ProNica – Nicaragua

I remember arriving at the Acahualinca Women’s Center in June, meeting Silvia, the nurse, and being blown away by her openness and dedication to serve the people of Acahualinca. I remember meeting Maria Elena and being at a loss for words upon hearing her story; her fight to start the clinic and keep it running over the years. I arrived at the clinic, prepared to begin conducting research for my senior thesis and prepared to take on the work at the clinic. I was still unsure about the exact topic that I was planning on researching and specific work that I would be undertaking, but I was ready to face whatever challenges came down the road.  In this small clinic situated in one of Managua’s rougher neighborhoods, there was an entire group of women dedicated to giving the stigmatized a voice, the forgotten a name, and everyone the human right of leading a healthy life. It made me question what my own country was doing in the way of giving the underprivileged a voice and caring for their health, and I was excited to begin whatever it was that I would be doing in the clinic.

As the first day progressed, I remember being introduced to more of the women in the clinic, especially Raquel and Janet, who were the two health education and outreach promoters who would be supervising my work. After introducing me to the women in the clinic, they took me down the street to the Acahualinca Women´s Center Library next to the neighborhood preschool where I played with the children a little bit and talked to the teachers. They opened the library up and explained that when I wasn’t conducting research, I would be supervising the library and assisting children with their homework in the afternoon. Although I did not know exactly what I would be doing before the job began, I hadn’t expected that I would be working in the library down the street from the clinic for the summer. I was still excited to begin working, but slightly disgruntled to be apart from the clinic, where such independent and strong women were saving their community particularly in such a machismo/male dominated culture. I wanted to participate in their superwoman mission of saving the world through education and respect and wondered how I could channel the work of the women from the center into this small library down the road where I was working.

That afternoon many children came into the library asking for books and help with their homework. The preschool had closed earlier in the day and many of the students’ older siblings who lived nearby came in to study and prepare projects that their teachers had assigned. I was surprised when one girl in particular came up and asked for a book of poems by Rubén Darío, a celebrated Nicaraguan poet and the “Prince of Spanish Literature.” I was a little startled at the request, judging Darío’s works to be slightly out of her age range and beyond her reading level. I found the book “Azul,” which Darío began writing when he was 19 years old and handed it over. She left the library with the book, which I was unsure about, especially since it was my first day at work and people weren’t supposed to take books without checking them out. I was caught in a dilemma, but stopped myself from chasing after the girl and demanding the book back, which I’m sure would have made an even more memorable first day. I was relieved about an hour later when the girl returned with the book and thanked me. I asked her what homework she had been working on and she responded “It’s not homework, I just like to read poetry.” She proceeded in reading to me her favorite poem that she had found, copied down carefully in her notebook.

After she had left in the afternoon I asked one of the preschool teachers about her, wondering about this young, aspiring Rubén Darío. Apparently the girl lived right around the corner from the library, which it seemed had changed her life since she had learned to read. She had left the preschool a few years ago, but had been a studious and motivated student the entire time she had been there. Apparently the teachers all missed her, but she still stopped by the library every day to read poetry or look up words in the dictionary. “This library has changed her life,” the teacher told me. It was a quiet place for her complete her homework, it was an archive of literature for her to explore, it provided her with an opportunity to grow and learn in ways that other students did not have, especially just around the corner from their houses. “She’s definitely going somewhere in life,” the professor said, and whether she was talking about just around the corner in Acahualinca or on the other side of the world, I knew that the professor was right.

Kelsey in the Acahualinca Library with some young students

After working at the Acahualinca Library for the summer I realized that the idea of health that the clinic supports is more than physical wellbeing. It’s even more than feeling respected and cared for, which I felt that the Acahualinca Women’s Center strives to deliver to all of its patients. I learned that opportunity and education are necessary for a healthy life as well, and the library provides the children in the community with just that. It gives them space to not only complete their homework with books for support, but also a space to read for pleasure, expand their interests, and grow. I sought to help the students who came into the library with homework or to find a book of poems to read, but I ended up growing and learning with them. As they learned about word structure, culture, biology, or whatever they were studying, I became aware about how drastically the smallest resources and opportunities can empower a community. While the women at the Acahulainca Women´s Center opened my eyes to the power of respect in maintaining the health of a community, working at the connected Acahualinca Library taught me the importance of opportunity and education in creating and supporting community health.

Last week, the five Haverford interns working in Nicaragua gathered on the beautiful Isla de Ometepe for a mid-summer intern retreat, a wonderful opportunity to share stories, experiences and to process all that we have learned. Admittedly, amidst hiking volcano, kayaking a river famous for its unique bird diversity, swimming in the lake, playing pickup soccer on the beach, there was less time for reflection than I imagined. Nonetheless, I planned to write a blog post upon my return from the retreat, hoping that a few days away from my internship would give me a larger picture insight, that I may come up with creative way to sum up the past month in not too many words. Needless to say, it is a difficult task to share this experience through writing, and an impossible task to encompass the complexity of the project and place I am working in, as the dynamics are shaped and produced by historical, social, political factors that I am only beginning to understand.

I am working in between Esteli and Miraflor with a social enterprise called Luz Verde. Luz Verde is the “social arm” of Cafe Luz y Luna, an organic cafe and hostel in central Esteli. The cafe and hostel provide much of the funding for Luz Verde, which is funneled into several different projects, including Solana Organica Organic Kitchen Gardens, the project I am working with. Solana Organica is currently supporting 10 families in communities surrounding Esteli (including El Limon, Miraflor: El Coyolito, La Labranza, El Terreno, El Rodeo and La Pita) to grow organic produce. The produce is used both for the families’ personal consumption and is also purchased and used by Cafe Luz. Additionally, the project is meant to empower the women of the families, the women are given tools to be authority figures in the gardens and are returned all income. Currently, the project is struggling for two reasons. First, the gardens are not producing well and the cafe has been forced to rely heavily on the super market. Many families are experiencing problems with soil fertility, rain damage and irrigation, which has caused an overall delay in production.

Miraflor orchids and fields

And second, in almost every family the men are doing the majority of the work in the gardens. In my internship so far, I have been living in Miraflor with a family for 3 days each week, working with a different family each day. Essentially, my presence is meant to encourage the women and children to work in the gardens more often and also to think creatively about how to solve the problems they are experiencing having to do with irrigation and soil.

I returned to my internship from Ometepe to exciting news. Juancito (the project technician) and I were invited to attend a 3-day biointensive organics methods course in Condega, an hour north of Esteli, with 30 other technicians from around the country! Biointensive growing is SUPER cool and simple and seems to provide the solution to all of the problems we have been experiencing with the families. Biointensive focuses on ten basic principles including, doble excavacion (digging the beds 60 cm deep), composta (usually without manure), siembra cercana (planting in a hexagonal or triangle formation for best nutrient access and canopy), rotacion (crop rotation), asociacion (planting friendly plants together), semillas criollos (no hybrid or GMO seeds), transplanting, etc. The methods, when applied, serve to increase soil fertility, increase production, help with water drainage and retention, thereby reducing water use, increase overall self-sustainability of the garden. If applied successfully, biointensive growing could drastically improve access to fresh vegetables in the poorest communities across Nicaragua. Needless to say, we came away from the course very inspired and excited. We just returned yesterday and spent today planning a workshop with the families to teach biointensive techniques. Hopefully the workshop will happen within two weeks. However, convincing and enacting biointensive practices will will undoubtedly be a slow process as it requires a cultural shift in farming, which is a very sedimented practice.

The biointensive course was not only cool because we learned about new farming methods, but also because it gave us the opportunity to meet other people from across the country working on similar projects. It was incredibly inspiring to meet Nicaraguans of all ages who are excited about small scale agriculture and who are working in their communities to promote alternative techniques. The wealth of information within the group about farming techniques, farming culture and history, social change and movements, community organizing, was invaluable. I look forward to continuing to share ideas and experiences with some of the people I connected with (go email!)

In the next few days I am looking forward to celebrating the revolution! (Esteli on the 16th and Managua on the 19th.) And I am excited to report back on how the project and the new biointensive ideas continue developing.

Sunset over the mountains of Miraflor

And to finish, I am so happy to be here! I am learning so much! I have had the opportunity to meet wonderful people, to hear stories of the war, of politics, of children, of myths, of sadness and joy and so much more. My Spanish is improving daily and I can’t believe I will only be here for another month. Thank you so much CPGC.

(Siena emailed this post to Chloe Tucker)

Today, like many of the days we have spent in Nicaragua, was one of activity, excitement, and emotional trial. We began the morning by packing up our things and saying goodbye to the Casa Cuaquera to head to Matagalpa. We made it to the station just in time to catch the express bus and got started on the couple-hour trip north. As we made our way up into the mountains, we were greeted by various characters who boarded the bus, including a clown and a man selling elote and tamales. Once we reached Matagalpa, which is a beautiful, walkable city nestled into a valley and surrounded by green mountains, we were driven straight to the Casa Materna, where Jemma will be interning this summer and where we were to spend the night. I think most of us enjoyed taking in the sights on the drive almost as much as we enjoyed watching Jemma’s face of excitement at seeing her new home for the first time.

We dropped our things at the Casa Materna, met up with Kitty, a social worker there and one of Jemma’s mentors, and then headed out again to reach Selva Negra. This enormous property, composed primarily of coffee farms and woods with hiking and horseback riding trails, was founded by Germans living in the area. We enjoyed a delicious buffet meal topped off with German chocolate cake and then split up to explore the area as we pleased. A number of us headed deep into the mountainous woods, discovering howler monkeys, toucans, magnificent trees, and more as we hiked. Eventually, we regrouped in the restaurant, where we were regaled with stories–and jokes–about the history of Germans and coffee in Nicaragua by Eddy Kühl, the husband of the owner of Selva Negra and quite a character.

Returning to the city, we went out to dinner at an Italian restaurant and were joined by Sue Howe, a friend of Carmen’s and Kaye’s. After another couple hours of great conversation, we returned to Casa Materna, where we watched a thought-provoking documentary about Ben Linder. A U.S. citizen, Ben headed to Nicaragua as a young college graduate and dedicated himself to bringing water-powered energy and joy (as a clown) to the Nicaraguan people but was tragically targeted and killed by Contra forces funded by his own native government. He became a big rallying point for Nicaraguans and Americans alike against U.S. involvement in the Contra War. At the conclusion of the film, with tired bodies and full brains, we then called it a night and went to bed. All in all, it was a long yet rewarding day.

I want to dedicate this post as a memorial to César, a 13-year-old Quincho who took his life today. Although we didn’t have the fortune to meet him when we visited, he has been a huge presence in our thoughts and conversations and we send our consolations to all those who knew and loved him.

On the morning of June 8th, we were all faced with the gloomy reality that it was the official time to go our separate ways. For some of us, that meant the exciting opportunity to begin a summer-long internship in Nicaragua, working towards goals like rehabilitating ex-street children or working to reduce maternal mortality. But for others, like myself, it meant the gloomy end of an incredible 10 day delegation and the flight back to our respective homes in the US. Nonetheless, sad farewells were no match for the power of sweet music. I was lucky enough this morning to wake up to Kelsey’s moving rendition of the popular hit “Call Me Maybe” on guitar joined by a spirited choir of delegation back-up singers. Such cheerful playing along with relaxing leisure time inside Quaker House continued throughout the morning while we awaited our van to take us to the airport. At around 10 am, we sadly had to say goodbye to Zoe, a Haverford grad about to embark on an exciting summer internship in Matagalpa, as well as Jose-Antonio and Beverly, two knowledgable and insightful Nicaraguan students who had accompanied us throughout the delegation. Finally, the van arrived and we had to give our parting hugs also to Kelsey and Gabby who stayed behind in Quaker House and would soon begin their respective summer work, Kelsey in Managua with Acahual and Gabby in nearby San Marcos with Los Quinchos.

On the van to the airport, Chloe challenged us with two difficult tasks. The first was to come up with superlatives, which we did with only marginal success. Marissa, we concluded, was most likely to sneak off the airplane and stay in Nicaragua. Abby was the most likely to contribute provocative comments. Gabby, without a doubt, was the most likely to be found applying her makeup in a war-zone. Sienna was most likely to get in a fight with a tropical beast.

The second task, though, was more daunting. Chloe asked us how we would respond to the frightening and inevitable question posed by family and friends upon our return: “How was your trip?” As the delegation was far more complex and challenging than your average summer vacation, we quickly realized that no one response, no matter how thorough, would be satisfactory. I looked back at our travels and saw a fantastic blur. A host of magical people and places came to mind, all equipped with the power to shake the normal American senses. Viciente Padilla with his inspiring story of peaceful resistance and his edenic organic coffee farm; Mama Licha’s remarkable road to establishing an internationally renowned midwifery clinic; the rich forests of Miraflor with fig trees so large that they resembled the “Hometree” from the film Avatar; the many murals which each rivetingly illustrated a piece of social struggle and success; Aldo, aka “The Origami Wizard” and his limitless knowledge of botany. And that was just to name a few. I felt like I had just crammed years of memorable experience into an immensely dense 10 day period. We agreed that the best way to address our family’s unanswerable question was to respond with another request: (in the words of Chloe) “Give me a detailed question and I will give you a detailed answer.”

Apart from our farewell with Carmen (whose unyielding exuberance shined brightly even during sad farewells), all went smoothly and pleasantly in the Managua airport and during our flight to Miami for the seven of us returning home. And yet, for my own part, after getting a taste for the troubling US involvement in Nicaragua, specifically during the Contra War, I felt quite odd about beginning my journey in Sandino’s airport in Managua and ending it in Reagan’s in Washington, DC. I was flying from the national hero responsible for founding Nicaraguan dreams to the national hero responsible for brutally crushing them. In more ways than one, I could not help but feel like I was moving in the wrong direction.

We woke up at around 4:30am on the 6th, packing our things to venture out into the the Estelí madrugada. “Madrugada,” is a wonderful Spanish word that accurately describes the early time of morning when you ask yourself “why on earth am I awake?” as the circles under your eyes lead strangers to wonder why you’re dressing up as a raccoon. Needless to say, I had raccoon circles under my eyes as we pulled up to the station and took a bus that in a previous life had carried school children, to Miraflor. The mist was still hanging in the air when we got off and hiked up a winding dirt road and through a field to arrive at Posada La Soñada where a delicious homemade, organic breakfast awaited us. We spent the rest of the day wandering around the beautiful farm and hiking the various surrounding trails, led by the Estelí origami magician, Aldo.

A previous volunteer had constructed a tree house near the coffee plantation, which we explored first. The house was complete with a bed, porch, and incredible view of the farm and surrounding cloud forest. A few of us entertained the idea of sleeping there for the night as we continued our hike into the cloud forest. Aldo was an excellent guide, telling us about sacuanjoche, or frangipani, the national flower, as well as showing us an enormous matapalo, or strangler fig tree. He led us to a particular matapalo that had killed an enormous tree, leaving a large empty space in the middle. We stepped through the vines and stood in the middle of the tree as he told us about the aggressive nature of the matapalo, as the seedlings grow from the branches of the host tree downwards into the soil, eventually strangling the host. The hike was beautiful, albeit muddy, and after arriving back at the farm, we headed out again to see the waterfall that Aldo had mentioned.

The hike to the waterfall was longer and but definitely worth the time. A few of us went swimming and exploring around the river while others relaxed and enjoyed the view. I’ll admit that the water was pretty cold, but it felt amazing, especially after the hour long hike and muddy trails. The cloud forest was also amazing. Nicaragua is in its rainy season right now, so while it is more muddy and wet, the rain is necessary to support the plant and animal life. It was also really cool to watch the mist roll in in the morning and evening. We learned that during the Sandanista war, the Contras would often plan attacks in the morning or evening, as the mist offered ideal cover for the attacks.

The time we spent at Posada La Soñada was rejuvenating and insightful. It was wonderful to be surrounded by such beautiful naturaleza, yet the beauty was somewhat marred by the region’s history. Estelí and Miraflor in particular, were two places where the war had hit the hardest. Lillian told us about her time spent in Miraflor in the 80′s, telling accounts of the brutality of the U.S. funded war, especially in places like La Soñada. While the country is still healing from its bloody history, that evening the farm seemed sleepy and peaceful as night fell and our conversations were accompanied by the chirping of cicadas.

Mira Flor is known as the cloud forest for a reason. Waking up this morning, we were greeted by the most beautiful fog seeping in through the cabin window. Three horses resting in the field across from us appeared as only shadows because they too were enveloped in clouds. As with most of Nicaragua’s natural beauty that we’ve  witnessed thus far, however, this story-book setting of rolling hills, magical forests, and waterfalls is tinged with the memory of human pain. This same fog which we admire was once used as a war tactic for the contras, as they could more easily attack without being seen in the morning hours when the fog was so dense. Keeping such history in mind as we enjoy our last morning hike, eat a DELICIOUS breakfast, and play with the local 9 month old baby living here in Mira Flor only makes this experience more meaningful.

The majority of our day today involved travel. From Mira Flor to Esteli, this means a bumpy (seriously, bumpy!) two hour bus ride through beautiful country roads. Stopping occasionallyto pick up more people (filling the seats three to a row), we learn that this kind of bus is called a “chicken bus.” Sure enough, a woman sitting near Kaye holds a live chicken in her lap! Riding buses in Nicaragua really is a cultural experience. Clowns, food vendors, and children selling cold drinks are just a few of the interesting people who have hopped on to say hi on the many bus rides we’ve taken during this delegation.

At Esteli, we say goodbye to Jemma and Siena, wishing them luck as they begin their language program at La Gartillo for the next week and we continue on to Managua. From this moment on, the trip slowly starts to wind to an end in my mind. Our group that has been sharing close quarters, laughter, tears, and insight during this trip will be completely separated by tomorrow evening. I’m grateful, however, that the important lessons I’ve gained in better understanding solidarity, as well as the friendships we’ve formed will not be lost. As we shop for local artisan goods and have our nails painted by women trained by the Acahual Women’s Center tonight, I reflect on how blesssed I feel to have experienced bits of  Nicaragua’s historical memory, people, and landscape for the past 10 days with a group of truly wonderful people. Good luck to Siena, Jemma, and everyone else this summer!

Quite a busy day today! After waking up in Esteli, we journeyed to Mama Licha’s midwifery clinic — a beautiful symbol of life and female empowerment. Within a few seconds of meeting this famed woman, we were laughing at the hilarity of her experiences as a teacher who, according to her mother, “didn’t know anything.” Mama Licha challenged herself to become literate and later to become a teacher… and even an expert at cross-stitching. She ignored all taboos of discussion regarding female bodies as she used an avocado to represent a uterus to teach women about STD examinations. Mama Licha kept us laughing through her demonstration, yet also reminded us of her iconic status within this community as an educator who broke through boundaries in order to educate women (and their partners) about health and pregnancy.

After a morning of health education, we ventured to the Gallery of Heroes and Martyrs, a museum especially significant to Esteli as this town was a Sandinista stronghold during the Contra War. Unlike Contras from other cities, Contras from Esteli did not have any sort of reconciliation with their Sandinista residents — in fact, most fled to Honduras. This museum fit into a very important conversation regarding historical memory as the museum’s photographs and illustrations were provided by widows, mothers, and sisters of Sandinista fighters of Esteli. These women have become responsible for maintaining the memory and legacy of these brave fighters; our tour guide, for example, had lost her brother in the Contra War. In a very important way, this experience reminded us as Americans that by traveling to Nicaragua and especially to the Gallery that we are now also responsible for the memory of these soldiers and that when we return to the U.S. we need to tell others what we have seen and experienced. Most significantly, this conflict must not be silenced.

For lunch, we ate at La Casita, a paradise of a park free to the public as well as an organic restaurant serving whole wheat bread, cheese, jam, and fruit juices. The owner reminded us that in persuing our dreams that we must simultaneously follow our hearts. The food was delicious and the mission of the restaurant was beautiful as well.

After lunch, we took a brief stop in a cigar factory across the street from Hotel Luz where we learned about the production of cigars. This factory was relatively small and sold its products to shops in Chicago, a symbol of trade in a globalized economy.

And just when we thought our trip could not get any better… we met Aldo! A true origami wizard as well as expert upon  Nicaraguan nature! Aldo’s eyes sparkled as he presented us with origami design after design, explaining that even though he is very talented that he sometimes cannot afford to go to international origami festivals. After only a short amount of time with him, we saw how Aldo could see the world in such beautiful ways, transforming sometimes disorderly nature into artistic perfection.

Thank you again to the CPGC and ProNica for all of these amazing experiences!

Yesterday during an orientation talk, Carmen, our host here at La Casa Quakera, explained to us a certain type of wisdom that she has found to exist in Nicaragua.

“People here have a special connection with nature. They know the importance of birds. They know the importance of talking to a cow when you are milking her. ”
(Paraphrased)

Indeed, I’ve been learning things here that are just not as accessible in the parts of the United States that I’ve seen. Today was full of lessons on the country’s history as well as current events, and I found myself constantly impressed with the Nicaraguan spirit that these lessons revealed.

For instance, our first stop of the day was to meet a man named Mark (I never did catch his last name) who answered our remaining questions about Nicaragua. He was an American who had lived in Nicaragua since ’85, and an absolutely brilliant speaker. From him, we learned about the relationship between the United States and Nicaragua, as well as other parts of Nicaraguan history. One particularly striking part of his talk was concerning the United States’ method of national security as seen through Nicaraguan eyes. To paraphrase his words, the oppression of Nicaragua occurred because the United States could not stand to risk one tiny country like Nicaragua rebelling against its authority, as the rest of the countries controlled by the US might then decide to rebel as well. The United States, being the modern-day empire that it is, currently holds about 750 military stations around the world–basically, the US seems to be thinking that an intensive offense is the best defense, which may work in soccer or basketball, but makes for highly inhumane decision-making when implemented in foreign military affairs. The way in which the Nicaraguans resisted, though, and fought for the welfare of their poor majority population, was truly inspirational to hear.

After that, we drove over to the Tiscapa Lagoon and Managua’s Historical Center. The view of the Lagoon was gorgeous–hermoso was the appropriate word in Spanish, I was told–and in the midst of the natural scenery were the half-crumbled remains of Anastasio Samosa’s house. The ground we stood on was once walked by one of history’s most bloodstained dictators, and I felt on edge, almost as if there were ghosts looking out from within the ruins themselves. Nearby was erected a large black statue of the silhouette of Sandino; Sandino was killed somewhere in that area, though the exact location of his death is unknown.

After wandering that area for about 20 minutes, Carmen led us down a small stairwell (where a few of us ran into a cool-looking lizard) and into Managua’s Historical Center. The center was filled with huge black-and-white photographs of the faces of Sandino and his family, as well as soldiers of both La Guardia Nacional and of Sandino’s army. That very building in which Sandino’s life was being memorialized was once the office-space of Somosa’s armymen. The tour guide talked us through some of the events that occurred there, including some of the most horrific forms of torture imaginable. Sandino’s words shone brighter for me after learning of the heartlessness that he had been up against; the quotes of his on the walls spoke only of love and justice. We learned of Sandino’s so-called “crazy little army” which was called that because it was an army of 30, at first, which was meant to fight against a force of 5,000. Though poorly fed, clothed, and armed, they did eventually win in the end, as they became a legend that gave courage to future soldiers who would overthrow the Somosas and replace their government with one in the name of the Sandinistas.

Next, we went to a garbage dump called La Chureca. There was certainly trash around, though most of it had already been covered up by grass, and the dump location had been relocated elsewhere. The smell wasn’t pleasant, but people lived there, many of them depending on the garbage as a source of food. Within the dump was an area glowing with children’s laughter–a small food pantry where we got the chance to play with some of the liveliest children I’ve ever met. The little ones loved being picked up and spun around. I think that Gaby said it best as we headed out of La Chureca–”That was good for my soul.”

Finally, we visited the Association for the Promotion and Development of Nicaraguan Women ACAHUAL, where we learned about this particular women’s center in Managua and the incredible work they do for women in Managua. The women they work with come from a variety of backgrounds–some are lesbian or transgender, some are sex workers, and some come seeking psychological help because of domestic abuse. The center is able to not only provide drugs, tests, and condoms for these women, but also has an office for psychological assistance and legal help, and all of these things are given to the women for free if not for a very affordable price. According to the woman who spoke to us, the number of women helped by the center has grown from 30 to 85, and the number of STD tests that come back positive from these women has decreased significantly since the time when the center first began.

In general, this has been a wonderful and inspirational day. Now, I think it’s about time I got some sleep. Who knows what tomorrow will hold!

Tomorrow, a dozen Haverfordians will land in Managua, Nicaragua. While 7 of us (including Professor Kaye Edwards and me) will return to the US for the rest of the summer, 5 current students will remain in the country for another 2 months as CPGC interns in Managua, Matagalpa, San Marcos, and Esteli. Their projects range from youth organizing and women’s health care to organic agriculture. This is our blog.

The preparations for this delegation have been thoughtful and thought-provoking. They have been practicing Spanish, have begun taking their anti-malarial medication, and filled out endless forms with emergency contact information. In addition to our pre-departure orientations, these interns have watched films and documentaries, read articles and books that help them place themselves on a continuum of American-Nicaraguan interactions. They have learned approaches to solidarity from activists Pam Fitzgerald and Paul Dix, who visited campus in April to talk about their new book: nicaraguaphototestimony.org/. They are approaching these next 10 days in Nicaragua as an act of solidarity.

Our 10-day itinerary from ProNica’s Managua office looks wonderful, and I am looking forward to meeting our Nicaraguan program partners so soon.

As part of the “Conversations with the Faculty” program of Haverford’s Customs Week, Kaye Edwards will be talking with first-year students about the ProNica delegation.  Here’s how she describes her session:

This conversation is rooted in my long-standing engagement with public health, community-based learning and social justice, and was catalyzed by a trip I took this June, accompanying six Haverford students on a 10-day delegation through northwestern Nicaragua.   Nicaragua is the second poorest country in the Western hemisphere, with 16% of the population living on less than $1/day, with only 45% of the population having improved sanitation facilities, and with 35 children out of every 1000 live births  dying before the age of 5 (www.who.int/gho/countries/nic.pdf).   Although Nicaragua has been buffeted by hurricanes, earthquakes, wars, and economic exploitation, it is a country graced by natural beauty, rich culture, and resilient spirit.  Our delegation, which was funded by Haverford’s Center for Peace and Global Citizenship,  initiated 8-10 week internships for the six Haverford students who stayed on to work with grassroots organizations in urban barrios and rural communities.  ProNica, a Quaker organization founded in 1987 to build “sustainable cross-cultural relationships between the people of North America and Nicaragua” (www.pronica.org/about/) led our delegation and coordinated the internship placements and home stays with Nicaraguan families.  During our discussion, we will consider how United States foreign policy has impacted the people of Nicaragua, examine demographic data and health indicators to highlight the country’s current challenges and opportunities, as well as explore ways that Haverford students can work in solidarity with Nicaraguans to build healthier and more sustainable communities.