The dusty day starts to shake off its listlessness. They congregate at the designated shed with that studied, bored look teenagers all around the world share-here though, it is not studied. Music is a major luxury in the Santa Maria refugee camp in Posoltega, Nicaragua. Some of the worst victims of 1998's Hurricane Mitch remain camped out at this site in late 1999 and only the extremely lucky have scored a donated tape deck.
Batteries are an even scarcer luxury.
Last week, a Canadian aid worker showed up, cranked the tunes and succeeded in rounding up some teenagers to plan the painting of a mural. This week they are going to whitewash the only non-plastic building on the site, dressing the wall like a canvas. Brushes are handed out, cans of white paint distributed, more 80's disco blasting. Skeptical at first, the kids are soon laughing and splotching each other with paint. The cement bricks start to make their way from grey to white.