Kelly Robinson.....Raleigh Venturer

Raleigh Venturer Kelly Makes A Difference in Nicaragua

TVC Learner, Kelly Robinson, has started the her Operation Raleigh expedition in earnerst building a community centre in a remote Nicaraguan village.  Kelly is a member of Raleigh team 'Alpha 6' and will be spending ten weeks in South America living and working with local people, improving facilities in their villages.

The guys have been spending their time in the community of Apantes in Miraflor, Nicaragua, living with families and spending their days getting stuck into the local culture, teaching English to the local school children and building a community centre.The group started out by digging numerous trenches and building metal frames. The work was then left to what was described by the team as a confused looking pair of oxen to move several tonnes of gravel, sand and brick to the worksite.  As of a couple of days ago, the group have finally finished laying the foundations to the build - hoorah they cry!   They next needed to bring bags of sand over from one hill to the worksite to be mixed later for cement, which they will then use to start building up the walls to the centre.

The first few days proved a bit of a culture shock for the venturers as they adjusted to a diet of beans and tortillas, living in Spanish speaking homes, and sharing their space with many inquisitive children and countless pets... such as dogs, kittens, pigs, cows, chickens etc - the usual. After the hard days work the team are generally in bed early doors, 8pm bedtimes feel rebellious apparently. Although challenging, a few unique and significant moments seem to have more than made up for the trickier times. The team have been swimming in waterfalls on their days off, they have drank coffee in a cloud forest, bonded over shared paranoia introduced by a game of ´human cluedo´and become closer to their Nicaraguan families than they ever would have thought.

The local children are really really enjoying the venturers company.  Great relationships have formed and it is clear to see that they have been making a big impact on their lives already, even in such a short space of time.

 

Pictured:  Kelly (Centre, With the Lollipop) and the Alpha 6 Venturers on site in Apantes Posted on 19/07/2011 by TVC News Team