Written by Christina Becherer, SHI Development Director

Straight out of college with a degree in journalism, I found myself researching and reporting on children living in extreme poverty for an education project of the United Nations. I quickly became haunted by visions of small ribs protruding from the chests of starving children, swollen bellies due to malnutrition, girls and boys under the age of ten forced into prostitution or slavery (child exploitation is now a multi-billion dollar industry) and infants dying from diarrhea when the cost of my daily cup of coffee could save their lives. Unable to leave these issues behind, I made the transition from writing about international nonprofit organizations to working for one.

As I traveled with Sustainable Harvest International (SHI) to visit our work sites in Nicaragua, the fact did not escape me that UNICEF estimates there are 1.6 million children living in poverty in Nicaragua – the second poorest country in the Western hemisphere after Haiti. So on my day off in the port city of Bluefields, after trekking deep into the jungle to meet families working with SHI, I wanted to visit an orphanage.

My colleagues Sarah and Mercedes were willing to join me in my search, but after asking local staff and searching the city, we were unable to find an orphanage. I knew, however, that there were children in Bluefields without a safe place to sleep.

By word of mouth, we finally found a woman, doña Coco, who provides a temporary refuge for vulnerable children behind her clothing shop in one of the city’s bustling markets. I’ll never forget passing through her small store to a back alley, a hot spot for drug deals, and then waiting as she unlocked a door of steel bars. Behind these bars, we found a room where many children escape in search of a modest meal, some safety and a bit of compassion.

 Doña Coco sat down with us and shared stories about her work with the children. She claimed that many were victims of international sex tourists or from abusive homes - and that the parents often force their children into prostitution. We sat there with tear-stained cheeks and nauseated stomachs.
 Later that night, Sarah, Mercedes and I watched with sullen faces as a little boy went from table to table with outstretched hands at a nearby restaurant. We discussed the day’s remarkable events and what we could possibly do to help doña Coco with her mission and provide some relief for the children.

After returning to the United States, I wrote a grant to one of SHl’s largest corporate supporters to build The Center for Families and the Environment, (view photos) a demonstration farm offering hands-on workshops for SHI families, staff and volunteers. One component of the center is an educational program for the street children to practice environmental stewardship while harvesting their own organic vegetables and fruits. This is yet another step towards SHI’s goal of promoting conservation and healthy human relationships with the natural world.

Now a year after writing that grant proposal, the demonstration farm is in its final stages of construction, and the children are learning to cultivate their own vegetables and fruit trees for the first time. Most of them have never eaten a garden vegetable. Their diets consist solely of rice and beans - when they can even find a meal, that is. We named the project Huerto de Esperanza, which in English means Garden of Hope. In addition to the nutritional benefits the children will reap from their garden, it is my personal hope that the children’s hearts and young minds will also be nourished.

View more photos of the Garden of Hope in Nicaragua on our Flickr site.

Aviva Asher, a volunteer from Somerville, MA, recently had the opportunity to work hands-on with the children as they started their garden. In her own words:

“Doña Coco’s kids, endearingly called, are used to looking out for each other and operate like a group of orphaned brothers. They came [to the farm] each day to double dig the rows for the vegetable garden and germination area… It was obvious to me that the children were eager to receive a bit of forceful direction and rules, paired with kindness and caring.

On their first day, [while learning about composting using earthworms], I taught them a famed “worm rap” that I have been teaching kids in Somerville for three years. Many being Creole speakers, I was able to teach them the rap in English with no trouble and for the remainder of the week, from all parts of the farm I could hear kids calling out the verses and swaggering their hips along to the beat. It was this sweet and earnest showing of interest to learn and to behave like the children that they are that warmed my heart.

That Saturday, following a full week of work, I made my way downtown. Immediately I came across one of the children selling fruit on the street. I bought three oranges from him. Further down the street I ran into another of the children shining shoes. I offered him an orange and sat down to chat for a few minutes. I continued to hear my name or verses of the worm rap called out as I rounded corners of Bluefields Center, and each greeting was met by a request to come back to the farm.”

WORM RAP
courtesy: Shelburne Farms Four Seasons book

No Bones, no bones, no bones, no bones,
A worm ain’t got no bones, no bones

A worm doesn’t have any bones inside,
But that doesn’t stop it from taking a ride.
Through the soil it pushes and tunnels all day,
Making channels for water and air on the way.

Refrain - No eyes

A worm doesn’t have any eyes to see
But that doesn’t mean it will bump into a tree.
It feels vibrations deep in the ground,
And then it knows its time to wiggle around.

Refrain - No feet

A worm doesn’t have any feet on the ground,
But that doesn’t stop it from moving around.
Sets of muscles can flatten it long and thin,
Then squeeze it shut like an accordion.

Refrain - No teeth

A worm doesn’t have any teeth to chew
But that doesn’t stop them from eating food.
They take like bits of dirt in their mouth,
And when it’s digested rich castings come out.

No bones, no eyes, no feet, no teeth
A worm ain’t got none of these, that’s neat!

They make the soil better in many ways
So add a bunch to your garden today
Add worms, add worms, add worms, add worms,
They do a great job, add worms add worms.