When asked about his time spent in Nicaragua, Azzam Elder stated, "It is truly disheartening to see the terrible conditions that children across the world are forced to live in. I valued my time working with the children of the dump and hope to return to other areas in Latin America to bring aid to more children living in poverty." In Chinandega, many children who are as young as only five or six years old live in the dump to salvage food scraps and recycled items. In addition, illiteracy rates are very high and many children are forced to drop out of school because their parents are unable to afford school supplies.
Working with the Rotary Clubs of Dearborn and Houston, Azzam Elder helped bring aid to the children of the dump through education. About 1,700 children who live in both the dump and the rural area that surrounds it are able to attend a school established in Chinandega by an Italian priest named Father Marco Dessy. Ultimately, the project hopes to bring financial sustainability to the entire area. This is the only way that volunteers such as Azzam Elder can hope to successfully remove children from living in the dump altogether.
The goal of those helping the children who live in the dump is to start successfully removing them from the dump with education and nutrition. First, volunteers such as Azzam Elder provide schooling, clothing, nutritious meals, medical care, and safety to the children. Their educational goals include literacy as well as vocational skills. The next step for volunteers such as Azzam Elder is to aid the child's family. This is done through suitable housing, medical care, drinkable water, adult education, and help with employment. Finally, the project seeks to help the child's community by providing utilities, safety, businesses, a government structure, community programs, financial independence, and a plan for future growth and development.
Overall, those working with the children of the dump, such as Azzam Elder, have the goal of bringing hope for the future. Many of these communities in which children are economically forced to live in the city dump do not see change in sight, the volunteer group that Azzam Elder was a part of sought to bring the opportunity for change to the children of the dump. The key to hope for the future is structured model that leads toward financial and governmental independence. Without this structure in place, the cycle of poverty will only continue in underserved areas such as Chinandega, Nicaragua.
About: Azzam Elder helps children in Nicaragua.
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