William- Old Farm Caretaker

 
I met the caretaker at the end of January of 2010 before I purchased the farm. He was already working there for about 5 years. I knew that I would be able to provide better living conditions than what he was used to. I had so many plans in mind to help him and his family.

This was the first family that I tried to help in Nicaragua. The family was comprised of husband, wife and 5 kids. It is typical in the countryside to have that many kids. In fact, 4 to 6 kid families is the norm for the area.

The picture on the left was taken right after I bought the farm and it shows the very first time that I brought all the kids bags of toys. I did this every time I visited. I also bought them medicine to keep in case they got sick for colds, pains, headaches, etc. I paid for his wife’s medical bills. I brought them food aside from the salary that he received. I had planned on building him a new wood house, getting him a cow for fresh milk for the kids, and buying him livestock for meat and eggs. I even set aside a part of the land so he could grow some of the basic foods that they eat in Nicaragua (rice, beans, corn).

This was all coming together at the end of 2010, he was so close to getting it all, however he blew it.

Even if I wanted to, I could not help this family. The guy did not want to be helped. All he did was drink. The more money he was given, the more he would drink. After many times of telling him not to leave his 5 kids unattended, he left them alone anyway, he did not care. He would go out drinking all day and his wife would accompany him so she could take care of him whenever and wherever he passed out. The kids would be left to fend for themselves. The 8 year old girl would cook for all the other kids. When he drank away the salary that I paid him, he would sell my fertilizer to other farms around the area along with my tools. I would get calls from other people that worked for me as well as people in surrounding areas telling me that he was selling my stuff. He really didn’t work at all on my farm. About November of 2010, which is the height of coffee season for the pickers because they get paid higher to pick the coffee from the plantations, he would still be getting paid the salary from my farm but he would not be working on it, instead he would be at another farm picking coffee beans. Coffee pickers are paid by how much they gather, they are not paid a salary unless they are a permanent employee of a hacienda.

He was known around the area as a lazy trouble maker that had it too easy because he was always drunk and got paid for doing nothing. I tried paying the wife to help around the farm instead, so at least I could keep their kids fed, but she didn’t do any work either and she was a liar to boot.

At the end of November of 2010 I had to let him go. It was clear to me that he did not care about his family’s wellbeing or his for that matter. You can’t help someone that doesn’t want to be helped.