A Surprising Benefit of the Lockdowns

I came down here at the end of March to check on some improvements we’ve been making at FunLimon. (FunLimon is the community development center my family and I have been developing across the street from Rancho Santana.) K joined me a week later. For 20 years, my/our sojourns in Nicaragua lasted a week to 10 days. There were always reasons to be back in the States or at some office in Europe or Asia or elsewhere.

But that all, suddenly and amazingly, changed in 2020. The lockdowns forced us to have our business meetings digitally and, notwithstanding predictions to the contrary, it worked out surprisingly well. We meet more often, spend less time in redundant conversations, arrive at decisions faster, and – speaking for myself at least – feel much more connected than before, when I was spending, on average, two months a year on planes and in hotel rooms.

And that is why we were able to spend so much time here this time. There was no reason not to stay longer.

I am grateful for that, and optimistic about how the Zoom environment is changing business. That’s a subject I’ll be talking about in a future posting. Today, as K and I are preparing to fly home, I wanted to share some photos and thoughts with you about why we are always happy to spend extra time in Nicaragua.

Progress at FunLimon!

Last week we inaugurated FunLimon’s new and improved facilities.

Among the improvements was a renovated gymnasium.

The gym now has new equipment, a room for group classes, a remodeled martial arts center, and AC for all. (But only when it’s above 80 degrees!)

We rebuilt the building in which we host English language, Spanish literacy, and computer classes.

We modernized the trade school building to allow for more students and more trades.

We built a brand-new building to accommodate the expanding personnel that work in management, and attached to that a suite of dorm rooms for visiting teachers’ volunteers.

We created a new service entrance and parking lot for our employees, and created a “quad” for students and visitors to rest in between classes.

Next on the agenda: expanding and improving the kids’ playground, and enlarging the soccer/rugby field to meet international standards. (One of Rancho Santana’s sponsored soccer teams has made its way up to Division B status.)

This next photo was taken at the Major League Players Association Clinic that is held at FunLimon every November. It is attended by 200 to 300 young adults and children.

And this one is from a baseball game with the local men’s league…

Finally, here’s a photo of something we’re especially proud of – a recent graduation ceremony for people who have completed our various educational programs…