The Lens
8
History and Culture of San Juan Del Sur
San Juan Del Sur is a beautiful coastal community in the southern region of Nicaragua, only miles away from the country’s border with Costa Rica. This aesthetic community is a tourist hotspot and attracts people from all over the world with its impeccable surf and tropical atmosphere. However there is an ugly side to this locality as well. Nicaragua has a plethora of socioeconomic issues. This is one of the reasons why Lasell College’s affiliate, The Newton Sister City Club solicits students and others to volunteer and experience every part of Nicaragua.
During the 1980’s the Iran-Contra affair, headed by President Ronald Regan condemned Nicaragua’s Sandista government and its people by enabling the trade of arms to military rebels within the region. The United States profited off of the international sale of weaponry while the civilian population had to endure the chaos brought on by the military junta’s. These forces massacred thousands of innocent Nicaraguans and overthrew their government.
Today, the ramifications of this violence can still be witnessed in the localities of San Juan Del Sur, and virtually the country as whole. Nicaragua is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, second to Haiti, and the government offers nearly no social benefits. There are only three women’s shelters in the entire country, People live within “trash cities” in Managua’s dumps, and water and electricity are shut off regularly for undetermined amounts of time for citizens.
The Newton Sister City Club offers relief to the community in whichever way it can. Almost annually, volunteers from Lasell College and elsewhere are solicited so that they can improve lives in Nicaragua. Volunteers often provide assistance at the free high school for adults and with any new environmental technology which locals receive. Opened in 2002, free high school services the impoverished adult population and enables them to secure better futures via education. The environmental initiative technology delivers ecofriendly devices to those in need to help make their lives more efficient.
This exchange and interaction between the locals and volunteers benefits both groups. Ultimately, any positive action or aspiration will enhance the global community.
Liz Haela
Above: The coastline of San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua; Bottom Left: A man walking with a volcanoe in the distance; Center Left: Typical street of San Juan Del Sur; Center Right: A statue of Jesus Christ overlooks the town; Bottom Right: Community leaders and locals take a break from building an addition to an elementary school.