THE MESSENGER

SUNDAY
APRIL 5, 2015

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Creating friendships, building hope in Nicaragua

From left, Ed Ramsey, translator Olivia Holt and Mark Lee enjoy a moment in Los Quinchos in Managua, Nicaragua.

Local group takes annual mission

to assist Central Americans in need

The main focus for the past

few years has been a water
project, Lee said.
We started working on that
ark Lee, Ed Ramsey and
about
four years ago, Fishman
Mary Susan Fishman from
said.
When
we met with the
First Christian Church
people
of
the
small communities,
in Madisonville are home
we
asked
them
about their needs
after spending two weeks in
and
we
kept
hearing
the need for
Nicaragua as part of an ongoing
good,
clean
water
and
access to
partnership to help people living
water.
in the Central American country.
The partnership has been
Its a three-part partnership,
instrumental
in laying water
Ramsey said. There is a
lines,
installing
faucets and
Kentucky part, a Nicaraguan
building
large
holding
tanks for
part and then there is the
water
treatment.
Council of Protestant Churches,
When Ramsey irst became
known as CEPAD, that holds
involved,
the focus was to build
everything together.
relationships,
he said.
The Kentucky part is
To
me,
that
is still our
not just us, he continued.
number
one
project,
he said.
There is the Community of
Out
of
relationships
come
good
Faith Presbyterian Church
projects.
Our
number
one
task
is
in Covington and the First
listening
to
the
community
and
Christian Churches in
hearing what they have to say
Madisonville and Princeton.
Other members of the annual to us.
They know their needs, he
mission include Susan Fox
continued.
If we listen, then we
from First Christian Church in
ind
out
what
their needs are and
Princeton, Bill Lindsey from
we
can
respond.
Covington and Don and Dawn
Lee agreed.
Farwick.
We dont take the attitude
The team has worked with
that were from North America
several communities in the Rio
and we have all the answers,
San Juan region over the last
he said. It is a partnership. We
several years, Lee said.
do bring things to the table that
The group started out being
they may not have in order to
focused on relationship building, enhance it, but it is really driven
he said. Weve morphed into
by their needs.
some real, tangible, collaborative
We approach it as true
efforts as well.
partners in collaborating and
One of the groups initiatives
respecting each other, he
has been to set up and support a added.
sewing cooperative, Lee said.
Fishman said each year they
The goal of that was ... to
look for a new community to
help teach typically young
work with.
women how to sew and learn
There is an evaluation
a trade, he said. The by-product process after we discuss the
of that is to provide school
project with the people of that
uniforms for the young children
community and their water
to go to school, the poorest of the committee, she said.
poor who otherwise might not go
There are questions that
to school.
need to be answered prior to
Theres been a long-standing funding to ensure the funds will
tradition that kids wear school
be beneicial and used wisely,
uniforms, he continued. Even
Fishman said.
though its not the law anymore,
We do have a real sense
its so deeply ingrained that its
that we need to make sure that
like putting a target on your
there is good stewardship with
back if you dont wear one.
the funds and that it is used in
responsible ways, Lee said.
Lee said the group has
The group, however, has
supported numerous other
experienced a few challenges
projects over the years.
throughout the years.
We support what they call
The irst sewing group
a theological school, Lee said,
we set up was in the little
but its essentially dealing with
community of Los Chiles,
social issues in the community
Ramsey said. Our machines
and helping people with that.
were wiped out by a landslide.
We help support a group in
Most recently, the members
Managua that is kind of a rescue
have had to deal with the issue
group to give alternatives to
of theft.
street kids, he added.
BY FELICIA STEWART

MESSENGER STAFF WRITER

FSTEWART@THE-MESSENGER.COM

Two years ago, and again

this year, the van we rented was
broken into and some of us lost
our backpacks, Ramsey said.
The trio lost passports two
years ago, Fishman said.
Quite often, good things
come out of bad situations,
Ramsey said. The one good
thing that came out of this years
incident was the fact that, due
to the break-in, they were able
to capture the people involved
really quickly.
Right now there are nine
people in jail and theyre still
looking for quite a few more,
he continued. In essence, that
broke up a pretty well-organized
ring that was targeting tourists,
so some good comes out of the
bad.
Special bonds have been
formed with many of the
Nicaraguan people over the
years, Fishman said.
Ramsey agreed.
When I made my 15th trip
15 is a big number in Nicaragua
this one family had a big
party for me, he said. They
had a cake and the whole bit. It
was fun.
This year, I was adopted by
an 11-year-old girl and Im now
her grandpa, he added.
Fishman said she was thrilled
to see one particular person
this past visit, who had been
suffering from a severe infection
due to diabetes the previous
year.
There is one gentleman
that weve known for many
years, Don Santos, she said.
When we left last year, we
felt that we wouldnt see him
again. Fortunately, they got the
infection in his legs cleared up,
got his diabetes more under
controland he was there
healthy and well.
Deep friendships have been
made, Lee said.
There is a story from before
I started going of our group
seeing another group going in
the Houston airport who had
T-shirts on stating, Taking Jesus
to Nicaragua, he said. Thats
all ine. But when I go, I see
people who, probably because
theyre so close to the edge, they
get their reliance on God better
than what I do.
Sometimes, we can all
get a little puffed up with our
accomplishments and kind of
forget, he continued. We igure
Christ knew all about Nicaragua
and those people his children
long before we ever heard of
the country.
This group goes with a
different more collaborative
partnership mindset, Lee said.
We bring back far more than
we are able to take, he said.

Above:
Mark Lee
works at
digging a
ditch for a
water line
in Nicaragua.
Left: Mary
Susan
Fishman
gets her
hands
dirty helping with a
water
project in
Nicaragua.