Friday morning, the team went to La Chureca, which is the city dump for Managua. The difference between La Chureca and most other city dumps is that there are about 2000 people who live there and depend on the “resources” found there to survive each day. They dig through the trash to find things they can eat, use in their “homes”, or sell to earn money for their families. La Chureca is a sad and desperate story, but one that is still unfolding. Recently the Vice President of Spain has donated 30 million euros ($45 million dollars) to revamp the entire dump. They are building homes, real ones, for the families who live there. They are covering up the dump, and building a recycling plant, where they will employ those who have previously been trash-scavengers.

The team was greatly impacted by their visit to La Chureca. However, many team members have not been feeling well, so after lunch with the One by One staff, we canceled the afternoon plans to give the team a chance to rest before Saturday, our largest ministry day.