LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS

Kristin Wilson helps out at the second annual Love Light & Melody event to benefit those living off the huge Nicaraguan landfill, La Chureca

By: Kristin Wilson; All photos: Courtesy of Kristin Wilson

April 8, 2008

The morning of March 6th could've been part of any other day in my new life in the sleepy, fishing town of Aserradores, Northern Nicaragua.

But as the wheels of my trusty Xterra stirred up the dawn's first fresh coat of dust, I couldn't deny this day would be different. Instead of meeting clients for lunch or for a glassy surf session, I was off to meet more than 800 people who call Managua's city landfill, affectionately known as La Chureca, their home. As my tires skipped down the nine kilometers of rocky camino leading toward the highway, I contemplated vast differences I was about to witness between the fresh, airy villages on the coast and the confined slums of Managua.

Reaching the provincial town of Leon at daybreak, the serenity of the Pacific coast was a distant memory as the country began to awaken. My beloved driver, Oscar, navigated the honking taxi drivers, careening buses and rogue farm animals while I became enveloped in a world of cell phone calls and emails for two hours. Suddenly, a voice at the window reminded me why I had embarked on this day trip in the first place. We'd arrived at our first destination. "Do I need to bring anything?" Inquired Denise Estrada, my good friend and the Managua Account Manager for Century 21. "Just yourself; let's go!" I said, and we were thrust back into the web of dodging street vendors and oxen carts in search of Love, Light & Melody.

Love, Light & Melody is in its second year headed by its namesake organization. Approximately 250 volunteers from U.S. colleges in addition to 100 people largely involved in Christian surfing organizations or the surf industry filter into Nicaragua around this time with the goal of helping fight the poverty, social and economic problems existing in La Chureca, while playing games with the kids and capping off the day with an outdoor concert by the band, Bradiggan.

What I'd witnessed was too powerful to forget but the refreshing ocean breezes and rolling green hills of the coastal countryside made it hard to believe that a place like La Chureca could never exist in such a beautiful country.

-- Kristin Wilson

The day's events are the culmination of over a year of hard work and planning by LL&M organizers and also reflect the regular efforts similar organizations put forth on a daily basis to improve the quality of life people in La Chureca. Measuring the size of many football fields, the landfill provides a source of income and sustenance for the residents that spend their years scouring the tons of non-separated, non-treated trash each day, looking for trinkets or recycling what can be salvaged. The babies that are born in slanted huts made of scrap metal begin suffering before puberty from health problems that exposure to the filth, burning chemicals and seeping methane cause. Sexually transmitted diseases are also rampant due to the high rate of prostitution.

These conditions have also catapulted the formation of organizations such as the Manna Project, who work with Love, Light & Melody. One of the founders is 25-year-old Angela Profeta, who happens to be my childhood friend fellow pro surfer, Will Tant's girlfriend. And if you're anything like me, you'd have been horrified to discover that a "La Chureca" exists in the metropolitan area of almost every developing country, worldwide. As an educated surfer who strives to be compassionate, socially and environmentally aware, I felt ignorant to not have known about this situation before. However, even with good intentions, volunteers like Denise had to leave the event early due to being sick from the effects of the intense smoke and pollution in the heat of the afternoon. I made it through the day and find it hard to express in words the joy I saw in the people and children's eyes as they interacted with everyone.

When we first arrived, I wasn't sure whether to smile or not when posing for photos amongst the devastation around me, but as little kids emerged from of the black alleyways, throwing their arms around my neck or grabbing my hand, I knew there were reasons to be happy. But still, exchanging embraces with Cheyne Cottrell, Will Tant and photographers in the shadow of mountains of burning trash was more than surreal. Days earlier, we'd spent a week trading off perfect barrels in clear blue water and crisp offshores in my front yard. Now, here we were, dripping with sweat and covered in polluted silt on the soccer field-turned concert venue but with smiles just as big plastered across our faces.

The drive back to Aserradores was largely silent. My mind was reeling -- how can I help? Go back to volunteer at the clinic or school during future trips to Managua? Encourage my clients to donate to the cause on every property they invest in in Nicaragua? What I'd witnessed was too powerful to forget but the refreshing ocean breezes and rolling green hills of the coastal countryside made it hard to believe that a place like La Chureca could never exist in such a beautiful country.

If you'd like to help, visit mannaproject.org or lovelightandmelody.org.