Over the Spring Break, ten upperform students (Will Dowler '18, Bella Papov '18, Clara Tomann '18, Sherley Arias-Pimentel '19, Jami Procanik '19, Maddie Milazzo '19, Alex Luo '19, Greg McKenna '19, Matt Martin '19, Brendan Omana '19) travelled to Nicaragua with faculty member Amy Omaña '86 and alumna Hillary Buzaid '10 for an annual service trip.
Canterbury students spent a weekend in Granada, Nicaragua's old colonial capital, before beginning their work projects in communities throughout the country.
The team explored San Juan del Sur, the Pacific coast beach near the Costa Rican border, traversed Las Isletas, an archipelago of 360 islands, visited Masaya Volcano, an active volcano, and went to Coyotepe, former president Somoza's secret prison.
While in Granada, the team stayed at the Hotel Plaza Colon, one of the city's oldest and well-kept hotels, owned by Alan Chamorro '80 and his wife, Ubelda Chamorro.
Following the weekend in Granada, the group spent three days in Esteli, Nicaragua's fourth largest city, and three days in Cusmapa, a smaller city to the north of the country. In each of these locations, the team worked on manual service projects in conjunction with the Fabretto Foundation, a nonprofit that service Nicaraguan families through access to education.
In Estili, Canterbury students deconstructed an old wall in a community living area and reconstructed it with cement and reinforcement. In Cusmapa, students dug trenches and moved rocks for a new greenhouse project at the Quebrada Honda community.
"Moving from location to location across the trip brought us to a different community, a different walk of life for Nicaraguans," noted Jami Procanik '19. "It was a really insightful trip."
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