Nosotros Venceremos

I organized a group of 15 people that visited Nicaragua recently. We included friends from the church I currently serve as the interim pastor and 7 people from Drexel University. Only 3 of us had ever visited Nicaragua before. In part, we were tourists and so off to the Masaya Volcano and the Laguna de Apoyo and the markets and restaurants we went. But more importantly we were working with partners and searching for new reliable organizations where we could share goals and resources. So we visited cooperatives, schools, a cancer treatment center and a factory that builds concrete, prefabbed houses. We helped build one such small house one morning.

For ten years I have worked with a friend in Nica, who created and operates a center called Inhijambia, that works to save the children who are the throwaways of the society. About 4000 children live on the streets of Managua including 400 who live in the sprawling Oriental Market. Inhijambia works to get these children food, health care, hope and healing. Virtually all are addicted to glue. They have been physically and sexually abused. They are continuing testimony to the sin that abides in us and the evil spirits that throb through our cultures.

From a half dozen previous visits, I knew the children would sing for us. The boys song was particularly moving as they stood with their arms draped around each other shoulders. Two young homeless boys probably about 6 or 7 years old had entertained with dancing.

I had decided that we should offer a song for them. We will sing We shall overcome in English and then in Spanish. I asked our group--have you ever sung it in Spanish. Almost no one had. Three college students hadn't sung it in English.

But we remember vaguely Tiannemen Square on the 20th anniversary of the student democracy uprising. The Chinese sang We shall Overcome. We rejoice in the freedom won by the countries of the former Soviet block. The Poles and Hungarians sang We shall Overcome. What is it with us that we have stopped singing it and other songs of hope and struggle and solidarity. And that we haven't learned to sing it in Spanish along with De Colores and Gritare and other songs. Hearing Pete Seeger sing We shall Overcome before the inauguration should have been enough to stir up our singing souls--so that we can be strong and joyous in the battles for the lives of the precious children of God who live in the streets of Managua