The Story Behind The Project
When I was young, I remember seeing a World Vision advertisement on television about the poor children in Africa. Even though I was a child, I realized that the world was not fair. So in primary school when my teacher asked me what I wanted to do in the future, I said I wanted to help the poor in Africa. But then I grew up in the rationality of the North American society. I forgot my dreams and tried to fit the norms set by society by studying electrical engineering, and trying to earn my degree. After a few months, I felt completely lost and unsatisfied with my life, so I decided to quit and go travelling in a quest to find myself. Living in a tent for two months made me realise that, deep inside of me, I still wanted to help the people in need of Africa.
When I returned, I went to see a career counsellor and told him about my interest. He asked me if I was a doctor? I said, “No.” He asked me if I was an engineer? I said, “No.” He replied, “So how can you help the people of Africa?” I responded, “I don’t know.” Then, he asked me what I like to do in life. I told him about the two months I spent travelling. He then suggested that I should look for a job that allowed me to travel. After discussing this for a while, we both agreed that working in hospitality was the best way to do it. So I went back to school and studied hospitality. It was a good decision for me because the curriculum itself was very interesting, and I was able to work in Paris for a year, which then allowed me to finance many of my travels. But still there was something missing.
Eventually, I ended up travelling to Central America, which was a new destination for me at the time. It was the first time that I realized that extreme poverty was not limited to the African territory. I completely fell in love with the place. It was beautiful, warm, and untouched, with oceans, lakes, mountains, volcanoes, and very friendly people. There, I developed a passion for scuba diving and eventually moved to Honduras to become a dive instructor. After a year, I had to leave the country because of political reasons, but deep inside of me I knew I would come back to Central America one day.
A few years later, a friend of mine told me that the company he worked for was looking for destination representatives around the world, and that it would be the perfect job for me. I applied and got a job in Mexico, so I moved there for two years. During this time, I learned a great deal about customer service and tourism, and by the end, I felt confident that it was time for me to make my own impact in the hospitality and tourism industry.
Throughout the years, Central America had become kind of a second home, so when thinking about location for a hostel, the choice was easy. I did a great deal of research and compared the political stability, security, tourism potential, and the legislation for foreign investment of the different countries of Central America, and decided that Nicaragua was my best option. So I went to Nicaragua in order to find a piece of land for my hostel. I was surprised to see how generous and welcoming the people were to strangers like me, even though they had nothing. With their help, I found my little piece paradise. And now it’s time for me to repay their kindness.
When I returned, I went to see a career counsellor and told him about my interest. He asked me if I was a doctor? I said, “No.” He asked me if I was an engineer? I said, “No.” He replied, “So how can you help the people of Africa?” I responded, “I don’t know.” Then, he asked me what I like to do in life. I told him about the two months I spent travelling. He then suggested that I should look for a job that allowed me to travel. After discussing this for a while, we both agreed that working in hospitality was the best way to do it. So I went back to school and studied hospitality. It was a good decision for me because the curriculum itself was very interesting, and I was able to work in Paris for a year, which then allowed me to finance many of my travels. But still there was something missing.
Eventually, I ended up travelling to Central America, which was a new destination for me at the time. It was the first time that I realized that extreme poverty was not limited to the African territory. I completely fell in love with the place. It was beautiful, warm, and untouched, with oceans, lakes, mountains, volcanoes, and very friendly people. There, I developed a passion for scuba diving and eventually moved to Honduras to become a dive instructor. After a year, I had to leave the country because of political reasons, but deep inside of me I knew I would come back to Central America one day.
A few years later, a friend of mine told me that the company he worked for was looking for destination representatives around the world, and that it would be the perfect job for me. I applied and got a job in Mexico, so I moved there for two years. During this time, I learned a great deal about customer service and tourism, and by the end, I felt confident that it was time for me to make my own impact in the hospitality and tourism industry.
Throughout the years, Central America had become kind of a second home, so when thinking about location for a hostel, the choice was easy. I did a great deal of research and compared the political stability, security, tourism potential, and the legislation for foreign investment of the different countries of Central America, and decided that Nicaragua was my best option. So I went to Nicaragua in order to find a piece of land for my hostel. I was surprised to see how generous and welcoming the people were to strangers like me, even though they had nothing. With their help, I found my little piece paradise. And now it’s time for me to repay their kindness.
