In Nicaragua, there is a little village called Empalme de Boaco. Eighty kilometers from the capital, Managua, it is too small to have an alcalde (mayor); instead it has an alcaldito (little mayor) to represent its 1,500 inhabitants.

Like the majority of Central Americans, the people have a passion for baseball, and that link with “America’s pastime” has become a lifeline that has changed their lives.

In the 1980s, Baseball for Peace, a program founded by Davis author Jay Feldman to increase understanding between the people of the United States and Nicaragua, traveled through the war-ravaged country playing baseball and distributing baseball equipment as a gesture of international peace and goodwill.

In 1990, one of the many young adults attracted by this humanitarian project was Pacific Union College graduate Jake Scheideman, who today operates St. Helena Cyclery on Main Street.

“I was a baseball fanatic,” said Scheideman, “and not yet having a job after college, I jumped at the chance to help other people enjoy the game I love so much.”

His decision to travel to Nicaragua was made easier by his fond memories of Central America.

His father, a dentist who regularly volunteered his services in Honduras and other needy places in Brazil and Fiji, had taken his son with him on his trips and on one such visit the young Scheideman cycled from Belize through Honduras to Nicaragua and back via Guatemala.

“I already knew the area but I fell in love with Nicaragua, and especially with the people of Empalme de Boaco. We were playing baseball, visiting Little League groups, getting to know each other. And then I caught a bug or something and became sick.”

During Scheideman’s illness, he was cared for by the family of Jorge Tinoco, a grandfather and organizer of the village baseball team. When he recovered, he promised to return and repay the kindness he was shown.

Eight years later, he was reminded of his promise.

In 1998, Hurricane Mitch roared through Nicaragua, devastating many parts of the country.

“When I revisited the community in 1998, nothing was happening, there was no field for baseball, no equipment, bats, gloves, nothing.”

Although he now owns the St. Helena Cyclery, he did not have a lot of money, but he began collecting donations from his friends and family and soon had $5,000.

During the next four years he leveraged this into $50,000 by serious fundraising up and down the Napa Valley, especially with the help of the Rotary clubs of St. Helena and Napa.

He returned to Empalme de Boaco with both funds and friends to begin a series of construction projects including a new baseball field, a children’s playground, many school projects and a water tower.

As the Americans worked alongside the locals, they saw clearly the conditions in which many of the villagers lived.

It was a logical step to begin a new mission: housing for the families in greatest need.

With this new vision, Scheideman created a foundation and development committee to oversee the project.

More help came from an unexpected source.

One of the welders on the building site was Irishman Paul Phelan who enlisted his sister’s help back in Waterford, Ireland.

She organized a major fundraising drive, including business grants and the creation of a school with the village, to speed the spread of the new homes.

Work on Little St. Helena, “Santa Helenacita,” began in 2003.

At $6,000 a home, many people stepped up to the plate, including Scheideman’s alma mater. Each home has a plaque inscribed with the names of the donors, some of whom gave in memory of a loved one.

The families chosen to receive a new home are first screened so that there will be a balance between low-income and higher-income families.

Next, those names are placed in a lottery and drawn at random.

The lucky winners must then provide a family member to work on the houses. “We have a paid (local) foreman,”  said Scheideman, “but the family members have to work on the construction site without knowing which house will be theirs. A mason is assigned to each home, and building is completed in full compliance with all codes.”

The new homes have three rooms, a kitchen, an outhouse, and tiled floors.

“What a quantum leap — from dirt floors to tiled floors,” said Scheideman. “No wonder the most popular housewarming gift is a mop.”

Fifty-five homes are slated for the 7-acre development, but the big picture is growing all the time and now the plans include a high school and a community center.

“It’s not about the houses any more,” said Scheideman, “it’s about the people — we’re building a new community with a new vision.”

The work goes on, both in Empalme de Boaco and here in the Napa Valley.