Assistance

Many of the public works around Nicaragua are emblazoned with a gracious thank-you to Japan or Sweden or whoever it was that gave them the money to build that bridge or water-tower or church. (The makeshift educational center where I work is filled with material--including six computers--donated by the British Embassy.) In a small town on the coast, I saw one with thanks to the "Republic of China" and a huge Taiwanese flag underneath. Considering the lingering communist sympathies maintained by so much of the country, it's interesting that I haven't seen anything from the PRC.
 
It's also interesting, given the extent of this foreign aid, to finally understand just what "poorest country in the hemisphere" means.