Due to the political situation in Nicaragua and the impact of the pandemic, our trips are on hold for the time being.
Our goal is to return to Nicaragua one day, once it is safe to do so! Stayed tuned for more information as the situation unfolds.
What to Expect
There are many airlines that service the capital city of Managua through connections in cities such as Miami, Mexico City and Houston. Upon arrival you will be met by a local Bridges staff member who will arrange your transportation to your hotel. The next morning you will leave by private bus for the 2 ½ hour ride to the Jinotega region. Along the way you will enjoy the incredible scenery plus a stop for a provided lunch.
After arriving in Sasle you will settle into your home for the week at the working farm and residence of Benita Garcia. There are two large rooms where you claim a bunk for the week. Males are in one area and females in another. Each room has traditional bunk beds so the early arrivals usually grab the lower bunk.
Benita’s home is equipped with electricity to power your phone but there is no cell signal or internet. Each evening there is an organized reflection including educational films about life in Nicaragua. This usually opens up some interesting conversation with the local Bridge’s employees, particularly those who are Nicaraguan. Following the reflection many people retire early after a hard day’s work or enjoy conversation, cards or other games. Some participants have brought along guitars and other instruments which helps pass the night away.
Breakfast, lunch and dinner are prepared on the premises by cooks hired to look after the volunteers. All of the meals are eaten outdoors on the veranda under a covered roof at long tables overlooking the front yard and driveway. This outdoor area also gives you an opportunity to see cows being milked or watching the chickens climb up into the trees as night time approaches. The sunsets from Benita’s veranda can be quite spectacular!
After dark many nights are very clear and the lack of light pollution in the valley gives you some fantastic opportunities to view the constellations. Also depending when you are there the fire flies light up the trees in front of the house like Christmas trees.
Testimonials
“What an amazing, rewarding and memorable experience! The words that rise up in my heart as I reminisce about our trip are: humble, compassion, honour, hardworking, adventure, teamwork, strength, endurance, challenging, fun, memorable, serve, family, laughter and love. What was experienced this past week, would not have impacted, and would not have been experienced the same, without these qualities. Just as with a physical body, each member has a role, a purpose, a function. None is less valuable than another, and the body needs every part to function properly. Some tasks, or even our abilities, may seem menial, insignificant or “less important”, but none are, and nobody is. This was a heart revelation I received as I observed every person working together accomplishing each task on the worksite, and at Bonita’s home… From the bottom of my heart – THANK-YOU. I look forward to putting my hands to the plough to help make a difference once again.” - Shannon | Feb 2018
“The trip was absolutely wonderful. I’m so thankful I got to go with such an amazing group of people. It was definitely an emotional time, but I’m missing it so much already. The people of Jinotega and Sasle were so kind and genuine and you could honestly feel their love when you were with them. I definitely surprised myself a lot and this trip is going to change a lot for me in terms of my outlook on life and even what I do with my life, and I’m so thankful for that. It was hard work, but it was so incredibly rewarding and I have absolutely no complaints about the entire week. I went in to this expecting to learn a lot about Nicaragua and Bridges but I didn’t expect that I’d also learn a lot about myself – I was very surprised with the amount of work I found myself capable of, and how I was able to let my emotions out, as I normally am very uncomfortable with doing so.
Our whole group was so supportive and encouraging and I really needed that as I have not been in the greatest mindset for a long time now and all of the support I’ve had and the relationships I’ve made, paired with the wonderful work we did in Sasle, is going to change things for me in the best way. The families we met and worked with were all so incredibly hard-working and kind, and I was so amazed by the work ethic of the people of Sasle. We had neighbors just passing by come and help us with the house – I’ve never seen anything like that before. Jinotega has so so so many selfless and generous people.” - Jessica | Feb 2018
“It was a really unique trip that has left a lasting impact. I did not know anyone when I arrived but I quickly made friends in my fellow volunteers that I can confidently say will be in my life forever. The country is beautiful and the people are some of the happiest and proudest people I have met. I loved hopping in the back of the pickup truck each morning and riding to the work site where I got to build the home with my new Canadian friends. However, the special part was working with all the local masons, tradesmen and the family that the home was for. Despite the language barrier we all managed to communicate, work together, learn new skills and laugh all day long. Nicaragua is a country that needs a lot of help in many areas but we have just as much to learn from this great culture and its' people as they do from us.” - Sheila | Nov 2017
“It is clear that every detail has been considered. I was extremely impressed by how well run the trip was from start to finish. Consideration was clearly given to how the trip can be made as fun and comfortable as possible while experiencing life in Nicaragua. It was great to experience such a wonderful country and learn about the complex situations that effect it. Personally I really enjoyed the reflections and the subsequent discussions that followed long after. These reflections allowed me to get to know Nicaragua for much more than the hotel and tourist attractions. Over the course of the week I experienced a wide range of emotions from joy and laughter to sadness and frustration. There was a lot of hard work and deep discussion on the issues and complexity of the situation in Nicaragua. One of the moments I will remember for a long time is having a conversation with a gentlemen for the village learning about his experience being taken as a child soldier while watching other members of the group play baseball with a group of young children.” - Scott | Oct 2017
“The experience in itself was absolutely incredible. Witnessing first-hand how other parts of the world live, both the good and bad, was really eye-opening. Seeing the condition of the home that we stayed in compared to our homes was surprising at first but then when we went into Sasle and saw the condition of the homes that the locals lived in really put things into perspective. The locals were some of the most genuine and friendly people I have ever met in my life! On our first night at the welcome ceremony so many people who were strangers were so happy to see us and would just come up to us and hug us. One of the little girls would not let go of my hand and even though we couldn’t talk to each other because of the language barrier, she held my hand for at least 45 minutes and we played and danced and had so much fun together. Memories like that will stay with me forever.” - Jamie | Feb 2016
“This is something I always wanted to do so when the opportunity came by I was indeed humbled by it, It became one of the most remarkable experiences of my life. The trip gave me a different perspective on how we can make a positive impact on those around us. I was motivated by the changes I could make however small that impacted the lives of the families” - Cathy | 7 trips
“Throughout the entire trip I felt welcomed, safe and inspired. By building homes for these Nicaraguan families I not only changed their lives, but they changed mine in such a beautiful way. I am more grateful, patient, and a much more well-rounded person now.” - Kayla | Jan 2015
