Projects
 La Chureca Project
La Chureca is a slang term for the city trash dump in Managua, Nicaragua, referring to a community of people who live and work there, "sifting" or "filtering" through the garbage daily... Real people, with brilliant smiles and vibrant souls, living amidst piles of burning trash, and next to polluted lakes—always looking for things of value to buy, sell, and trade—while under a constant pressure to survive.
The mission of Love Light & Melody in La Chureca is simple: to become expert on life in the dump, to acknowledge and affirm the people who live there, to find and develop new jobs away from the trash, and to see La Chureca closed and a new, sustainable, and secure land-fill developed elsewhere. LL&M will stand with this community of people to help them transition into a new life and means of supporting themselves when that beautiful day comes.
Cycles of poverty, abuse, and addiction exist in La Chureca, and child prostitution has thrived as a sinister form of currency there as well. Love Light & Melody will battle this culture of darkness with the 'rays of light' that come from education, raised awareness, vocational training for men, women, and children, and the continued planning of events in the community that celebrate life, joy, and hope... Love Light & Melody will stand with this community of people until the uniquely debilitating elements of life in La Chureca are eliminated.
Casa 127
Love Light & Melody has founded a home, Casa 127, for up to eight young girls in the mountains of Jinotega, approximately three hours from Managua. This is a model home built around the structure of a family unit to lift these little girls, ranging from 4-9 years old, out of the dump and away from prostitution, into a community where they are loved, protected, and where they can go to school, receive counseling, and learn to sing, dance, and engage the arts.
Escuela de Esperanza (School of Hope)
Love Light & Melody is partnering with "Escuela de Esperanza" (School of Hope), a privately funded elementary school built inside the trash dump — to grow its feeding program, to encourage sports and recreation, and to establish music and art classes for the 350+ kids that go there everyday as a place of refuge and learning.
A Potential Vocational School / Multi-use Property
Braddigan and the Italian Ambassador to Nicaragua have recently become friends through their shared passion for helping the children of La Chureca. The ambassador has offered up a property owned by the Italian State, a beautiful piece of land that used to be an ambassador's residence, to be a potential site for a vocational school, medical clinic, and otherwise multi-use property to serve and aid the community in La Chureca. The ambassador has been moved by the horrific living conditions in the trash dump and is considering partnering with Love Light & Melody to try to “fast track” the closing of La Chureca and the development of a new trash facility outside the city limits.
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