My Nonprofit Reviews

I went on a mission trip to Matagalpa Nicaragua in July 2023, sponsored by my church Montgomery Community Church in Cincinnati Ohio. I knew none of the other 10 volunteers, but I heard it would change my life, and it did! We traveled into a country that gradually made me realize how desperate and lacking other human beings were forced to live. My heart broke open and my mind went wild knowing that I had so many resources and skills that could easily help. I got as chance the first morning to test that energy with the other volunteers. The local nonprofit Rayo De Sol was organized and resourceful and took us right into the communities that needed us. The first day we were planting trees in the school playground in the dry hard dirt. Kids were watching with wonder, handing us saplings and smiling with gratitude. The next day I helped the teachers and mothers make piñatas that would be filled with precious candy, used for a celebration on our last day. Another day, I taught a yoga class to about 30 kids of all ages, giving them safe exercise and fun at the same time. These days at the school were like looking into the eyes of Jesus as I face-painted innocent children’s cheeks or painted their tiny fingernails. Many days the men volunteers were digging and building latrines for the fortunate families that had their names drawn in the limited lottery. They also dug the foundation for a new small school library. Team work and friendships of the volunteers were an unexpected gift from this trip for me. We were able to take some side trips to the nearby smoky volcanoes and shopping bazaars and yummy restaurants. We say songs on the bus, like Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror……Make a Change” and prayed together in the mornings and played cards at night. We are all good friends now, the Nic 11. The accommodations were very comfortable and I slept like a baby, exhausted physically and emotionally. Rayo do Sol impressed me every day with their team of personal caring for these needy human beings in Nicaragua. With donations they built a new office to be able to help more and more that line up at their door. I am so proud to be a part of this miracle of giving in a difficult world. Thank you Rayo for being there and not giving up. Muchos Gracias , Diane Utaski