both Cedro Galan and Chiquilistagua are divided among familial, political, and religious lines, further burdening a society mired in misfortune and in need of cohesion. The Mission of Manna Project International attempts to attack this poverty in all of its phases.