Pictures of El Menco

Welcome to El Menco

10/30/07

Today is our third day in El Menco, the community we’ll be working in for the next three months. Our first days have been just settling in, and learning about the community. Kai is doing well, and is so excited to have kids to play with. Life here is very slow, and we’re adjusting from the fast pace in Managua and the United States. Many of the people in the community don’t have work, so they pass the day visiting and sitting around. The kids go to school from 7am to 12pm, with a ½ hour break at 9am. El Menco is about 480 people and growing. Although the community is growing, it still remains very impoverished. Many of the children are malnourished, as there is not enough employment to feed the families. Apparently there was a large farm that employed a lot of men from El Menco, but it had financial problems and failed. Now many are looking for ways to make an income.

Our house is right at the entrance to the community, next to one of the leaders’ houses, Dona Carmen. Dona Carmen is an amazingly strong woman, who has lived a tough life. Her house is the first you come to, and is always full of people coming to visit or get something to eat. She is like our mother here. She cooks for us and is basically our gateway into the community. Our house is a pre-fabricated house designed here in Nicaragua. It has cement fiber walls with three rooms and a cement floor. There are windows in every room, with no screens but bars, as is typical. When I leave the house, I close and lock the windows and padlock the door. Strange coming from leaving my keys in my car and my house open. When we moved in, ANF had a septic tank installed, and plumbing hooked up. We’re the only house that has it. However there are problems that come with this situation. Toilet paper can’t go in these systems, and Kai was flushing the paper. Before we knew it, the toilet was clogged, and the valve got stuck and stayed open, so the entire septic tank is full. In a matter of 24 hours, we shut down the entire system. Now the only solution is to have someone from the capital come and empty the tank- something not common in el campo. The ANF has taken much precaution to ensure that we have a good experience here. I know they were trying to do a good thing, but now we use the outhouse of Dona Carmen, which was what we expected anyway. This is the first time ANF has put a volunteer out in the field to work on a project, and I know they just want it to go well.

Today we went to the school, and delivered the school supplies to the school here in El Menco. All of the kids in our section of the community have made themselves comfortable in the house, which is always full. Legos are a big hit! As I write there are 2 boys, legos in hand, watching. Another girl is dancing to my iTunes, and about 5 are playing hide and seek outside with Kai. When we went to the school today we carried the huge bag during recess, so all of the kids followed us and were elated to get new things. The teachers are going to divide the supplies amongst this school and another. The kids were disappointed that they didn’t get something individually, and right away, but there were way more kids than we had supplies. It turns out that there is preschool here, and Kai has decided that he’d like to try it. His official first day of school will be Thursday. I’ll go with him, and we’ll see what he thinks. Kai’s best friend here is a boy about 12 years old that doesn’t go to school. When I asked why, I was told he has phycological problems, but I don’t see that. He is one of 6 boys in his family, all of which go to school but him. When everyone goes, he comes and plays with Kai. Mostly legos, but in the afternoon I take them to the beach. Lake Nicaragua, the only place in the world with freshwater sharks (it’s true!) is a sandy road and a sand dune away. The beach looks beautiful, but a closer look reveals all of the animal waste. Overall the water is relatively clean. Kai has developed small bumps on his skin from swimming there, but I don’t consider them serious. Most women do their laundry and wash here. All of the kids are great swimmers. We brought a ball attatched to a kite tail (foxtail) which has also been a big hit- especially in the water. At night we sleep under our mosquito nets and are awoken by the torrential sounds of a storm on a metal roof. Other than that, we have already grown accustomed to all of the cows, horses, pigs, chickens, spiders, lizards, and such that inhabit our house and yard on a regular basis. More news next week!

Ron' Jackson's Photos from the last 2 days

Day 2: Hope through the poverty

Today was yet another full day of visiting the many projects that ANF is involved in. I am really impressed with the number of things that they fund. This morning we visited a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center for men (pictured left) that treats about 200 men and has the capacity to sleep 50. By capacity, I mean floor space and some beds in two small rooms. We met a 31 yr old man who founded the organization with his mother, who recently passed away. Right now he is simply trying to keep up with the demands of his clients, and relying on aid organizations like ANF to support them. We moved onto a school and a center for developmentally disabled kids both in a suburb in Managua. The suburb has a large number of people living in extreme poverty, and both the school and center are much needed. The babies asleep in the photo above right are in the 1 and under room. The main focus in their room is to nurture them and teach them to walk. The school is run by Catholic nuns, who dress the kids in uniforms when the arrive at the school every day. They service about 350 children, many from single mothers who are then free to go make a living during the day and return to pick up their children. I cannot express how important this experience has already been for Kai. He was more tired today, and we headed home after lunch, while the rest continued to a historical spot. He is asking questions about where we go, and trying out his Spanish. He's excited to be around other children, and we talk about the conditions the children live in quite a bit. He is very excited to get to "our house", and "our community" of El Menco. We will head there on Saturday morning, and get settled in. Please, everyone, feel free to email us at elizabethpost_21@hotmail.com. It's nice to hear from folks! Once in El Menco, we will go to the internet about once a week, but we'll get your mail! Tomorrow is another day at the ANF office, after we send off our friends Ron and Keith. I look forward to the good work they'll be doing, and to read their reflections on their trip, which has obviously changed their lives.

Day one: Poverty 101

Today was a long, busy first day in Nicaragua. Myself, Alvaro (ANF's Executive Director), Keith Strandberg (International Editor and writer for New York Times), Ronald Jackson (President and CEO of Sowind Group of Girard-Perregaux Jeanrichard watch company) and Mariacelia (Development Director of ANF) and Kai of course visited a variety of projects that ANF supports. Keith and Ron are here for 4 days because they are assisting ANF by producing a limited edition watch- 17 to be exact, that they will sell for $52,000 each. All funds will go to ANF and their projects. Kai and I are fortunate to be here at the same time, as we are getting a very thorough introduction to the projects here. This morning, after visiting the ANF office and warehouse, we headed to La Chureca City Dump, where over 900 people scramble to survive. We drove through mounds of trash, and watched as people sifted through for anything they could resell. There is a local woman that buys any recyclable material from folks here- plastic, glass, metal. I have never visited an area quite like this, where the poverty is so extreme. I was deeply moved by the determination of these people to survive in such conditions. We visited one of the homes in the dump that looked very much like this one of a woman in her 70's who's raised 4 children here, as well as several grandchildren. Many of the women with young children living here take their kids with them to the dump, which, believe me, is a terrible place for anyone. Alvaro later took us to see a complex that benefits more than 320 children from the dump. This place acts as a daycare, school, and feeding center to keep the kids away from the trash, and in a better place. Next we went to Granada for a beautiful lunch. Granada is a very colonial city, which has burned to the ground several times, and has been rebuilt. Here we visited and Elderly home and had lots of fun with the folks. Elderly don't get much governmental support in Nicaragua, so ANF is one of the principal NGO's that support these types of centers.
While all of this has been an amazing experience, it is not something I'm not entirely unfamiliar with. Many of the living situations now are much better than in 1998, when I was here doing relief work after Hurricane Mitch. It has been facinating helping Kai process what he's seeing and experiencing though. I have learned to step aside from experiences and process things with him, asking leading questions..."what do you think it's like to live here? how do you think this house is different than our house..." etc. He has great answers, and a great attitude about being here. It was pretty hot this afternoon, so Kai took his great new T Shirt off while we were visiting the family at the dump. As we were driving out, we realized that we had left it there, and he decided that they should keep it. I don't think they've ever had a new shirt before. I'm sure it was much appreciated. Keith and Ron were so impressed that they later bought Kai a shirt in the market (an LA Lakers one that he proudly wore). I don't exactly know what lesson that taught him (something about privledge I'm sure), but he felt really good about giving his shirt away.Here he his in his old shirt in the dump housing. Tomorrow is another full day with a similar itinerary. Friday I will be at the ANF office, and we might go out to El Menco on Friday or Saturday. From there we'll settle into our home- which actually has 3 rooms and is bigger than I thought. I think Kai may have his own room, and plenty of room for the hammock. Until next time...

Kai at the ANF Warehouse

Fellowship Description

The American Nicaraguan Foundation (AMF) and I would like to propose a Fellowship that aligns with an initiative of the United Nations Millennium Goals, agreed to by every country in the world in 2000 to half extreme poverty by 2015. This fellowship would provide the groundwork to transform the first Millennium Village in Latin America, creating a model for the Millennium Villages program to begin on another continent.

In 2000 the eight goals set by the UN entailed the following: 1. Eradicate Extreme Hunger and Poverty, 2. Achieve Universal Primary Education, 3. Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women, 4. Reduce Child Mortality, 5. Improve Maternal Health, 6. Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other diseases, 7. Ensure Environmental Sustainability, and 8. Develop a Global Partnership for Development. In addition, targets and indicators have been set for each of these goals. In 2002 the Millennium Project was initiated, charged with implementing an action plan, and the Millennium Villages project was born.

According to the UN Millennium Project’s website, “The Millennium Villages seek to end extreme poverty by working with the poorest of the poor, village by village throughout Africa, in partnership with governments and other committed stakeholders, providing affordable and science-based solutions to help people lift themselves out of extreme poverty” (www.unmillenniumproject.org).

Inspired by the Millennium Project, AMF is taking the initiative to begin this project in Latin America, starting the first village in the poorest country in Central America.

AMF is the product of the vision of three Nicaraguans who wanted to take steps toward eliminating the extreme poverty of their country. In 1992 they started the Foundation, and soon after were recognized as a 501c3 non-profit organization. By recognizing that each human life is equal in worth regardless of race, gender, social and economic standing, ANF arduously works to achieve sustainable development in Nicaragua by promoting self sufficiency and autonomy. Their goal is to eradicate the incessant poverty by working to develop support programs in education, nutrition, housing and healthcare. (www.aidnicaragua.org)

Annually AMF distributes donations of food, medicine, medical equipment and school supplies to 2,864 community based organizations throughout the country. With ANF's support these organizations provide medical care to 160,000 people a month and feed more than 250,000 people a day. While ANF supported educational programs benefit over 140,000 children a year, and at the same time, projects funded by ANF help improve living and health conditions for approximately 8,000 people a year.

The Fellowship

I would like to be direct by saying that I am approaching this application from a different perspective. I am a single mother very dedicated to human rights work, and I am requesting funding to conduct this Fellowship with my four year old son, Kai. As a survivor of poverty myself, my dedication to my work and to ensure an equitable and just world for my son and his children is a life-long and intergenerational commitment. Rather than stop my work to focus solely on raising my son, I see it imperative that I include him in my work, opening his perspective and engaging him in human rights and the diverse reality of others. I have chosen a project appropriate for the presence of a young child, as well as one of great significance for the human rights efforts of Nicaragua that I know I can accomplish with my skills and background.

AMF has identified three communities that they currently work on housing projects with as potential “Millennium Villages”: El Menco, Madre De Dios, and Chacaresecca. In the Fall of 2007, they identified El Menco as their top choice, where I will begin the process of assessing and documenting the human rights conditions outlined in the 8 Millennium Goals. While living with a family in the village, I will work with AMF staff and community partners to understand and begin documenting their current efforts, and understand the socio-economic power structures that the community faces when undergoing projects to fight the poverty and injustices in which they are embedded in.

While immersed in the village, and through complete collaboration with community leaders and members, I will examine the state of the village goal by goal, and attempt to produce a report similar to that distributed by the United Nations in 2005, documenting the progress of each of the goals based on their 2015 targets and indicators. AMF will then use this report to determine which areas are a priority for funding and projects, and will set an action plan with it’s targets and indicators for the village to half its poverty by 2015. AMF will work closely with the Millennium Project, which has offered funding and support to assist in these efforts, as well as the wisdom gained by the Villages in Africa. AMF will also outreach to other partners to begin this process village by village throughout Central America.

This Fellowship is a part of a process that I am personally and professionally undergoing to engage more directly in human rights work. Professionally the majority of my work has focused on the environment. In the last few years I have shifted my focus to human rights, in understanding that there is no hope for our future if our basic rights cannot be upheld and honored. I currently direct a national environmental leadership program for youth, entitled Lake Superior Pathfinders (www.northland.edu/pathfinders) and am implementing a social justice curriculum. It is my hope that my experience in Nicaragua will assist me in both my curriculum with youth, but also with my broader goals of working in my community through popular education models to address our needs and our rights.

I am particularly interested in the outcomes of this experience for my local community. In 2005 the City of Ashland passed a resolution to become an Eco-Municipality, becoming the second one in the United States (the first being 6 miles North in Washburn, Wisconsin). A large portion of this resolution addresses social justice by stating “All persons are entitled to "basic human needs", regardless of "superficial differences such as economic disparity, class, gender, race, ethnicity, citizenship, religion, age, sexual orientation, disability, or health. This includes the eradication of poverty and illiteracy, the establishment of sound environmental policy, and equality of opportunity for healthy personal and social development” (www.allianceforsustianability.org).

As our local community begins to develop within the framework for Eco-Municipalities, I would like to not only present my experience through the fellowship, but to formalize an international partnership between the Millennium Village in Nicaragua, and the Eco-Municipality in Ashland. As these two villages struggle toward their goals, I believe that much can be learned from their journey. I am a member of Partners of the Americas, whose mission is “to work together as citizen volunteers from Latin America, the Caribbean and the United States to improve the lives of people across the hemisphere.” (www.partners.net) Through this organization, states are partnered with countries to collaborate on projects in Latin America, and provide much needed aid. Nicaragua and Wisconsin have a long partnership, and I would like to formalize the relationship between Ashland and the Millennium Village as “sister cities.”

Through the “sister cities” partnership, the international human rights work of AMF, the United Nations, and the Millennium Village will become integrated into the lives of people in the Midwest as the communities share visions, hopes, struggles, strategies, and build alliances through projects and exchanges. Not only is there the potential for ongoing physical support through direct community to community aid, but there are opportunities for inter-cultural exchanges, collaboration on projects, future volunteer projects, and long-term communication and strategizing to reach our goals.