First I have some sad news. Doña Sandra’s husband passed away last Sunday; he had been suffering from Parkinson’s for a long time. As Doña Sandra is immensely important to the community, Carrie and I decided to cancel all workshops on Monday so that the community could attend the funeral and burial.
Going to work again on Tuesday revealed to me how amazing this woman truly is. Not only was she present and instructing her fellow community members, but her speech was saturated with ambition and hope. She took my hand and walked me through Caracolitas, the cement community center that was apparently built during the revolution. In the tiny dark rooms, dozens of bats swooped down around us as she spoke to me, unflinching. She didn’t see the damage and dilapidation of the dark spaces; instead she saw library rooms so that the young children could learn to appreciate reading, computer labs for the older students to work, a bread oven and food kitchen in the back to serve the children of unemployed parents, a preschool room capable of housing 30 students (twice its current capacity), and of course, a room in which to store and sell our piñatas from. But her vision didn’t stop there. She then walked me around the neighborhood and pointed out where she wanted to clear away land, make desperately needed repairs to the roads, and plant gardens, and tend to a geological sinkhole that has become somewhat of a landfill.
And I’m learning that for Doña Sandra, it’s not just the poverty, the lack of money, the lack of stuff. It’s the destitution of the mind. It’s the lack of knowledge and hope that leads to so many of the community’s other problems: drugs, alcoholism, domestic violence, and decreased rights and respect for women.
I was so impressed and gripped by her every word, as she knows the work required, and yet remains unafraid and unfaltering. She spoke of the importance of the census, and how it would provide invaluable information to the community leaders who rise up after her. There is much to be done. I am just a foreigner and it’s very easy for me to already feel overwhelmed. Doña Sandra lives here and she is full of aspirations and expectations for the betterment of Valle de Granada… Needless to say I am blown away.
Going to work again on Tuesday revealed to me how amazing this woman truly is. Not only was she present and instructing her fellow community members, but her speech was saturated with ambition and hope. She took my hand and walked me through Caracolitas, the cement community center that was apparently built during the revolution. In the tiny dark rooms, dozens of bats swooped down around us as she spoke to me, unflinching. She didn’t see the damage and dilapidation of the dark spaces; instead she saw library rooms so that the young children could learn to appreciate reading, computer labs for the older students to work, a bread oven and food kitchen in the back to serve the children of unemployed parents, a preschool room capable of housing 30 students (twice its current capacity), and of course, a room in which to store and sell our piñatas from. But her vision didn’t stop there. She then walked me around the neighborhood and pointed out where she wanted to clear away land, make desperately needed repairs to the roads, and plant gardens, and tend to a geological sinkhole that has become somewhat of a landfill.
And I’m learning that for Doña Sandra, it’s not just the poverty, the lack of money, the lack of stuff. It’s the destitution of the mind. It’s the lack of knowledge and hope that leads to so many of the community’s other problems: drugs, alcoholism, domestic violence, and decreased rights and respect for women.
I was so impressed and gripped by her every word, as she knows the work required, and yet remains unafraid and unfaltering. She spoke of the importance of the census, and how it would provide invaluable information to the community leaders who rise up after her. There is much to be done. I am just a foreigner and it’s very easy for me to already feel overwhelmed. Doña Sandra lives here and she is full of aspirations and expectations for the betterment of Valle de Granada… Needless to say I am blown away.
Here are a few pictures I took of some of the community kids climbing in a mango tree outside of the community center (Caracolitos is the cement building in the background)
These kids think this gringa is pretty silly...
In other news, another American intern, a grad student named Shaun, is going to start working with me on the microempresa project. This is great because not only will the piñata and belleza businesses need more individualized attention, but I’m also realizing that the census will be a huge project for me. On top of that, Carrie will no longer be working with me in Valle de Granada starting this week, so some help would be great. On another level, I think that for me, I get most enthusiastic about a project and get most ideas generating when I can chat about with others. My friends and family often joke that when I get particularly excited or passionate about something, I talk a million miles an hour. Make fun of me if you will, but I’m convinced that this little quirk of mine allows me to come up with more ideas and get myself more excited and committed to the project at hand. I think that working with a partner on this will help me to get that speech speedometer up, thus allowing me to approach this project with more creativity and confidence.
On Wednesday morning I met two of the women, Dolores and Maria Auxiliadora, at Gonpers, the local office supplies store. There we spend around 300 córdobas (about $15) on dozens of hojas of tissue paper and poster board. After that I followed them to the market (remember from the first post? This marketplace is a zoo! I love it!). There we spent another 100 córdobas ($5) on 3 ceramic pots, 5 pounds of newspaper, a ball of string, and 1 pound of starch. All of these start-up materials are a donation from Viva Nicaragua for the women to practice and perfect their trade. Starting next week, we’d like the business to officially begin and no longer receive these donations but purchase materials with small préstamos, loans.
I started off the shopping trip waiting outside of Gonpers by myself and feeling like a terrified kid on her first day of school— What will they think of me? Will they like me? What if I make a mistake? All of my anxieties were assuaged, however, shortly after seeing Dolores and Maria Auxiliadora. Like in most Latin American cultures, punctuality doesn’t exist in Nicaragua. We usually begin our working about 20-45 minutes after the pre-appointed time. Knowing this, I stressed to them the importance of being on time so that we could use these few weeks we have efficiently. With that in mind, Dolores and Maria Auxiliadora rushed up to Gonpers at exactly 9:00 am giggling and pointing to my watch, “Look! We’re right on time! Look at how punctual we are!” After a good laugh, I felt instantly comfortable with them and we enjoyed getting to know each other for the rest of the shopping trip. Since then, I feel like I’ve really become friends with the women, and I’m most excited about getting to know them and their situations better this summer.
As you may have noticed, things are incredibly inexpensive here. I never spend more than $2-3 any given day, even if I buy water bottles throughout the day and take a taxi at night. I’ve noticed that now, when I see things in stores or restaurants that are more than 10 córdobas and I think, “That’s ridiculous. It’s probably just the price for tourists. I refuse to pay that!”… Then I realize that 10 córdobas is 50¢ and I start to feel a little cheap…
After some piñata-making Thursday afternoon, Carrie brought in a local psychologist to give a talk to the women on self-esteem and the importance of valuing yourself and your work. I was pleased to see that the women seemed to appreciate the charla and participated. This talk was one of Carrie’s efforts to approach “development” holistically, not just monetarily.
Last night I got together with the other Viva Nicaragua interns to meet each other and to say goodbye to Micayla, my Boston hairdresser friend, who left for home this morning : (. Besides Shaun and me, there are 3 other Americans interning with Viva Nicaragua this summer, all of them staying here for varying amounts of time (5 weeks to 10 months). Everyone is working in different fields; 2 pre-med students are working in community clinics and the other is a Gender Studies major working with a women’s center. Although I won’t be seeing any Americans (besides probably Shaun) on a daily basis, it’s nice to know the other gringos working here this summer.
Friday afternoon was a big day for the piñata business. We “registered” each of the women as official members and declared that the donations were over and the business had begun. Shaun and I gave a small presentation on making a business plan with the women and facilitated a discussion to create a mission statement that each of the women can agree on and be excited about. I was thrilled with their participation; we didn’t even need to ask for it! We talked about our goals as a group, which included making high quality piñatas and earning some profit to bettering the community and mastering a useful skill. The women mentioned every single goal that I had in mind, and then some more! We also talked more about our vision as a business, and introduced the idea of splitting up responsibilities amongst the women (accountant, treasurer, etc). Although right now Shaun and I are holding the money and keeping up with the expenses/revenues, we eventually want the women to be responsible for these aspects of the business. I must admit, they have been progressing faster than I had anticipated, and showing much more drive and commitment than I expected.
So as of now,
Official name: Piñatas Alegría
Official members: Dolores, Magali, Liset, and Maria Auxiliadora
!!!!
Exciting, isn’t it??
Below is a pic of me and Regina, one of Liset´s children:
It’s funny; being an Economics major (quite different from a Business major I’m learning), much of this is new to me too! So although I may be continually feeling in over my head, the enthusiasm of Doña Sandra and the women gives me confidence in their success. With some hard work and perseverance on everyone’s part, Piñatas Alegría just might be something sustainable that these women can profit from for a long time to come. (Note: Regardless of the business know-how I wish I had, I still stand firmly on the side of Economics in the never-ending Econ-Business rivalry!)
: )
Since I research in the mornings at a local internet café, I have been blessed this week with not one, not two, but three wonderfully encouraging and gloriously uplifting skype-conversations with the lovely and talented Kristy Cannon, Maggie Rector, and of course, the Dockery family!! SO FANTASTIC. Thanks guys!
On Tuesday I passed the one-week mark of living here in Nica. And thus, like clockwork, beginneth the onset of Montezuma’s revenge. For those of you who aren’t familiar with this little digestive treat promised to the bowels of all foreigners visiting Central America for any length of time, I’ll spare you the details and just introduce you to a new friend of mine:
: )
I hope to do some hiking this weekend on Volcán Mombacho, the volcano that looms over Granada and can be clearly seen on a cloudless day. More to come, of course!
LOVE TO ALL,
sarah
“Rock of Ages, when the day seems long,
From this labor and this heartache I have come.
The skies will wear out, but you remain the same.
Rock of Ages, I praise your name!”
- Rock of Ages (hymn)
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