Photo courtesy of Tsuji.
by Kayla Maanum
She lay on her cot while chickens strutted about on the kitchen’s dirt floor. The cries of her host brother kept her awake in the two-room house. She was in Nicaragua, and although she was not fluent in their language, she understood the adversities that were faced there and how to live in happiness despite them.
Junior Allie Tsuji stayed with a host family for six weeks in the small city of San Antonio de Yalagüina, Nicaragua, in the summertime as part of a service project for Amigos de los Americas. During her time there, Tsuji discovered the lack of education some children face, including her thirteen-year-old host brother Joel, because their parents cannot afford to send them to school.
“Here, you don’t expect people to not go to school when they’re thirteen. It was kind of shocking [to discover],” Tsuji said. “It’s sad because there isn’t anything that I can do. It puts things into perspective.”
To put things into a better perspective, a bus ride to and from school in the Nicaraguan city costs 3 cordobas (Nicaraguan currency), or about twelve cents. Because Tsuji’s host family could not afford to send Joel to school, he had to drop out at twelve years old.
Not only is the lack of education a problem, but political tension between San Antonio de Yalagüina and its neighboring city, San Antonio de Padua, is another problem the locals must deal with. This is where Tsuji and her two partners from Amigos de los Americas stepped in.
“There were two communities that were in the middle of political tension. [My partners and I] decided to start a dance program for the youth from both communities in hopes that [the communities] will reconcile their differences,” Tsuji said.
In addition to this mini project, Tsuji and her partners, two other teenagers from the San Diego chapter of the Amigos organization, ran a camp for the city’s youth.
“We really bonded with the youth at the camps. We would plan and lead educational activities like scavenger hunts and relay races. We also did a trash pickup around the community that the kids loved,” Tsuji said.
Meeting new people was one of the reasons Tsuji’s mother, Donies Tsuji, encouraged her daughter to go on the trip.
“[Traveling to a new place] is a really good experience to have because in the real world, you work with different people. Maybe [you’ll become] a little more accepting of people and their differences,” Mrs. Tsuji said.
Tsuji left for Nicaragua to experience a different culture and practice her Spanish, and her mother hoped she would return new knowledge of the real world.
“I thought [the trip] might help her decide what she wants to do with her life,” Mrs. Tsuji said. “Also, [I hope she learned] to be accepting of others and to realize that she does have a privileged life.”
Tsuji came back with a better sense of the adversities many people in Nicaragua face, such as living in the unsanitary conditions of the rural and destitute regions. From these problems, Tsuji’s view on problems at home changed.
“When I came back, there were certain things that I realized didn’t really matter; like it’s not so important that I can’t buy a new pair of boots,” Tsuji said. “There are so many things here we consider of great importance, but people out there have so many problems that are worse.”
Though she stayed in town where a two-room homes and outdoor latrines were common, Tsuji found that the people there still enjoy and make the most of their lives.
“They are so content with the way that they live even though they have to get their water from wells everyday, and even though they eat rice and beans for every meal. They’re happy with their lifestyle,” she said. “It taught me to be thankful for what I have. A lot of people don’t realize how easy we have it.”
Tsuji left Nicaragua with new companions and a newfound view on life.
“I came back with a new family and new friends. I hope I can go back and visit [my host family] one day. Also, I came back with a new perspective on things in my life,” Tsuji said.
