While we are staying physically apart from each other here in Boston, we know that the conditions of living in Nicaragua today are much less disrupted by the Covid-19 virus. We stay in touch with those in the village and with Entre Culturas members Eduardo Valdez and Luis Agguire, who accompany both communities. We get regular updates from the village and from Eduardo through a WhatsApp communication group. And on many Sundays, our other beloved members of Entre Culturas, Memo Rodriguez and Amanda Jones Rodriguez, join us at Covenant for virtual worship. Several of our members of the Nicaragua Companions group had a wonderful Zoom visit with Memo and Amanda this week to see how they are doing at their current home in Damascus, Maryland, and to learn more about what updates they get from friends and family currently in Nicaragua.

 

We know that at this time our brothers and sisters in Dulce Nombre are practicing careful hygiene and other methods to keep themselves safe from any possible infection and that at this time there has been no sign of this virus in the village. They await the essential rains in May so that they may continue to plant the crops that feed them.

 

From Damascus, Maryland, here is a report on what we have learned from Memo and Amanda about Nicaragua.

 

This is the hottest time of year in Nicaragua, experiencing temperatures up to 113 degrees. This spell precedes the coming of the rains, which are expected to be plentiful come May.

 

 Nicaragua has the most relaxed approach to the pandemic of any of the Central American countries; business as usual, public schools open (although parents and children are not penalized if the parents decide to keep their children home from school.) Most private schools, however, have opted for online learning from home. They all seem to be doing alright for now.

 

Nicaragua is self-sufficient with regard to food production, and the borders have been closed by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south, thus there is not much movement from outside the country. But many of the Nicaraguans who were working in Costa Rica are coming home to Nicaragua, because they are out of work. They are not coming through official border points where they would be checked for the virus, and this movement concerns Memo. There is low international travel generally. (Other epidemics such as Ebola, Zika, and SARS had very little effect in Nicaragua.)

 

Nicaragua reports a very low incidence of COVID-19, reporting 10 cases and 2 deaths since the first diagnosis on March 18. Memo's sense is that the healthcare system is working well there. Since the 80's there have been health promoters assigned to cover every region of the country. Currently, they are going house to house disseminating information on the virus and recommending precautions, making weekly rounds. People know their nurses and local clinics. Donations of testing equipment and medical supplies have come in from Taiwan and South Korea. Testing is free, and they have a universal healthcare system. There are health checks at the border crossings.

 

There is good access to radio, TV, and social media, so folks are aware of what is going on in the world and some are wearing masks and self isolating. There is also fear and distrust, especially since the political upheaval of 2018. Both pro-government and opposition media sources are giving very divergent predictions, from 'everything is under control' to dire predictions of tens of thousands dying.

 

At the same time, Memo says there is concern that government leadership and transparent communication are lacking, that there is under-reporting due to lack of testing or proper diagnosing, that the worst is yet to come.

 

Memo and Amanda, with daughters Sophia and Julia, are doing well in Maryland. Luis and Eduardo, the Managua-based members of Entre Culturas, are being very careful. They cancelled a Holy Week gathering between Dulce Nombre and sister community, Catorce, in Managua and decided not to travel to the communities in the campo for the time being.

 

So we wish everyone good health, and we will stay in close touch with our sisters and brothers via letters, phone, WhatsApp, and Zoom, and keep them close in our hearts.