Romana

Since the year 2000, the Almudi Association in Valencia, Spain, has organized trips to Nicaragua to carry out various social service activities. University students and teachers and priests from Valencia take part in these activities. This summer a group of 25 students came to the Central American country with the intention of testing the eyes of impoverished natives (indigenas) in various villages of the interior such as El Crucero, Dulce Nombre and Desnredo. In addition, they gave catechism classes and classes on recycling for teachers; they also manned a medical dispensary.

Some natives with acute vision problems have grown accustomed to their situation over the years. “Some of them told us that they only became aware of their problem when they realized their neighbors in the fields were able to gather beans faster than they could,” explained Fr. Fernando Cuevas, a member of the Valencian expedition.