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Nicaragua is one of the Highly Indebted Poor Countries Initiative by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
Nicaragua has a national debt of $6.5 billion.
34% of Nicaraguans are illiterate (46% in rural areas).
49% of Nicaraguans live on less than a dollar a day.
Current events: |
Crossing the Shores of Nicaragua into the Valley of the Sun Lorena Gutierrez, an Immigrant from Nicaragua  My name is Lorena Gutierrez and I am originally from Masaya, Nicaragua. I am twenty seven, I am married and I have three children. My husband and I came here to the United States in 1998 shortly after my son was born. Besides my son I have two daughters, who were both born here in Phoenix. We left our home in Nicaragua because we wanted better opportunities for our family. What I mean by this is that we wanted our children to grow up in a place where they could be receive a good education and have the choices and opportunities to become whatever they wanted. We knew that the move here would allow this and we also knew that if we stayed in Nicaragua they would not have had that chance. The education system is not as good of quality as the one in the United States is, and very few people are able to attend college. My husband has luckily received a formal education in medicine and sending our children to college has always been a dream of ours. This would been nearly impossible to accomplish in Nicaragua. . Absalon had a colleague that he used to work with that lived in America. He suggested that he come to live because the pay and working conditions are so much better in the U.S. Doctors are paid so much more here than in Nicaragua. Our friend helped us with our application for citizenship and was very useful throughout the entire process. He also helped Absalon’s set up his practice here. His practice is successful and has allowed us to provide very well for our family. We have been able to give them things that aren’t available in Nicaragua. I’ve noticed that there is a big difference in the two cultures. In Nicaragua the family is the center of life. Everything revolves around your family and many live in the same house. A great deal of respect is given to the oldest members. It is the children’s responsibility to take care of them when they get older. My family still performs that tradition here in the United States. Eleven years ago we moved my mother out here to live with us after my father passed away. Another difference is that people in the U.S. are very career-oriented. They center their lives around their jobs and their careers. Everything is work, work, work. I miss the slower-paced way of life. It is nice to be financially comfortable, but sometimes I think Americans place these things above strong family values. Although leaving my home country proved to be a very good choice for the sake of my children, it was hard to leave the rest of the family behind. We were pretty comfortable in Nicaragua. We had a nice house and all of the extended family lived in the same neighborhood. Leaving them was very hard. I miss them very much, but we made those sacrifices for the well-being of our children. We didn’t know anyone when we moved here. Absalon was offered several jobs because of his experience in medicine. He took one here in Phoenix because we liked this area of the country. Also, there are a lot of Catholics here and that has made it easier. After we lived here for awhile things became easier. We have always been active in the community and the church. We have also encouraged our children in making friends and in their schoolwork. They are doing very well. As a family, we have always put a lot of stress on getting good grades and being active in extracurricular activities. I only spoke Spanish when I moved here. It wasn’t very difficult to learn English because a lot of people in Phoenix speak Spanish. The children learned Spanish first, which at first made it a little bit difficult for them in school. They are doing very well in speaking both. We still speak Spanish at home because my mother doesn’t know English and also because we always have. Altogether I am very glad that we moved here. It’s nice to go back and visit Nicaragua, but Phoenix has become our home. We have lived here for a great part of our lives and have really become a part of the community. Absalon has been very successful in his work our children are all very active in school activities. We wouldn’t have had this in Nicaragua. Click here to read my analysis
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