By Barbara Tucker
The Tonawanda News
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In October 2008, Monsignor Alfonso Alvarado accompanied Bernard Hombach, the bishop of Granada, Nicaragua, to St. Francis of Assisi parish in the City of Tonawanda to attend a fundraiser for a new retreat center in the diocese.
Spearheading the visit was Ann Marie Zon from East Amherst who, for 35 years has worked with Alvarado for the Nicaragua Mission Project to gather and send boat containers full of goods from the area to Nicaragua, the poorest country in Central America.
On Friday, Father Alfonso returned to St. Francis parish, but this time to personally receive a donation of school desks and chairs no longer needed at the parish school.
In all, nearly 100 desks and chairs filled two trucks with some left over to be picked up later.
“Some of the desks will go to a grammar school in Popoyuapa,” Alvarado said.
“A lot of those kids are little ones and they do not go to the public schools (because) most of those kids economically have not much. The desks will go to a little school, Christ the King.”
Alvarado was pleased to see the good condition of the desks and chairs and that there were three sizes.
“They are for the little, little ones and some medium and those bigger ones maybe for college that (the town is) sponsoring,” he said. “One school is waiting for the desks because they are not so easy to get. Every school is serving the poor people, they get some money from the government, but if they have 12 teachers, the government pays only three of them.”
The desks and chairs were especially pleasing to Alvarado because they are made of steel.
“We will paint them and they will look like brand new and last a long time,” he said.
He also noted that he will keep some of the bigger chairs for use at the new six-building retreat center near Rivas, Nicaragua. He said the main building and two dormitories, each able to house 30 people, are finished except for the interior and the other three buildings are well on their way.
“We will have four little rooms for 30 people to meet and a lot of furniture is needed,” Alvarado said.
Zon, who helped direct the volunteers at St. Francis in loading the trucks, said she was grateful to Rev. Michael Uebler, pastor of St. Francis, for thinking of the Nicaragua project.
“I am so pleased that he even thought of us,” Zon said. “He had a nice group of people to help us load. We had a nice visit with Father Uebler and I’ll be back to speak at the parish July 17 and 18 and will pick up the rest of the items then.”
When asked what other items he is seeking for the retreat center, Alvarado quickly noted electric wire.
“Why,” he asked? “Because every room needs electricity and we need No. 8 wire, really heavy wire coming to the electric box. We need a large amount of electricity for 120 rooms,” he said.
He explained that he would like to get the wire from the United States because of better quality and cheaper price.
The complex will include, in addition to the dormitories, a large hall, chapel, reception area and courtyard.
“This will be for education in general, not formal education but through seminars and workshops for all different kinds of people of all ages,” Alvarado said.
He said that in Nicaragua, where there has been violent turmoil in recent history, the Catholic Church works to help improve the economy through education and training leaders.
“The people here are so generous,” Alvarado said. “There is no way to say how grateful we are.”
