Well, after 2 and 1/2 years of no posts I am back. After the change of the Nicaraguan government in January of 2007, when Daniel Ortega began a new 5 year term as President of the country, I decided to stay "callado" - to keep my mouth shut.

I had many connections in the former government who had assisted me with various projects in the country, from schools to community gardens to water wells, and I just wanted to learn who I would be dealing with before going out on a limb and accidentally saying something inflamatory.

Our school is still in business, and we continue to offer educational opportunities, formal and vocational, to impoverished children and young adults in the community of Pantanal, just south of the city of Granada.

I'll be writing much more over the coming weeks, and I look forward to your comments. The one thing I can say right now is that should you decide to go to some third world country and help the people there, do it one child at a time, become a personal friend and mentor to them, visit them regularly, and stay committed to them into adulthood. If you can't be there personally, you are just throwing money down the drain.