Jinotega, Jinotega, Nicaragua

Flying from Nicaragua to Southern Ontario in the middle of summer wasn’t exactly the respite from the heat that I was hoping for, but at least it is less humid here than it was down there when I left.  July 30, I flew out of Managua at 2:30pm and was home in Waterloo just a little less than ten hours later.  Amazing how you can walk into an airport in one place and walk out of another one someplace so different only a few hours later.  Every time it reminds me how privileged I am as a Canadian that I am able to hop from country to country so easily when  for so many people in the world, the thought of traveling such distances with such ease seems so unattainable.

People often talk about experiencing reverse culture-shock when they return home after a trip abroad, particularly to a country like Nicaragua where there is so much less in terms of material things.  Personally, I don’t think I have ever really experienced this phenomenon.  I think I experience more culture shock going from Waterloo to Toronto than I ever had returning home from another country.  The one thing which did hit me like a slap to the face was when I bought the summer edition of The Walrus magazine from a Coles Bookstore at Conestoga Mall and somehow ended up with a new points/reward card in my wallet when I left the store.  I forgot how badly people want you to buy from them; in Nicaragua stores just blast music into the street.  Harder on the ears but I liked it.

I had a great time interning with the Council of Protestant Churches in Nicaragua, getting a chance to see some of the work of an organization that Presbyterians in Canada help to support through their contributions to Presbyterian World Service & Development.  There were certainly slow points in my internship where there was little for me to do and I was discouraged at having gone so far to do so little.  Looking back now, however, I can say that even if all of my time wasn’t completely occupied, it was an amazing experience and I learned more than I think I had realized while I was there.

The highlight of my time there was when I was asked to create and present a workshop on leadership as part of CEPAD’s micro-finance project (see post titled Community Banking, June 8).  It was a chance, not only to take more of a lead role in one of their activities and to test my Spanish on a large group,  for the first time, but to also get a better idea of what life is like in these communities and how the women interact with each other and with the projects that organizations bring to them.  The banking project is progressing slowly at the moment and I have no idea how much the women took from that particular workshop but I am hopeful that the women get something out of the project when all is said and done.

Driving through the Departments (Provinces) of Jinotega and Matagalpa was something else which will stay with me forever.  The scenery there is beautiful, especially now in the rainy season when the clouds come down so low on the mountains and into the valleys.  At first glance many of the communities that I visited, or just drove past, looked very poor, and certainly many of the people there do live in poverty, yet my boss never missed an opportunity to point out that many families have their own land, a cow or a pig, a motorcycle and always that the campesinos have a great wealth of knowledge concerning farming and life in the campo.  There are resources there, human and physical, and it is so important to not just ignore them because all one sees is poverty.  These resources are capable of doing such wonderful things.  One only needs to look at the dedication of all of the community members who volunteer so much of themselves to the work that CEPAD does with them.  One of the community banks, formed by the communities of El Matazano and El Castillo, chose to name their bank ‘Trabajando para un Futuro Mejor’ (Working for a Better Future).  It is this commitment and belief that things can be better, that I will take with me from this experience.

I am not sure what I will be doing next.  At the moment I am back with my folks, who recently had a fantastic trip to Nicaragua of their own (coincidence?), and looking for work.  So if you have/know of anything please let me know.  The only thing I know for sure is that I want to keep improving my Spanish and that I would be happy going back to Nicaragua should the right opportunity present itself.  For now, I would like to express my thanks to International Ministries for the opportunity to experience this internship.  Thanks, also, to everyone who read my blog and shared the journey with me.  If I ever write another blog you are very much invited to follow along.

Welcome to development reality blog!  This week we have the much anticipated show down of the water filter projects!

Let’s see how the filters stack up!

(I will refer to the two projects by the name their respective filters to keep things simple though I do recognize that there were a lot more people and organizations involved in making the projects succeed.  Also, I am sure there are things that I don’t know about both projects)

Filter 1: ONIL Water Filter by Helps International

http://www.helpsintl.org/

http://helpsintl.org/programs/ONIL_Water_Filter.pdf (I won’t pretend to understand the filtration process so this is the only description I will provide)

The filters cost US$30 to buy from ONIL/Helps, this cost was covered by an American church, and CEPAD sells them for US$5 each.  They will filter 10 gallons per 24 hours.  The actual filter thing-ma-giggy, technically known as a ceramic candle, costs $10 and must be replaced every year.  The filters are made in Guatemala and all parts are specific only to this model and are therefore not available locally.

Filter 2: Aqua Clara

http://aquaclara.org/

http://aquaclara.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/howitworks.pdf (again I will leave it to you to make sense of the filtration process)

The filters cost anywhere from US$40 to $60 depending on who I asked.  The majority of the cost was covered by an American church through fundraising, US$10 was contributed by every family who received/bought one and I believe the rest was covered by Aqua Clara.  They filter 10 gallons per 24 hours.  The materials (sand, gravel) will last 10 years before they need to be replaced, I don’t know what they cost to replace.  The filters are put together on site, in this case by the group of Americans, and all parts, except for the ACX (HA! Now you have to read the above hyperlink to understand), are locally available.  The sand and gravel is all Nicaraguan.

How the projects went down!

ONIL/Helps International

There are a number of these filters in storage at the CEPAD office as well as one that is used for the office drinking water.  They are the result of a project that CEPAD did with a church in America who wanted to help some poor rural families by providing them with a means for safe drinking water.  The church members paid for the filters and a group of them came down to help set them up in various homes in the rural communities around Matagalpa.  The ones at the office are the ones that didn’t get installed during this time and are now being sold off little by little.  Helps International only provided the filters but played no part in their distribution.

Aqua Clara

This was a project mutually conceived by the members of a church in the United States and an association of communities around Matagalpa who have formed a direct partnership.  The founding of the association was assisted by CEPAD in 2006 when CEPAD was still working in those communities.  Now CEPAD has withdrawn from these communities leaving the association to continue with the work that they initiated.  The association has since formed this partnership with the American church.  CEPAD now only assists by providing translators and transportation for the groups that come down but has no role in the formulation or completion of the project.  Aqua Clara only provided the know-how in this specific project.  It is up to the Nicaraguan and American partners to make sure that the filters get where they need to be.  The group of Americans has to install all of the allotted filters, it is not a project that CEPAD will pick up and finish once they have left.

Let’s see what the judges think.

Loud angry man: AHHH!! Water filters are stupid! (ulcer bursts)

Lady who I’ve never heard of: I love you all!! (thinks: I wonder if anyone will go out and buy my water filter after watching this?)

Super chill guy: Man, who even drinks water anymore (takes a sip of Coca-Cola™ and a bit of his Snickers™)

But in all seriousness I have to give this one to filter number 2, both in terms of the filter itself and the nature and execution of the project, though I must declare a slight information bias as I was actually able to see this project in action while I have only been told about the other.  Families pay US$10 for (supposedly) 10 years of potable water with the Aqua Clara where as they would have to pay the initial US$5 plus US$90 for extra candles to get the same longevity from ONIL/Helps.  Parts for the Aqua Clara are easily available in Nicaraguan stores while any parts for the ONIL would have to be specially ordered and imported by someone, not sure who, CEPAD perhaps.  To me this gives the Aqua Clara filter the edge in the use of technology, cost.

As for the project designs I also like the Aqua Clara over the ONIL/Helps.  There is nothing wrong with ONIL/Helps’ use of CEPAD as an intermediary for distribution.  Taking advantage of the knowledge and resources of local organizations rather than storming communities with outsiders is a great strategy for development work.  However, that the Aqua Clara project is based on a direct relationship between a group of people in America and a group of people in Nicaragua takes that a step further if done correctly.  In this case the community association is the direct result of CEPAD’s work and evidence that their empowerment and capacity building work has resulted with these communities no longer needing to rely on CEPAD and being able to make decisions for themselves.  Of course they are still dependent on the members of the church in America since that is where the money is but without a massive global redistribution of wealth or a more active government (or both though neither seem imminent), perhaps this is the best these communities can hope for so far as access to resources is concerned.  This all gives Aqua Clara a slight advantage in sustainability assuming the association maintains itself.

The rainy season has begun and as I write this I am sitting by my back door waiting for the afternoon shower to begin.  I am back in Jinotega and facing my last two months in the country before heading back home.  Getting to hang out with Canadians again on the recent Youth in Mission trip which I was lucky enough to be a part of triggered the strongest longings for home that I have had yet and was a wonderful break from my life here, a chance to just hang out, relax and speak some English!

I was one of the co-leaders of the Youth in Mission (YIM) trip which was here from May 3^rd to 17^th and was able to see some completely new parts of the country and visit some of the other inspirational organizations which PWS&D helps to support.  The group was a great bunch of Canadian youth joined by three Nicaraguan youth.  Together we spent two weeks learning about the mission work of the Presbyterian Church in Canada here in Nicaragua and seeing the results of the givings of Canadian Presbyterians first hand.  I can’t do the entire trip justice in a single blog entry so I will do my best to highlight some of the most memorable moments for me.

One of the organizations we visited was the Institute for Human Protection (INPRUH) in Managua (http://inprhu.org/).  While they do a variety of programs, what PWS&D helps to fund and therefore what we saw the most of, was La Casa de las Niñas (The Girl’s House).  This is a place where girls who have been the victims of domestic abuse (mostly sexual) can stay for an eight week therapy/recuperation program.  To tell the truth though it seems to be far more than just therapy that these girls receive here.  They get a community, a chance to gain new strength, a greater control over their own lives and a vision for their futures.  A lot of the girls who go through this program return to support and lend their strength to the new girls, already on their way to being the type of leaders that are needed here and everywhere.

The most amazing part of our time with the girls was when we all sat in a circle and a number of the girls spoke about their experiences, why they had come to the house and what sort of change they had experienced since being there.  I think we were all surprised and warmed by the incredible openness of these girls to share such personal stories with a group of complete strangers.  I can’t use the word strength enough to describe this experience.  What I thought was going to be such a depressing moment was in fact a moment of inspiration, and while it certainly did trigger feelings of sadness it also held so much determination and promise.  For me the determination and promise was in two sentiments that a number of girls repeated, the first; that what had happened to them has a name and that it is right to call it by that name and to not be ashamed, sexual abuse and rape, the second; that what had happened was not their fault and that they would not allow themselves to be blamed for the actions of others.  This reminded me of the recent Slut Walk in Toronto and that these are issues that face girls and women in every country.  In the evening they invited us to dance with them and proceeded to thoroughly embarrass at least me.

The homestays with Soynica North (http://www.soynica.org.ni/) were another highlight for me.  I had spent plenty of time out in the rural countryside in Nicaragua but this was the first time that I was able spend a time with a family and a community and not have to talk about beans, which was a nice change.  Of course I still had to eat beans, impossible to get away from them completely.

I, along with two of the other guys on the trip ended up in the home of Doña Sulema and Don Carlos and their four sons in the community of Caliguate.  The idea was that our hosts would show us some of the ongoing projects of Soynica in the community and explain in their own words what a difference these projects had made in their lives.  We spent two nights and one full day in the communities and for that full day they dragged us around to see garden after garden after garden.  We learned how to plant a new plantain tree, how to make organic fertilizer.  We saw the results of the crop diversification program and the patio gardens full of vegetables, new tanks for water conservation and a ton of coffee.  One of the YIM participants asked her host dad what he had done for food before the Soynica had come and he said his family had eaten beans and tortillas but sometimes, they hadn’t eaten at all.  Now he said he grows enough vegetables and fruit that he can even give some away to other families in the community.  It was amazing to see how much pride they took in their work, they had a chance to show off and they wanted to show us everything.  A lengthy church service each night (I missed the second one due to illness) and an amusing English homework session with one of the boys where I tried in vain to explain that Piccadilly Circus isn’t actually a circus, where only some of the other wonderful experiences from this time.

There is always a worry about the sustainability of projects like these, the possibility that once the project’s three, five, eight or however many years is up that the community will not be able to continue the change that has been made.  In this case however faith in change has been strengthened greatly.  I find it very hard to believe that with their level of enthusiasm, pride and commitment that the people we met will settle for anything less than to continue their hard work and to reap the benefits that they are seeing already after only two years.

After that we returned to the unbearable heat of Managua, visited some more organizations (http://nimehuatzin.org/, http://www.esperanzaenaccion.org/) and then took a couple of days off for the always important tourist activities and gift shopping.

The trip was a great chance to really bring overseas mission to life.  Being an individual in Canada and wondering if your givings are really making a difference can be very confusing and frustrating when we see so much need in our world.  Getting a chance to see exactly how people in Canada and Nicaragua are actually connected to one another really does offer a sense of renewed hope that things can be better.

There is a passage that seems to be a popular one for mission trips, 1 Corinthians 12 which talks about how God made the different parts of the body meaning that they should all work in unity, a metaphor for our personal gifts.   There are a lot of ideas that can be drawn from this passage but for me the most important is to understand that even though it may not be obvious, that we may not be able to see it at first, we are all connected and we all have influence over one another.  But verse 26 says, ‘when one member suffers, all the members suffer with it.’  The trip was good for showing us how we are connected to the people benefiting from these projects but what about all those people who aren’t?  How does the suffering of the people who don’t enjoy these projects affect my own suffering and what is my response?  That is the question that has stayed with me now that the trip is over and I am back at home.

Making organic fertilizer out of leaves, plantain tree trunk, ash, manure and earth

Abbey Road moment

My homestay family

The group on a tour of Managua

Now that campaigning for the May 2^nd election has finally gotten underway I suppose I can forgive all of you for not having the time (or the stomach) to keep up to date with Nicaraguan politics, there is, as I am sure you are all aware, a national election here in November.  I have a funny feeling that any stories about Nicaragua are getting lost in the Canadian media among an endless flurry of polls and promises, not to mention Libya, Japan, Ivory Coast and the Leafs’ noble but ultimately wasted push for a playoff berth.  Good thing I am here to keep you in the know.

People of my parent’s generation may remember that there was a revolution in Nicaragua back in 1979 which saw the Sandinistas come to power after toppling the dictatorship of Anastasio Somoza.  This was followed by a decade long civil war between the Sandinista government and the counterrevolutionaries, or contras, just one of the many surprisingly hot conflicts of the Cold War.  The only reason I bring up the history is because today the Sandinistas are again in power and with the very same president no less, Daniel Ortega (I saw him within my first fifteen minutes in the country WOOOOO!!!!).

The election may not be until November but that doesn’t mean people are waiting until then to start jumping into the issues.  Things have been heating up since before I even got here last November and recently they seemed to reach their hottest point yet.  In Managua, the capital, there were contesting marches, one pro-Ortega, the other, anti.  According to the newspapers only the pro-Ortega march had been officially sanctioned by police despite the anti-Ortega march having gone through all the same channels to seek permission.  During the actual marches the police protected the pro-Ortega marchers, keeping anyone not related to the march out, while they showed no hesitancy to use aggressive force against the anti-Ortega marchers.  There was even a picture in one of the papers of a member of parliament being carried away by three police officers at the anti march.

This is all part of a larger issue, the candidacy of Ortega in the upcoming elections.  Last year the Supreme Electoral Court ruled to change the constitution, allowing the president to run for a third consecutive term.  A lot of people aren’t impressed.  Signs proclaiming ‘DICTADOR!’ seem pretty commonplace at anti-reelection rallies.  The rallies actually to position themselves as anti-reelection and not necessarily as anti-Sandinista, the organizers claim that they are not supporting any of the opposition parties specifically.

So, as Canadian leaders bicker over tax-cuts and try to deal with the multiple mini-scandals that always seem to pop up at election time, Nicaragua is buzzing with its own election fever and considering how things are going at the moment I am really sorry that I won’t be here in November to see the final show.

Here are some pictures taken from La Presna, a conservative newspaper, of the march challenging Ortega’s reelection in Managua.

Front and center on this morning’s edition of La Presna; Miss. Canada 2010 and four other Canadian beauty queens!

It turns out that the organizer of the Miss Canada Organization, Denis Dávila, is Nicaraguan, but that’s not the only reason that they have come here. Miss. Canada 2009, Chanel Beckenlehner, has been involved in raising funds for Aldeas Infantiles SOS (Children’s Villages), an international nongovernmental organization that works with children and youth without families, seeking to provide them with a caring and loving environment for them to grow in. In Nicaragua they have 8 Social Centres and 54 Homes and Community Centres and are working with over 3500 children in 7 cities.

www.aldeasinfantiles-sos.org/

The beauty queens will be visiting at least three of these centers, inaugurating new computer rooms and playing computer games with some of the children.  They will also be visiting San Juan del Sur, the town with the best beaches in the country and taking photos to promote it as a tourist destination.  As well, they will be participating in a fashion show with Nicaragua models where they will be helping to sell Mother’s Day cards designed by some of the kids supported by Aldeas Infantiles SOS.  The contestants for Miss. Nicaragua also took centre stage in the paper during the competition with each one getting their own feature edition.

If, like me, you had no idea who Miss. Canada was, she is Elena Semikina and she went to York University and that is all I found out. The other women are; Chanel Beckenlehner, Neda Deraksanfar, Katie Starke and Ava Ferdowsmakan.

Now that’s what I call building bilateral relations! (no offense to old men in suits) Get the people interested, not just the policy makers!

From left to right, Chanel Beckenlehner, Neda Deraksanfar, Elena Semikina, Katie Starke and Ava Ferdowsmakan (taken from La Presna)