Nicaragua Grapples With Rising Fuel and Food Prices
Nicaragua is dealing with major economic woes. The price of food and water is going up daily, it seems. (By my estimation, prices have gone up by about 20 to 30 percent since we arrived in March.)
And gasoline is now over $5.00 per gallon (that’s $5.00 per gallon).
I know that a lot of Americans are struggling financially right now — and I don’t want to make light of the situation at home — but try to imagine paying over $5.00 for a gallon of gas when the average wage in Nicaragua is about $2.00 per day. Two dollars per day…and food and fuel cost more in Nicaraguan than in the U.S!
Undoubtedly, the people here are struggling. And they’re angry.
Here are a couple of news stories on the situation:
- “Chavez oil fails to stem Nicaragua crisis” - Christian Science Monitor
- “NGO Official Describes Food Crisis in Central America” - HispanicBusiness.com
- Economic Crisis Called ‘Perfect Storm’ - Nica Times
There’s plenty of blame to go around, but I’ll try to remain apolitical and just ask for your prayers for the people of Nicaragua. Please pray for the economic situation to improve. Pray for families struggling to put food on the table (and I don’t use that as a “catch phrase” — people are really going without food). Finally, please pray for people to open their hearts to Jesus in these difficult times.
