I would like to share a story with you about a woman named Veronica Benavidez. I’ve had the privilege to meet Veronica on several occasions as she is a partner in one of the community development projects of World Renew in Nicaragua. She is an open, generous woman, a woman who has invited me into her home and once spent an afternoon teaching me how to make tamales and chatting over coffee Based on notes from an interview (done by a co-worker) and from my own conversations with her, the following testimony is of Veronica and her family’s journey, as she tells it.
The story of Veronica Benavidez begins in a remote community called Yale in the central mountains of Nicaragua where she was born and raised in a large farming family. Now a mother herself, Veronica says she loves taking care of her five children and is happily married to Isidro Martinez. But at 37 years old, Veronica’s journey in life has not been an easy one, and she is one of many thousands of women in Nicaragua who have had to work hard to keep her family together.
Veronica married at the age of 15, and her parents’ wedding gift to the new couple was a small piece of land. However, her father’s alcoholism led him to sell their land after just three years.
Left with no other option for supporting their family, Veronica and her husband went to work for wealthy landowners on a plantation. As “a token of appreciation” for their work, they were allowed to live and farm on one acre of poor quality soil, although it would was not theirs by legal ownership. “After the first year, my husband and I felt that we were investing our time, energy and the little money we had for nothing. So we switched into a ‘saving mode’ for two more years and came up with just enough to buy one fourth of an acre to live on.”
With their hearts full of hopes and dreams, they packed their belongings in four, 25-lb plastic bags and set out for a new life on their land. Their dreams fell short all too soon, though, when Veronica and her husband never received the deed title for the plot they bought. Four years later, in the middle of a sunny and hot afternoon, they were kicked off the property they had paid for with their own money. They had no choice but to return to working for big landowners. But Veronica and Isidro kept strong in their determination to own a parcel and started saving again over the next few years. Unbelievably, they met the same fate once more, were taken advantage of and never received their deed title.
“I will never let God down; I will pay off my loan no matter what.”
Veronica relays the despair they felt, “Out of desperation, my husband considered illegally migrating to the United States to make enough money to buy us land I was totally devastated by his decision because I knew that trip would have literally meant the end for my marriage and my family. But God had different plans for us. I am deeply grateful because at that time God brought into our lives the land bank program that saved my marriage and our family.”
A year ago, Veronica and her family became partners in an AMC land bank in the community of New Jerusalem, and their lives have not been the same since. They have been able to build a modest home and are proud to grow 13 different crops on their land parcel. They are grateful to have good health, and perhaps most significantly, are grateful for a renewed faith.
This faith is expressed in the enthusiasm they have to pay off their loan and to invest in their community and their children. Isidro, a good steward and servant, has developed leadership skills through the implementation of the land bank program and says:, “I will teach my children everything about agriculture, and I have faith that they will be very successful in life. One of my dreams is to be remembered as the ‘King of Diversification’ on my land.”
Says Veronica, “I will never let God down; I will pay off my loan no matter what.”
Thanks be to God for Veronica and her family. For stories like hers. Our stories.
In Other News…
Living and learning in Nicaragua has challenged and transformed my perspective of God’s kingdom and His people and has also led me to the decision to renew my volunteer contract with CRWRC. In August, I will begin my second year of volunteering here in Nicaragua, an opportunity I feel incredibly blessed to have and that is preparing me well for a career in the field of development. Some of the tasks I will be involved in this year include:
- Coordinating the implementation of an HIV Awareness program.
- Designing an entry and exit survey for a domestic violence program.
- Supporting the development of a new monitoring tool called Most Significant Change.
I invite you to join me in my journey this year by praying for me, the work of World Renew, and the country of Nicaragua. If you would like to support this work financially, I will need to raise $3,900 for the coming year and ask you to prayerfully consider giving in that way.
Thank you!
Many blessings,
