Los Chavalitos: DGH in Nicaragua By Sasha & Elizabeth Wilson

Los Chavalitos is a residential school and farm founded in January 1997 to provide an education, a home and a family for a small number of orphaned, abandoned, and severely abused children in Nicaragua. The founder and director, Alejandro Obando Flores, was a teacher in New York for many years before deciding to return to his homeland to realize his dream of starting a school. He began the school on his 400-acre farm in the middle of the mountains in the region of Boaco, in central Nicaragua, with the labor and financial support of friends both in Nicaragua and the United States.

“These two boys, shy, unable to read and uncommunicative upon arrival, are now leaders both academically and in farm work, teaching newer students literacy and life skills.”

The chavalitos (a colloquial term meaning "kids") who live at the farm come from a wide variety of circumstances, having in common only the challenging nature of their backgrounds. Some are from Managua, the country's capital, some are from small towns and some are from the countryside right around Los Chavalitos. At the farm, the children receive an education through primary school, with a guarantee of going to secondary school in town if they so desire. They get three meals a day, clothing, a bed to sleep in and, perhaps most importantly, the affection and attentions of a family. Los Chavalitos does a lot more than simply provide schooling and food. The children are engaged around-the-clock. Education there is not limited to the four hours a day spent in the one-room schoolhouse but is happening constantly. The children also work to help care for their surroundings and to develop the farm's goal of self-sufficiency. Both boys and girls are expected to work in the field and in the house, as Los Chavalitos operates with a vision of equality between boys and girls, which is very rare in the countryside.

Children from Los Chavalitos pose for the camera. More Photos

Los Chavalitos is full of inspiring and heart-breaking stories. Antonio, the first student at the school, grew up in the local area, selling oranges on the roadside and never attended school. When he heard about Los Chavalitos at the age of 13, he ran away from his abusive alcoholic father to seek an education. A year later, his younger brother Luis joined him at the farm. These two boys, shy, unable to read and uncommunicative upon arrival, are now leaders both academically and in farm work, teaching newer students literacy and life skills.

Josue arrived when he was about 6 years old. The police in the city of Tipitapa found him sleeping on park benches. He wouldn't tell them anything about himself. He slept in the police station for two weeks and received care from the officers, as they tried to figure out what to do with him. One police official who had heard about the school sent a request that he be taken in, which he was. Maria Jose arrived shortly after, so severely abused and malnourished that her physical and cognitive developmental delays are obvious to even casual observers. She was often locked in her house for entire days and was taken out of school in first grade because she had such difficulty learning. She was referred to us at the age of 8, when the abuse became so severe that neighbors became concerned.

Los Chavalitos has begun to address some of the issues that these children face but there are limits to what can be done with the extreme poverty and lack of infrastructure in Nicaragua. To get to the nearest health center, which only operates sporadically, people in the area must walk 45 minutes to the road and then take an hour-long ride on a bus that only runs infrequently. There are some medical supplies at the farm and some knowledge of how to use them, but there is no professional medical attention, nor basic knowledge about parasites and other common ailments. Also, the children face issues from early in their lives, such as malnutrition and abuse (both physical and emotional), that continues to affect them.

“In many ways, Los Chavalitos is a center for the community. Adults come from miles around to attend literacy classes in the schoolhouse. Many locals are employed as laborers and thus come to the farm every day but Sunday.”

In many ways, Los Chavalitos is a center for the community. Adults come from miles around to attend literacy classes in the afternoons in the schoolhouse. Many locals are employed as laborers and thus come to the farm every day but Sunday. Alejandro, the director, is a well-known and respected community organizer, who has brought many community members together to work on projects, like building several local schools, piloting a community tree nursery, and environmental and agricultural education workshops for small farmers. But again, the residents of the countryside have so little disposable income that they cannot even afford to take the bus into town. One worker, complaining about an ear infection, was asked if he had gone to the health center. His response was, "And the money?"