Nicaraguan Journal

This book is a photographic record of two trips to Nicaragua made under the auspices of a non-profit organization called Bridges to Community. The mission of Bridges is to promote cross-cultural interaction through the process of living and working with local communities. Volunteers from the U.S. work with local people to build houses, dig wells, or create other types of infrastructure sorely needed in these communities. Many of the images are portraits of the beautiful, hard-working, and resilient Nicaraguan people, along with the brigadistas from the U.S.

The photographs in this book are selections from two of the brigades. In 2012 the primary project was to build a new indoor kitchen for the elementary school in the village of Pilas Occidentales. The government of Nicaragua provides food for school lunches but each community is responsible for the structure as well as food preparation. In 2014 the brigade built two houses in the village of Comejen, in the Dept. (county) of Masaya.