Meet Program Director Brooke Wilson

#HumansOfManna: Meet Brooke Wilson

Happy Friday! Inspired by the moving work of HumansOfNewYork, We are hereby launching our weekly #HumansOfManna posts as spotlights on our incredible volunteers. Without further ado, meet Program Director Brooke Wilson!

Brooke, walk me through the busiest day of your week: 

6:30 am

Tuesdays are my busiest day! I start with a rich cup of coffee. I then begin a mile-long walk to the Chiquilistagua public school for Lacrosse the Nations (LtN) practice at 7:30am.

9:00 am

After practice, I hop into the Manna micro (bus) to go to the Club in Villa Guadalupe for more lacrosse fun. I then meet with Coach Maycol for a half hour to discuss training plans, then segue into LtN practice #2 for an hour and a half.

12:00 pm

The public transport bus ride takes me approximately an hour to get home, just in time for a quick lunch before I have to leave again for Camp JAM in El Farito - our arts, music, and games class for the children of Cedro Galán.

2:45 pm

At around 2:45 pm, I return home to catch up on emails and finish preparing lesson plans for my hour-long Level 4 English class.

6:00 pm

English class begins at 6:00 pm, and I teach our level 4 students, who are improving by the day!

7:30 pm

My day of program responsibilities ends at around 7:30pm, upon my return from English.

What is your favorite thing about living in Nicaragua?

The energetic, smiling children in LtN who are always enthusiastic to learn, despite early morning practices every week. They are undoubtedly a wonderful start to my long days. (Shout out to Team Managua, my team competing in this year’s LtN Cup on November 19th! Please consider supporting this cause here.

Favorite place to “treat yo’ self”?

It’s a toss-up between Tip-Top’s popcorn chicken and PriceSmart’s supreme pizza!

What has been your biggest struggle while living in Nicaragua?

Being so far away from family!

Why did you commit to spending a year of your life here?

After graduating from college, I knew I had so many diverse interests and was uncertain about what to pursue in the future. Working with Manna Project International exposes me to a majority of these interests on a daily basis, ranging from healthcare and education to coaching lacrosse; I am confident this multi-faceted role will allow me to gain new experiences and further develop my passions.

On another note, while I rarely had the opportunity to travel during college while juggling school and DI women’s lacrosse commitments, my job as a Program Director in Nicaragua lends itself to so much travel!

Thank you, Brooke!

Click here to learn more about Brooke's work with MPI's partner organization Lacrosse the Nations.

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Take me out to the ball game....

As part of the sports and recreation program here in Nicaragua, program directors Matt, Luke, Will, and Zac coach two baseball teams in the local communities.  Matt and Luke coach a team of players from Cedro Galon, while Zac and Will coach a team from Chiquilistagua. Both are teams in a league of thirteen and fourteen year-old boys and have games every Saturday morning against other teams in the league.  Well this past Saturday they were scheduled to play each other in a double-header, and so Amira and some of the other PD's went out to support and cheer on the guys and their teams.  In the end Will and Zac's team won both games, but both teams seemed to have a great time playing, and walked away with their heads high and in good spirits.   

Not only was it fun to watch the program directors' teams compete, but it was also a great chance to hangout with and get to know the summer volunteers, who arrived this weekend and tagged along with us to the event.  Starting this week, the summer volunteers are also going to have their own tab on this blog page so they can share their own thoughts and feelings while being here, and so that their friends and family can track what they are doing.  So keep checking back for all of the adventures and stories that are sure to come for these volunteers in the next few weeks! 

Yader, the ball boy for Matt and Luke's team.

Dugout of the Chiquilistagua team.

Will and Zac sitting with some of their team.

The dugout of the Cedro Galon team.

TEETH-BRUSHING PROGRAM

Twice a week Manna Project Nica helps out with a feeding program that is hosted by the Augusts. Kathy August and Halle August are a married couple that have been doing mission work here for the past 7 years. They were an integral part in the starting of MPI Nica and even helped us find the Manna House to rent when we were just starting. The Augusts own the spaces that we use to run the majority of our programs in Cedro Galan and Chiquilistagua. Not only do the Augusts do phenomenal work in the community, but they're also the nicest people you'll ever meet.

After a good nutritious meal from the feeding program, MPI runs a little teeth-brushing program, where we give out toothbrushes and toothpaste to the children. Although it is only a small program and a small part of what we do, it is still very important. Many of the children here do not brush their teeth on a regular basis. For many families the extra cost of toothpaste is too much. It's crazy how you can bear witness to so much poverty, yet when you hear a simple explanation that a mother has to choose between toothpaste or food, you suddenly feel like you're seeing life here for the first time all over again.

Will making sure the right kids get the right toothbrushes

Escarlett

Marcos

Jimmy, Hamilton, & Daniel

(don't mind Luke in the background, he has a bronchial-pneumonia right now)