Nicaragua: El Taller de Emprendimiento

Hello, internet, and happy Wednesday!  My apologies for the delay in updating.  Between organizing workshops, going on retreat, and the cold I had last week, I’ve been a bit busy.  But I definitely want to tell you all about how the project has been going.  So, then, ¡adelante!

The first workshop in the Entrepreneurship Workshop was last Wednesday, he 24^th.  Overall, I think it went really well.  The women really seemed to enjoy it, and they all participated in the activities and discussions.  Unfortunately, though rather unsurprisingly, the workshop was too short to be able to go as in-depth as the participants would have liked.  The curriculum used for this event was adapted from a 9-week-long course on small business plans, so I can’t say I’m that surprised that there wasn’t time to fit all the information in.  The good news is, though, that tanks to the generosity of those of you who donated to the project, we have enough funds to plan a second session of the workshop, which will take place on August 13.  So once again, I am so grateful for your generosity, and that it has given us the flexibility to adjust the project to meet the needs of the participants.

Given the abbreviated nature of the content, last week’s workshop endedu p focusing mostly on self-evaluation, cultivating an entrepreneurial attitude, and being creative in identifying business opportunities.  The morning started with a quick name game as an icebreaker.  They then did an acrostic activity in which, for each letter of their name, they identified a personal strength that they possessed.  Next was a similar activity called “¿Quién soy yo?”, or “Who am I?”, where they wrote a short paragraph describing themselves, what they do, what skills they have, what they are good at, what their personal goals and dreams are, etc.  A few of them then shared what they had written.  I think this exercise was really great because, as I have mentioned, a lot of the women and teen girls participating in the workshop have experienced physical or psychological abuse.  So I think having an activity in which they thought about what they are good at, and how they can use those skills to create things and start projects and help their families was really good for boosting their self-esteem and self-confidence.

Some of the participants filling out the acrostic activity.

Filling out the "¿Quién soy yo?" excercise.

Anyeri, my host mom's sister (does that make her my host aunt?) sharing her "¿Quién soy yo?" paragraph

Martita, the Director of Casa de la Mujer, then talked a bit about entrepreneurial attitudes, or the kinds of character traits and personal habits it takes to be a successful entrepreneur.  The traits were the following: 1) have self-confidence; 2) search for and take advantage of opportunities; 3) search for information; 4) create support networks; 5) set goals and objectives; 6) assume moderate risk; 7) plan and control systematically; 8) fulfill the work that has been contracted; 9) be persistent; and 10) demand efficiency and quality.

The list of entrepreneurial qualities.

 After lunch, they did a brainstorming activity to spur creativity in thinking of business ideas.  They broke into groups, and each group received a collage of magazine photos.  They each had to think up as many business ideas as they could that had to do with those images.  The point of the exercise was to think outside the box.  A photo of a fruit drink, for example, doesn’t just suggest a restaurant or a bar.  It also suggests the artisan who made the glass, the farmer who grew the fruit, the travel agent who books vacations, and so on.

Working on the collage activity.

A couple of the groups working on the collage activity.

Some of the participants sharing the business ideas they came up with.

 All the collages and the lists of business ideas.

Martita, the Director, demonstrating all the business ideas that can come out of one image.

In the follow up session in two weeks, they will get more into the methodology of making business plans and budgets and such.  I actually think that the way things worked out makes a lot of sense.  They’ll start out with the more abstract, motivational workshop about entrepreneurship and their own capacity to be entrepreneurs.  They will then attend the skills workshops, and actually get an idea of how long it takes and how much it costs to make the products.  They will then return to the business side, and be able to factor in the experience of making the products into their business plans.

The jewelry workshop was also last week, but I also wanted to share a few quick stories from the retreat, so I’ll give you updates about making jewelry soon (and it really will be soon, I promise). 

We—two of the other interns and Alex, the Program Coordinator—started the retreat on Saturday, the 20^th with a stop in Masaya to visit the artisan market, where I bought a few gifts, as well as a pair of sandals for myself.  We then went to the Laguna del Apoyo, a lagoon outside of Masaya, and spent that evening and much of the next day swimming and relaxing there.  The water was really lovely, and the lagoon was really beautiful.  Below are a couple of pictures, but they really don’t do it justice. 

On Sunday afternoon, we met up with a brigade of volunteers who had come to work with FSD for two weeks building ovens in Las Salinas.  With them, we went to Granada, checked into our hotel, and had pizza for dinner.  I like most of the food I’ve eaten here in Nicaragua, but let me tell you, that pizza really hit the spot after five weeks of beans and rice for a good 80% of my meals.  The pizza even had olives and artichoke hearts … sigh, so good.  On Monday morning, the other interns, Alex, and I went to a museum in an old convent that had a lot of Nicaraguan art, including some indigenous pieces. 

The view of the volcano Mombacho and the Cathedral from the back patio of the museum.

We ate leftover pizza for lunch, and headed back shortly afterward.  We actually didn’t see too much of Granada, but after frantically writing grants and planning workshops and buying supplies, it was quite nice to take a bit of a break and just relax.

Anyway, as I said, I’ll have an update on the jewelry workshops pronto.  And Friday is the pastry workshop, so I am quite looking forward to sharing how that goes.  Thanks again for reading and for your generosity, and I hope you all have wonderful day!  

Nicaragua: Encuentros y Ferias

Hello, all!  Once again, apologies for my silence here on the blog these last several days.  As mentioned, I have been super busy writing a grant proposal.  (And then, due to an unforeseen bus breakdown, I got stranded in Las Salinas on Thursday night, so although I wrote this blog post a few days ago, I am just now getting the chance to revise and publish it.)  But as of Monday, the proposal is turned in, and I can resume business as usual.  It was a lot of work getting all the pieces of the proposal together, and I am perfectly aware that we might not win it.  But in any case, writing it was definitely a great learning experience for me.  Moreover, I think that all the analyzing and planning we had to do in order to write the proposal made the project better than it would have been if we had just jumped straight to the funding campaign.

Speaking of the funding campaign, I want to thank you all so very much for your generous donations to the project! The campaign ended on Thursday, and thanks to all of you, we have raised $644—more than double what we need to cover all the expenses of the workshops!  This means that even if we don’t win the grant, we will have more than enough funds to cover all the necessary expenses, plus extras to expand the program, purchase starting materials for the participants to get their new businesses off the ground, and plan follow-up events to keep the momentum going after I head back to the U.S.  I am so extremely grateful to all of you who have donated and who have spread the word about the project.

Anyway, enough about fundraising.  I wasn’t writing grants 100% of the time these two weeks, and I have some stories I’d like to share.

On Monday, July 8, we held a gathering, or an encuentro, of the promotoras (the women of the network of Women’s Rights Defenders, which was established in 2012 by the intern who came before me) in Las Salinas.  The purpose of the encuentro was to allow the promotoras to share their experiences with their activist and education endeavors in their respective communities, allow them to express any ongoing needs, and get their input on the workshop series we are planning.

Attending the encuentro was boy a lovely and a heartbreaking experience for me.  Some of the women there have experienced really terrible abuse or exploitation at the hands of their husbands, their employers, or others in their community.  They spoke about the prevalence of violence against women, and how when children grow up in a household where women are abused, they often come to accept that abuse as the normal way of things, rather than something that can and should be changed.  They spoke about how women who are abused verbally and psychologically often tend to internalize the degrading messages they hear and come to believe that they are of little or no value.  Some then shared personal stories of abuse they had suffered (which for confidentiality I will not repeat here).

My heart broke to hear these stories.  But there was also a great deal of hope shared too. The women spoke about how much they had benefited from the trainings on women’s rights, and the difference that information had made in their own lives and the lives of their families.  They spoke about how they had taken ownership of their rights and had come to believe that not only did they deserve better, they were also protected under the law and had the right to expect the fulfillment of that protection.  They spoke about their obligation to be examples to their communities: if they wanted other women to come to understand their rights, they, the promotoras, must live their own lives, and teach their children to live their lives, in a way that affirms, rather than degrades, the dignity, value, and rights of women.  I saw in these women such a hunger to learn, to grow, and to work for the good their families and their communities.

The promotoras discussing their work during the encuentro.

Here is a picture of the group of promotoras (and me; I am, obviously, the fair-skinned one on the left).  These women amaze me, and they shatter any stereotypical expectations anyone might have about the poor, helpless Nicaraguans who need saving.  They might not have access to the resources or the education that many U.S. Americans have, but they have so much passion, initiative, and resourcefulness.   

There was another notable event this past week I wanted to tell you all about.  Last Sunday, July 14, Sarah, another FSD intern who started before I came, helped host a community fair in the neighboring community of Nancimí.  She worked with the clinic there, so the fair started as a health fare—representatives from the clinic where there to do free HIV testing and give consultations.  But the event expanded to include people from all over the community.  There were a few teen girls selling their handmade crafts, lots of vendors selling delicious food, a local natural medicine group, and a man selling beautiful handmade jewelry boxes.  A group from Casa de la Mujer also came and put on a skit about AIDS and machismo, a group of young girls did a few dances, and a local boys’ soccer team played a game against the team from Rivas.  I walked over with my hosts sisters in the morning (about an hour-long walk though really lovely countryside) and spend most of the day there, eating, watching the presentations, and just sitting and enjoying the community atmosphere.

The park in Nancimí all decked out for the fair.

Anyeri, who is my host mom's sister, Sarah's host mom, and the head of the community fair committee, introducing the fair and welcoming all the guests.

Don Clemente, the man I mentioned who makes the beautiful intricate jewelry boxes.  This photo doesn't do justice to the detail.

A drumline--ah, memories of marching band.

Vendors preparing and selling tacos and enchiladas (though Nicaraguan tacos and enchiladas are rather different from Mexican tacos and enchiladas).

Vendors selling handmade flowers, jewelry, and paintings.

The boys' soccer game. 

This entry has been rather lengthy, so hopefully you all enjoyed all the stories.  As of yesterday, I have exactly one month left in Nicaragua, meaning I am past the half-way point.  It simultaneously feels like I’ve been here for ages, and like the time has flown.  In these remaining weeks, I’m really looking forward to going forward with the project and continuing to build relationships with my host family and my larger host community.  Also, today I am off to Granada for a mid-internship retreat, so I’m also looking forward to relaxing a little and getting to do a little sightseeing.

Thanks again to those who donated to the project, and thanks for reading.  ¡Que se cuiden!

Nicaragua: A chance to help!

Hello, friends!  I bring you this special Friday update to let you all know about an opportunity to get personally involved in the work I’m doing down here in Nicaragua.

As I have mentioned, I am helping Casa de la Mujer plan and implement a workshop series on entrepreneurship.  The series will begin with a workshop on starting and managing a small business.  The participants will then divide into two groups, one that will learn to make jewelry and one that will learn to make a few different pastries.  Casa de la Mujer will provide the participants advice and support in the coming months in the hopes that they will use these skills to start a small commercial enterprise.  The series will then conclude with a workshop about Law 779, The Comprehensive Law against Violence towards Women, such that the women living in these communities may better know their legal rights and the resources that exist to help them should they suffer any sort of abuse.

As I have also mentioned, I have been in the process of writing a grant to secure funding for this event.  However, the grant application with FSD is a competition, meaning that it is not certain that I will receive funding.  Even if I do an excellent job writing the grant proposal, another intern here or at another FSD site might have an even better idea.  So in order to be sure that my project is funded, I am also launching an online fundraising campaign.

The funds we need to raise will cover the materials for the workshops (notebooks, paper, beads, thread, flour, sugar, etc.), fees for some of the instructors, and refreshments for the participants (which is very important in Nicaraguan culture; it's expected that if you are hosting an all-day event, you will serve food.  Hospitality, from what I have experienced of their culture, is a big cultural value). If we do not win the grant, this campaign will ensure that we can still carry out this project.  In the event that I do win the grant (or if you all are super generous and we exceed our goal), we will be able to expand the program and make it even better—opening it up to more participants, purchasing starting materials for the women to use as the initial boost in launching their businesses, and expanding the follow-up activities that Casa de la Mujer will carry out after I leave.

This is where you come in!  If you are interested in my work down here in Tola and if you are able to help out, I would love it if you could chip in a little bit to help empower the women on this community.  Our current fundraising goal is $350, meaning that if only 20 people chipped in just $20, we would easily exceed our goal.

The deadline to donate is this coming Thursday, July 18--meaning we have only one week to meet our goal!

If you are interested in donating, please click the following link for more information:

http://www.fsdinternational.org/donate/projects/christina

I would really love it if you could help out in getting this project funded.  The women whom I have met through Casa de la Mujer’s network of Women’s Rights Promoters are all such amazing, dedicated, and strong people, and I really hope that my work here can be of assistance to them in expanding their efforts in the communities of Tola.

Best wishes to all, and thanks in advance for your generosity!

Nicaragua: Algunas fotos

Hello, internet.  My apologies for the silence this week.  It has mostly been spent writing a grant proposal for the workshop series we are planning--a process that is interesting for me as a learning experience, but not such interesting blog material.  I do have some interesting stories to share with you--we had a gathering yesterday of all the women in the network of Women's Rights Promoters, and I spent the night last night in the neighboring town of Nancimi to get to know that community a bit--but I'm feeling a bit frantic with the grant, as it is due Friday.  Meaning you shall probably have to wait until next weekend for a proper update.

So in the meantime, to tide you over, here are a few photos of Tola, the town where I live.  I hope you enjoy, and more updates to come soon!  ¡Abrazos!

The park in the center of Tola.  I love the pastel colors with which it's painted.

The Catholic church, also in the center of town, across the street from the park.

The main street of Tola.  You can see some of the pulperías, which is what they call the little grocery/convenience stores where they buy food and necessities.  (And for my Spanish speaking friends, no it's not a store that sells octopus; that was what I originally thought, and my host sisters thought that was hilarious when I asked them about it.)

FSD's office in Tola.

The Nazarene church my host family attends.