Jon and Laura Halvorson upgraded lives in Nicaragua as Peace Corps Volunteers
Peace Corps upgraded lives in Nicaragua
By Forrest Adams
They lived in an adobe mud brick hut with a tin roof, dug a latrine outside the premises of their dwelling and got water from the town well. "It was a great experience," said Jon and Laura Halvorson, Fergus Falls, about the two years they lived in the small rural community of Los Canales, Nicaragua for the U.S. Peace Corps.
"We installed electricity, put in a cement floor and dug a latrine," said Jon about the upgrades to their rental unit.
"My new rule, though," said Laura, "is that I don't ever want to live without running water again."
In addition to upgrading their own living situation, Jon and Laura upgraded the living condition of those living in Los Canales. With a $2,000 grant and private funds from family and friends, they facilitated and funded work on the third public building in Los Canales -- a community center/town hall. With leftover money after building, they funded the first playground in Los Canales and equipped it with a slide, four swings and two teeter-totters, much to the delight of local children, said Laura.
"Kids would go to the playground when the sun rose. Some of the local people even joked that they had to wake up early because the kids playing on the playground were so loud," she smiled.
Both Jon and Laura worked on specific projects in Los Canales. Jon's project was to work in the agriculture sector, teaching farmers about soil conservation.
He worked with them to slow soil erosion and improve crops through gardening methods, like seed extraction (taking seeds from seed bearing plants and planting them), as well as working with medicinal plants for healthcare needs, he said. "Much of the health care they have in Nicaragua depends on these medicinal plants."
Laura's project was to teach elementary school students about the environment and teach Nicaraguan teachers about different teaching methodology. She taught elementary school students and reflected that many of them had a difficult time leaving their daily chores to attend school.
"Girls were occupied doing housework, and boys were out working in the fields," she said. "A lot of the students were locked in to the poor rural life."
"Ninety percent of the Los Canales community were subsistence-level farmers," said Jon.
The Halvorsons were in Nicaragua from September 2001 to November 2003. Both are graduates of Concordia College, Moorhead, and plan to move to Chicago in May or June 2004. Jon plans to enroll in seminary, and Laura plans to work.
