Nicaragua

It's all about the Kids!

See more pictures after blog.

Dear Family, Friends and Rotarians,

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and I am Praying for a Happy New Year. The year 2020 has been a challenge for all of us here in the United States as well as the people of Nicaragua. Because of COVID-19, Len Rogers and I were unable to travel to Nicaragua this past year. Although unable to go, we still sent money down for the Christmas parties at the New Jerusalem Church and the Holy Mountain Presbyterian Church. This was the twelfth year for the party at the New Jerusalem Church and fifth year at the Holy Mountain Presbyterian Church. Over 100 children attended these parties, and all received a Christmas gift, had a pinata and were fed. For some of these children, it was the only Christmas gift they received. I hated missing these parties; they are always one of the highlights of my Christmas. I want to thank God, my family, friends, and Rotarians who make these parties possible.

The school year ended in November and everyone passed their classes this year. It was a challenging year for all the students. Many schools had virtual classes and I do not know any of our students that have computers, so they had to complete their schoolwork on a cell phone. I cannot imagine going to school that way. Their school year starts the end of February and this year we will have 25 children in primary and secondary school. We had two students graduate this past year, so the upcoming year we will have 19 students in college. With many businesses closed, we added a few children but had to turn down many. I want to thank everyone who make it possible for these children to attend school.

We have some remarkable stories. Dennis started his 4^th year residency in Gynecology in March, and had his residency suspended to work in the COVID emergency room. He started back in his residency and will be a Gynecologist in March. We started supporting Dennis when he was in the 9^th grade. His Sister Dinia began her yearlong public service last March in a public hospital. She is about to finish and will have her medical degree this March. Their brother, Donill, graduated from dental school when we were there in December 2019. With our help, he is in the process of setting up a dental office with another dentist. Donill has been on the east coast of Nicaragua helping people who were devastated by two hurricanes. The three of them have been really giving back. They have been holding one and two-day medical clinics in some of the poorest areas. I am very proud of them.

Another young man, Steven, graduated from high school in December 2019, and was the number one student in his class. I had the honor of escorting him in his graduation! Steven started veterinarian school last February. It takes him three buses to get to and from school every day. Their buses are our old school buses. I never rode a school bus when I was growing up but was on one of their buses last year. I counted 55 seats on the bus and then counted the people. I discovered I was on this bus with 94 of my closest friends. During the height of COVID there, I told Steven not to go to school, but he told me he had to since we were supporting him. His class started with 25 students and ended with 5. He was upset at the end of first semester because he made an 89 on one of his finals. Steven is a remarkable young man whom I am very proud of. Steven has a younger sister Maria. Maria just finished seventh grade and is a beautiful young girl, and she makes better grades than Steven. There are many stories to tell, but without you who are reading this letter, none of these stories would be possible.

I get several messages a day from many people in Nicaragua, usually through Facebook messenger on my phone. Many of them are “thank you” for what we are doing for them. But most of them are asking for things. Remember, this is the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. At first, I had trouble with these messages, but over time I have gotten used to saying I cannot help. I sent a Happy New Year to several people this morning. As I am writing this, I received a Happy New Year from Steven, along with another message that brought tears to my eyes. He was Praying that 2021 is a better year. He told me he overheard his parents talking, saying they did not have food for breakfast this morning and did not have any money to buy anything! Most people work jobs as they can find them and get paid daily. Yesterday and today are holidays, so there is no work. It is so hard getting these messages knowing there is not a thing I can do to help them today! I know in my heart what we are doing to help these children with school will make a difference in their lives one day. I Pray to God for this every day! Please pray for these children and their families.

On our last trip in December 2019, Len and I had five houses built. They were all for families with children. A couple of them were for families of students we support. One house was sponsored by The Good Samaritan Church of Huntington and one was a Connie Rogers House of Hope. The houses we build are 18’ x 18’ cinderblock with a tin roof and cement floor. They are not much by our standards but much better than what they have. We not only put a better roof over their heads but also get money to the workers we hire. As of our last trip we have built a total of 50 houses. We are talking about sending money down to build at least one house. The problem is getting that much money there. A house costs around $3,500 to build and we have trouble sending that much money through Western Union. Western Union is the cheapest way to send money, but we are limited to how much and how many times a month we can send. With sending money for school every month, I must get my wife and daughters to also send money for us. Len has raised money to build two more “Connie Rogers Houses of Hope” in honor of his late wife. We may have to make a trip happen before next December. I currently have a list of over five people, who need a house. If anyone would like to sponsor a house, please let me know.

If anyone would ever like to make this trip with us, we would love it. It is not as expensive as you may think. We usually go for two weeks, but you would not have to go for that long. There is a large, easily accessed airport, and you can go for a shorter period. For airfare, room, and board, the cost is around $1,500 per person. We stay at a fairly nice motel which gives us a good price.

Also, if anyone knows of someone that could set up a website inexpensively, please let me know. I think it would help a lot.

We had a successful 5k walk and run, The Skip Turner 8th Annual Run for Los Niño’s on November 21st. This was the first live race in this area since last February. We were very careful, and everyone stayed safe. We will use this money to help with our work. However, between now and February I need to raise most of the school money. This comes to an amount of about $18,500.

Now comes the part where I ask for YOUR help. God says you will not receive if you do not ask, so I am asking!! School runs from February through November. Angelica will take all the primary and secondary school children shopping for their school clothes, back packs, and school supplies in January. This will cost us $2,500. Angelica is amazing! She gives me receipts for every penny of this money. Also, in January, application fees and registration fees are due for all students. Every month I send approximately $1,400 for tuition and fees. Angelica and Demoris (Demo) meet with the college students and give them their money and gets receipts for their tuition. Demo is an ordained minister, and he conducts a Bible study with the college students.

I know due to the pandemic and the economy, 2020 has been bad and everyone’s budget is tight, but if you could find it in your hearts to help the people I just talked about, I, and they, would be truly grateful. You can make a tax-deductible check payable to “NESH” and send it to NESH, P.O. Box 731, Barboursville, West Virginia 25504. You will receive a letter confirming your contribution. One Hundred percent of your contribution will go to work in Nicaragua. All administrative costs, which totals about $50.00 a year, of Nicaragua, Education, Shelter and Health Fund, Inc., have been paid for. NESH is a 501(c)3 Corporation.

Again, I want to thank everyone for their past and present support and ask everyone to please Pray for the people of Nicaragua and our work. I want to wish everyone a belated Merry Christmas and to remember what Christmas is all about. In Nicaragua Christmas is quite different. They celebrate the coming of Our Lord Jesus Christ for several hours on Christmas Eve, set off fireworks at midnight, go to bed and wake up too few, if any, presents on Christmas morning.

To see pictures from last year’s trip and pictures and blogs from several past trips, go to http://jackmease.blogspot.com

GOD BLESS YOU ALL

DIOS TE BENDIGA

Sincerely,

Jack W. Mease, CPA

Founder of Nicaragua, Education, Shelter

And Health Fund, Inc. a 501(c)3 Corporation

GRADUATION DAY