Visit to the RUACH Foundation in Juigalpa, Nicaragua

28th September 2016

Report to SRF trustees by June and Martin Mowforth
As trustees of the SRF June and Martin travelled to Juigalpa in central Nicaragua on Wednesday 28th
September 2016 to meet with members of the RUACH Foundation (RF) and some of the people who
benefit from their service. The SRF had been approached by the RUACH Foundation in April this year
with a view to soliciting funds from the SRF for the RFs work. Martin had met with the RF President,
Ana Alicia Murillo Sevilla and Marileth Lpez, the RF treasurer in May; and Rick has since translated a
statement about their work from the RF to the SRF and has circulated it to the SRF trustees.
What we observed at the RF centre was most impressive. Dealing with adults with a variety of severe
disabilities can never be easy, but since opening in June this year, real progress has been made, even if
only slowly. As an example, a brother and sister in their thirties had all their lifetime been used to extreme
confinement and to living and eating on the floor. The sister is incontinent and cannot feed herself except
by picking up crumbs off the floor. Neither brother nor sister can speak in other than grunts. The brother
is only marginally more capable but still is not used to sitting on a chair. These two have effectively been
rescued by the RF and sitting on a chair at a table and being spoon-fed represents major progress in their
life skills, even though they resort after a short time to crawling back on the floor and picking up crumbs
with their deformed fingers. The RF is aiming to very slowly open up their life experience so that they are
able to communicate more effectively and can live with a modicum of dignity.
The case given above was the most extreme we witnessed, but all the clients experience very
considerable problems with communication. The RF runs workshops each afternoon (for three hours) and
uses, among other techniques, pictoral stimulus, so that, for instance, an attender may point to a picture of
the toilet to explain that they want to go rather than simply get up and walk out.
The quality of care given by staff and volunteers of the RF was the most impressive part of what we saw.
A number of volunteers work with the RF and their workers are divided into internal workers and
external workers. The internal workers live on site in the RF centre. External workers live in Juigalpa
and attend each day or whenever possible. Sister Carmn who used to work in Chinandega, for instance,
attends to help out whenever her other duties allow her to do so. We had lunch with four of the clients and
eleven of the workers. The workers are led by Astrid Delleman, a Dutch woman whose son is autistic and
lives in the centre with his mother. The brother and sister cited above also live there along with two of the
internal workers. Training of the workers is carried out on the job. The dedication of these people to the
task of giving their clients a dignified human life is more than impressive.
The RFs aim is to start small and slowly to cater for more people with difficulties. They were very
pleased with our visit and fully understood the message about funding that we emphasised again and
again namely, that the SRF is small as are its funds and that we always seek to meet our core
commitments before considering the financing of any other projects. In our minds, if the SRF 2016
finances allow us to make further donations beyond the core commitments, the RUACH Foundation is
undoubtedly a deserving cause.
June and Martin Mowforth
29 September 2016