LEONOR
Leonor and her husband lost their jobs fighting for the rights of Nicaraguans living in desperate poverty. Hope Supplied gave her family an opportunity when no one else would.
The thin curve of Leonor’s eyebrow turns
sharp as she watches her story land on her
listener. She knowingly anticipates your
reaction because Leonor has told her story
over and over to anyone who will listen.
Despite her own financial need,
Leonor is a dedicated advocate for
women’s rights and access to education
for Nicaraguans living in extreme
poverty. She’s a leader in her
community and a Mercado Fresco store
operator for the past two years.
When Leonor was in high school, the
Nicaraguan Youth Coalition under the United
Nations Civil Rights Council recruited
volunteers to advocate for a democratic
system in a country with a history of
dictatorship and oppression. Unpaid, these
advocates would travel throughout Nicaragua
to hear concerns of the rural poor, and
organize people to have a voice in their
government. At age 16, Leonor and her future
husband José signed up immediately.
Leonor’s body tells the story of the
last fourteen years of her
activism. She points to the
scar above her eye, when she was assaulted
in opposition to an organized protest. Her
arm was broken in three places when she was
tracked down after attending a Youth
Coalition meeting. The police report she
filed on this incident has been unaddressed
for six years.
While her most recent trauma didn’t leave a physical mark, it will forever be imprinted in Leonor’s memory. After numerous threatening phone messages, a man approached her as she left home, held a gun to her head, and said if she didn’t stop protesting, they would kill her and her family. Leonor didn’t back down, and he pulled the trigger. She says God was on her side because the gun miraculously didn’t fire. As Leonor tells these stories, she clings tightly to a framed certificate from the United Nations Civil Rights Council that reads “Woman of Courage.”
Leonor and her husband both lost
their jobs fighting for the rights of
Nicaraguans living in desperate poverty.
Hope Supplied gave her family an
opportunity when no one else would hire
them. Mercado Fresco is also
enabling Leonor to spend more time with her
first born baby daughter. She is proud of
her ability to earn an income that provides
for her baby’s food and improves their
leaking roof.
She and her husband continue to be
activists, dreaming of the day that change
will come to their country. Leonor knows the
power of her story and Mercado Fresco is
helping her keep telling it.