Hey Friends and Family! Many of you have been asking where those Blog entries are. Well, I have finally started to take many of my daily reflection notes, and put them together to share my thoughts, ideas, realizations, day-to-day activities, and so forth. I have taken tons of photos of Nicaragua, our house, our office, and different culture events we have attended. Unfortunately, for two reasons, I have not posted pictures yet, but am working on it. One, as most of you already know, we have electricity some days, and some days we do not. Secondly, we have Internet only when we have electricity and when we do, we have a very slow connection. To upload pictures usually takes a faster connection. Luckily, we have a resident computer geek, many of you know him as Kevin, and he is rapidly working on the situation. I can tell you for starters that this first month has been an amazing roller coaster of ups and downs. Learning and adjusting to life in Nicaragua has been a big and wonderful task. Most of you have supported Kevin and I throughout our lives, before coming to Nicaragua and now especially, we have received so much support from all of our family and friends. Thank you for this, as your support is necessary to our success while here.
Now for the details, there are so many thoughts I’d like to share. Many of you have asked, what is your daily routine like, and what do you do for your job? And so I thought I would write this first entry describing the foundation as well as explaining my tasks for my time in Nicaragua. Actually, a lot of this is still being worked out as we are working for a Non-Profit waiting for its’ NGO status, here in Nicaragua. This is very similar to the Non Profit World, which many of you are familiar with in the US. We are organizing, fundraising, networking, multi-tasking, and continuously reconnecting with what we are passionate about.
Kevin and I only got here one month ago in September, and have spent the last month working to get settled in our new house, as well as to finish our training at our new jobs. We work for a foundation called Empowerment International that essentially takes kids off the streets and puts them into school. These are children that otherwise would not be able to afford to pay the monthly and yearly fees associated with school in Nicaragua. The goal of our project is to make the program work for the community, in turn becoming a sustainable and adopted part of their lives. The ultimate goal is to help "empower" the community through education. We would like to encourage the participants to continue with their educations, and place personal value on how education can change their lives.
Most of our participants (approximately 180) live in lean-to shacks outside the Zona Franca (or Free Trade Zone) outside of Granada. The Free Trade Zone is a sweatshop protected under the Central American Free Trade Agreement.... Sound familiar? NAFTA, The North American Free Trade Agreement, has allowed for deplorable work conditions and cheap labor so that "all countries" in the Americas can benefit from a tax free trade relationship. Anyhow, many of our participant’s mothers work in the Zona Franca making clothes for approximately 37 cents/day. Throughout the day, the Zona Franca lets out their raw sewage and wastewater (Chemical waste as well) into the small creek that runs directly through our barrio, which is lovingly called La Villa Esperanza (The village of hope). Usually there is waste water flowing directly through the middle of the barrio, as well as, their creek/river is sometimes blue, sometimes purple, sometimes white, and sometimes it is filled with suds like a giant bathtub. Usually the kids like to play around this water, as it is the only wet and cooler spot in the barrio. And, come on, it is fun to play in multi-colored water with big bubbles in it!
This year, our program will adopt 50 more participants into the program. We work with various schools. Each participant decides where they are going to school, and our foundation pays for their uniforms, their school supplies, and their monthly exam fees. We also provide free medical care to all participants, as long as they are currently enrolled in the program. Finally, we also have a computer education program outside of the barrio where a certain number of recommended participants, or their mothers, (females only) can learn to use Word, MS Dos, Excel, PowerPoint, and Access. This program provides the participants with a certificate of achievement that in turn makes it easier for them to find work.
With all this said, my primary job while I am here is three-fold. One, I am starting to head off the Sponsor a Child Program. We will have between 200 - 230 participants starting school in January of 2007. It will be my job to match each of our participants with a Sponsor, work with that child on writing thank you letters and drawing pictures for their sponsor, interviewing each of them and taking their pictures to create individual biographies that will then be sent to their sponsors. The Sponsor a Child Program is great because for $100 per year, all of the child’s expenses are paid for and they get free medical care to boot. This is the biggest way that we can financially afford to help put these children in school.
I was also asked to work on designing a program that will be implemented into the barrio as an internal support system for the students and families. Maybe it will become a pseudo community center or peer/mentor program, where students can go when they need help with work, or need to problem solve a situation in their lives. Our goal is to try and help lay the framework or foundation for this program, but really to try and empower the community to develop this program on their own, so that they are not dependent on us to be there to support them. We would like it to be a community development project that is designed for and by the community. We are being sensitive to the fact that we can put children in school, but many of them might not be experiencing success in school. This could ultimately affect their personal success and the success of the program.
Finally, I will be spending my other time meeting with families, stopping by their homes to play with the kids or to check their school work, visiting schools to check attendance records, grades, and progress reports, and doing administrative work in the office.
Wowzers! I think I have things I should be doing right now.
Anyhow, this is a general description of a very multi-task position. I am also hoping to start teaching a few English classes per week. I do not know if this will be with my program and in the barrio or if I will teach at an International Language Center. This could also be a good way for me to pick up some extra money ($5/hour) for my expenses while down here.
As I said before, Kevin and I are still very new to everything. We started work on September 25th and are still in the final stages of our training. I am finally working on a few projects independently, but am really looking forward to putting ideas into action.
So far, working in the barrio with the kids is awesome. I love this time. It is easy to loose track of how long you have been gone (It is a 2.5 mile walk from the house), and usually you want to spend all of your days playing, drawing, practicing letters, numbers, shapes, patterns, etc. with the kids. It is also hot and uncomfortable in the barrio and when I get back to the office, I am ready for my second shower of the day. It has also been wonderful to visit each of the schools. When we go to the schools, we are introduced to the directors, we take tours of the classrooms and facilities, and all of our participants usually run out of the classroom to hug us and to say hello. They are so excited to see us in their schools.
Apart from my work, I have also had many realizations about life here in Nicaragua and life in a 3rd world country. At first, I felt so sad about how the Nicaraguenses live. I felt that the conditions were so poor and uncomfortable; it made me sad to think about. But I also realize how rich this country is. It is rich with natural resources, rich with culture, energy and strong people. It is rich with passion for life, and an unbeatable desire to live life. I am inspired by many of the people I meet. I have also started to think about what my role is while I am outside of the United States. There is a lot of discrimination here for gringos. Some of it is intentional, and some of it is driven out of ignorance. The US and Nicaragua have a tumultuous relationship. My favorite new topic to discuss with Nicas is the political agenda of all the Presidential Candidates. The election is in two weeks. I also have been enjoying considering an analogy that was brought to me through a book I was reading called the Jaguar Smile, written by Salmon Rushdie. (If anyone is interested in a great read on Nicaragua, its history, and culture, pick this one up.) But this analogy likens Nicaragua to a Volcano. I want to share my thoughts on this, and will write it in my second entry. A few of you have already heard bits and pieces, but I think it is a fabulous symbol for this country of heat, passion, fire, water, wind, temperament, and for a country that is overwhelmingly volatile and explosive.
I am looking forward to sharing more thoughts later, and I am sorry it has taken so long to get my first entries posted.
Love and miss you all. Thank you so much for your daily support through letters, emails, thoughts, and prayers.
Kelly
