The Project

So if you've been following my blog, you have probably been thinking, "Wow, Greg is having a great time vacationing while I'm freezing here in the US." While there might be a little truth to this, most of my time here is actually not spent climbing volcanoes and exploring jungles.

In fact, here in Nicaragua the official work week is 6 days a week, 8 hours a day without siestas (yes, I was definitely a little disappointed).

Anyways, as far as my work with PAC goes I feel both challenged and excited about the next several months. The project that PAC has asked me to do is a little complicated, but I will give it my best shot to explain. Basically, over the last several years PAC has collected information from farmers and small businesses (like acres, yields, prices received, etc.) However, there is no standard for gathering this information and it is kept in numerous formats on numorous computers in numerous different databases.

This information is extremely valuable for PAC because it can be analyzed to obtain what are called "indicators." These indicators can be used both for PAC as an organization and farmers or small businesses to make more informed decisions.

So my job is to create a stadard way to collect and analyze the information. It has been an interesting challenge, as I have had the chance to interview and work alongside farmers, technicians, managers, IT guys, and everyone in between, trying to figure out the best way to do this. It's cool because in many ways my education fits right into this project and I feel like I am contributing to PAC's overall mision. I am also of course learning a ton along the way, and if you happen to be an expert in this field, feel free to contact me!


Aside from work, I have had the chance to help out with sunday school at my church, kids ages 5 to 7. The kids are so much fun, always very happy and energetic!

Thoughts on poverty

But first I just have to say that one cool advantage of living in Nicaragua is that there are so many volcanoes, lakes, oceans, and jungles to explore. I am happy to be taking advantage of it whenever I get the chance. Check out Mombacho Volcano that some friends and I climbed over Christmas break:

At the beginning...

There was a coffee plantation halfway up with free samples, so good!

Check out the view from the top, Granada is in the background

The top of the volcano is a cloud forest


It was so green, with moss and ferns covering everything

What is poverty?

After living in Nicaragua for almost two months I am beginning to get a clearer sense of poverty and the different approachs used to fight it. Here are some thoughts on what poverty is from the book, When Helping Hurts, as well as from talking to people working in development organizations, and talking to the poor themselves:

• the lack of education
• money
• clean water
• food
• medication or access to any form of healthcare
• aduquate shelter

BUT, it's more than the physical, it is also

• powerlessness
• humiliation
• inferiority
• fear
• and depression

It can be caused by both personal choices as well as the system (government, economy, social, and religous) that surrounds the poor. It is interesting because people's view on the cause of poverty directly affects what they do about it. I feel honored to work for an organization that understands the complexity of poverty, recognizing that change requires long term work. I guess thats why they call it development! More thought on this later...

A waterfall that was in the backyard of a family that sometimes struggles to feed themselves.