Please, help the Hislop and Watson Family endure.

Hello, my name is Ryan Hart and I reside in Charlotte, NC with my wife and three kids. I am starting a fundraiser for a family that currently resides nearly 1500 miles away in Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua. Just under 17 years ago, I made my first trek to the country while in undergrad in 2007 at the University of Florida as part of a service trip associated with a college group called Recurso, (meaning resource in Spanish). After months of fundraising and galas, we raised thousands of dollars to purchase school and medical supplies to distribute to the most impoverished areas mostly located in RAAN, a very isolated and rural part of the northeast country that includes Puerto Cabezas which resides along the Gulf of Mexico. I was utterly unprepared for the impact this trip and additional service trips would have on my life.

While in Puerto Cabezas, we stayed at a hostel in Puerto Cabezas called Dulce Suenos (sweet dreams in Spanish) owned and maintained by the Hislop family. This would embark the nearly 17-year relationship I’ve formed with Orlando and Euphemia Hislop and their daughter Stephanie and her husband, George Watson. I would come to learn what rolling power outages were when we were blessed to have AC at night in 85+ deg weather. Wax candles lit our rooms and hallways most nights just to navigate the hotel and bathrooms. Most dinners were candle lit, how romantic. I experienced what it was like to not have hot water or running water for toilets for 10 days and each day we had fingers crossed for enough water in the well to even shower or bathe. Our laundry was hand washed and hung on clothes lines each day. Only pothole littered dirt roads guided us each day to our destinations. Despite all the daily hardships, this family’s optimism, graciousness, and humility was beyond inspirational.

I was able to visit again in 2008, 2009, and 2011 with each trip becoming additionally more fulfilling. Particularly in 2008 I along with my UF cohort were able to essentially fill a shipping container worth of donated medical supplies that were shipped to their nearby port. Some of the supplies were delivered to a maternity house for moms and newborns. One particular mother and grandmother were so moved and thankful that when they realized I had spearheaded the medical donations, they bestowed me with the honor of naming their newborn son whom I named David, after my father. Do this day, this core memory stays in the upper echelon of my life experiences. This was only outdone in the summer of 2011 when Stephanie and George welcomed their firstborn child, Aaliyah and I was asked to be her Godfather which I gratefully accepted and attended her christening.

Throughout the years, the families have kept in touch, usually on a monthly basis. Late last year in 2023, Stephanie reached out in dire need. Her and George opened a restaurant in Puerto Cabezas in 2021 with the backing of family and loans from the country. Since, under the current government and rapid decline in political and economic conditions, their business began to suffer. Compounding and exacerbating their plight were a series of unexpected health events involving one of George’s parents and Stephanie’s mom, Euphemia. George and Stephanie began borrowing money to pay off their family’s medical expenses along with their struggling business and with the backdrop of extortionate inflation, have fallen deeper into debt. Late last year Euphemia lost her leg due to diabetes and vascular complications further sending the family into a spiral. Stephanie implored me for assistance and laid out plans for her and her husband to leave their family and 3 daughters in hopes of working off their debts in the US under special provisions between the governments of the US and Nicaragua.

After lengthy discussions with various service groups stateside in Charlotte, NC savvy with the processes, I was informed at best it would take years for them to be granted acceptance for work visas and temporary status. I relayed the harsh realities to the Hilsop and Watson families, but vowed I would do all in my being to assist them financially to help relieve their financial burdens. Therefore, I am asking anyone and everyone to pitch in any amount they are comfortable with. Every dollar helps, especially when 1 of our dollars equals over 36 Cordobas for them. Although the overall goal is lofty, I feel confident we can achieve it. Please network and spread the link with all family and friends to help support this incredible family I hold so dear to my heart. Thank you for all the support.

Best,

Ryan