UN Delegation to Nicaragua

On Sunday, I fly to Managua, Nicaragua, where I will meet up with 16 WFP Committee Coordinators (volunteer leaders for a national outreach program that I run) for a 5-day trip to visit WFP operations in Managua, Matagalpa and Ocotal.

I've never been to Nicaragua before, though I've visited its neighbors: living in El Salvador briefly in 2005, where I literally sneezed over the border into Honduras, and personal travels to Belize, Guatemala, and Costa Rica.

So, what do I know about Nicaragua? It's the second poorest country in Latin America, with nearly half the country living on $1/day. WFP feeds nearly a half-million people every single day in this country alone, despite a total staff of just 65 people (all of them Nicaraguan citizens, with the exception of the Country Director who is from Canada), and a budget which has increased by 40% since January thanks to rising costs of food and fuel.

I'll be staying in Nicaragua through next weekend, taking a few days to travel solo. I don't know where I'll go, or what I'll do yet... I'll figure that out when I'm down there.

Onward ho!