Two Quebecers who operate a bed and breakfast in Popoyo, Nicaragua, now devote their daily lives to providing humanitarian aid, while thousands of residents have been left homeless and without food since the hurricanes Eta and Iota which caused extensive flooding.
The sun has recently returned to Popoyo and the surrounding area, but for locals and neighboring villages, the time has come to find out and clean up.
“People come out of shelters to go clean and collect what they can from their homes,” said Marc Bonds, who has lived full time in Nicaragua since 2013.
Her brother, Manuel, who lives there six months a year arrived just before the natural disaster, about two weeks ago.
They have both been owners of Cafe con Leche since 2015. The tourist activities having been completely stopped for eight months, the start of the pandemic, the two men spend their day “on mission” to help those in need. .
“We’ve been bringing in food, oats, beans, scrambled eggs and rice for about two days. Today (Thursday) it will be water. And we go around the villages that are in need, ”explains Manuel.
They are more specifically dedicated to the villages of Playa Popoyo, Las Salinas, Nahualapa, La Virgen Morena, Higueral, San Ignacio and Las Mercedes. They go around shelters and churches, where those who have lost everything are.
A resilient people
“It’s accustomed people, extremely resilient. Yesterday, we went to see the condition of the houses. These are people who have lost everything and they keep a smile and hope. Morale is very good. They don’t even know where they are going to sleep and they don’t bawl, ”continues his brother, Marc.
They even saw people sleeping on pieces of sheet metal.
“It’s ‘toff’, we are not used to it,” drops Manuel.
While they are at the end of their savings to keep their lodging – heavily affected by the pandemic – the two Good Samaritans have not hesitated to take their personal money to help people in their adopted country.