Dos Amigos II

13.08.13

We did an interview to the health leader, a teacher and the community leader to try to understand better how life is in an indigenous community like this.

There are two things that are very easy to realize. 

• Living conditions are very bad; there are no facilities, population is living with the bare minimum to survive.
• The community is very united; they are a cohesive group. "We want to live well and live together, live together like a community that is what we are, sharing life and knowledge," says the school teacher.

"Here we all know each other; everyone can go in every house. All children are friends and play together," says Felton, a 13 years old boy. This also causes a lot of social pressure, "if you do something different from other people, rises much envy against you and you just don't do it, because the other people will treat you differently," says the teacher of another indigenous community of this area.

MOST SERIOUS PROBLEMS

Water

One of the biggest problems in Dos Amigos is that there are no wells, not even one. They use rainwater or they gather it of the river.

"Many children do not come to school because they are sick. My older sister is sick because of the dirty water," says Jeanette, a seven years old girl. The sewage from all communities and cities in Prinzalpoka, go into the river. This water is dirty and polluted. Moreover, the kids use to shower in the river. The latrines are also in very bad conditions.  

Health

Another huge problem is that there is not a health post or a drugs store in Dos Amigos. 

The Ministry of Health distributes the medicines once every semester, but only if the health leader is there. Once they have finished, there is no possibility to have more. The only way is going across the river to Alamikamba; it can take nearly an hour by speedboat, five hours in slow, but 12 hours if you only have the canoes to paddle (like most families here).

Felton’s father tells us “I had 14 children, two of them died of diarrhea and pneumonia when they were still babies. They got ill and we could not arrive in time to the city”.

The most common diseases are caused by contaminated water. "This year, two children under 5 years have died of easily treated diseases, like diarrhea. All because we had no time to get to the hospital or medicines", says the health leader. 

Alarm / communications system

"There is no communication system here. There is no phone coverage or satellite phone to notify in case of emergency", says the community leader, Ralph Penglas. If someone is dying and does not have the "luck" that is during the day and someone with a speedboat is traveling and can ( and want) help, the person dies. This is unacceptable and unfair. These communities have a very difficult access but these problems are solvable. It is necessary the commitment to provide them with a communication system to act in an emergency.

“In case of natural disaster, there are brigades in another community who have a satellite radio. When they receive the information that reaches an emergency, they warn in their community and then they come here by boat, and we will notify it here with a bell. Then, we collect the necessary and go away from the river", says the community leader.

The process is reversed in case someone has committed a felony, or he/she intends to do it. "If someone, for example, goes out with a machete with intent to kill someone, we go to the community with a satellite radio and they notified this to the police. Then, someone from Alamikamba comes by boat," says Mr. Penglas.

SOCIAL ORGANIZATION

“There is an indigenous territorial government with some autonomy of the central government, but still we depend on the Major of the municipality". 

"In a Community Assembly with all the population of Dos Amigos, we choose the community leader for a year” tell us Mr Penglas. He is four months in the position; does not speak well Spanish and does not seem self-confident, but he is very hummable and pleasant. 

"When there are problems between families or non-serious crime (a crime that they do not consider serious), the adults got together and made ​​a decision. In addition, the entire population of Dos Amigos meet once or twice per month and discuss community problems and make decisions”.

Land

"The land is not owned by anyone, is part of the community. There is a communal land where everyone can grow, work or take their cattle with permission from the authority.

However, each family has a smaller piece of land where only they can farm. However, it does not mean it is private property because they cannot sell it or give it. They can only give it to their family. If someone new comes to live here, we give a piece of land as well”.

Birth control and religion

In every community there is a church, always with the same style; the religion is very important. They are Christians but have some peculiarities, for example, priests can marry and have families, and women can only dress with long skirt.

Health leader confirms what we have observed "here, there is not family planning at all”. The school teacher of Auhya Pura told us "a woman once said that contraceptive methods cause cancer". Ignorance about sexual matters is common in all the communities we visited. Furthermore, "many pastors tell us that birth control is sin, it is worse for us," says a woman from Dos Amigos, mother of 8 children.

We found the same situation than in Auhya Pura: families with young parents –around 20 years old- and with many children (approx 6 per family) living in a house with one or two spaces and latrines in dreadful conditions. 

More than 60% of the population in Dos Amigos are children, most of them with malnutrition and exposed to serious health problems, many of them caused by contaminated water; but also with a poor educational system that does not guarantee that kids can even finish elementary school.

The basic rights of food, clean water, accessible health care, education and housing are part of the Rights of the Child, which should be ensure in any part of the world. However, we are especially alarmed because in Nicaragua most of the aid is concentrated in the Pacific, while the Atlantic is still forgotten and ignored.