June 17, 2007
May 22, 2007
New Website!
This marks our 9th year working within communities in Nicaragua and Costa Rica where we currently have enrolled more 300 at risk youth and street children in schools and have worked in depth with their families and communities to reinforce the educational efforts of each child.
In this time, we have learned much about the people, the cultures, the politics and the barriers to education and community development in this part of the world. We believe the stories of the kids, families and those of our staff and volunteers provide an interesting perspective -- a very different view of the world we all live in.
We've just launched a new website and encourage you to visit us at http://www.empowermentinternational.org/ . Our new website is an on-going initiative to bring these perspectives to light, to share the heart-warming and heart-wrenching stories and to explore the questions "why?" and "why not?"
In this time, we have learned much about the people, the cultures, the politics and the barriers to education and community development in this part of the world. We believe the stories of the kids, families and those of our staff and volunteers provide an interesting perspective -- a very different view of the world we all live in.
We've just launched a new website and encourage you to visit us at http://www.empowermentinternational.org/ . Our new website is an on-going initiative to bring these perspectives to light, to share the heart-warming and heart-wrenching stories and to explore the questions "why?" and "why not?"
May 21, 2007
May 20, 2007
Dreams - A young Nicaraguan girl learns her dreams can come true
It is amazing how much we take schooling for granted in developed nations. I can recall often not really ‘wanting’ to go to school each morning but ‘having’ to attend. It’s not that I was a bad student by any means, actually I was an excellent one, but I think I truly took school for granted like so many others in the world. It was not until my adult life, while living in Central America, that I realized that for many children outside my country, attending public school is often a privilege not a right.
For Josephina (name changed for privacy), school is something she takes quite seriously, despite her many responsibilities that to an outsider would seem more appropriate for a 30-year-old woman than a 14-year-old girl. Josephina seized the opportunity to return to school when in January 2006 Empowerment International announced openings in the program.
Each morning she awakens to the roosters crowing at 5:30 AM. Hopping out of bed onto the earthen floor in her tent-like home made of plastic (like heavy garbage bags), she bathes in the traditional Nica fashion (a “bucket bath”), and dons her pristinely washed uniform and perfectly polished black shoes before walking 2 miles on a muddy path to attend the morning shift of classes from 7 AM to noon at one of Granada’s best public schools, Padre Pablo Antonio Estella.
After classes are dismissed at noon, she travels another 2 miles (further from her home) to the market to purchase supplies so her mother can start on a batch of plantain chips or enchiladas to sell. Josephina has lunch, does her chores and some homework, before going out to sell the food her mother has prepared. She and her sister work from 3 PM to 6:30 PM each afternoon in the streets of Granada. In the evening, she eats dinner then finishes any pending chores and homework before heading to bed. This working family team is common in Nicaragua, especially in the countryside. This family earns about US$40 a month.
In 2006, Josephina was able to return to school with the assistance of EI. It was that year that she began to realize that her future holds many possibilities, far beyond street sales. At the end of the school year in 2006, she announced that she wanted to be a doctor to help all of the poor people that were sick get well. This year she has discovered she has other talents as well while competing in the Mathematic Olympics Competition. Although she took the exam with the best students of each area school, Josephina reported that she was not nervous because she had studied so hard. When the results were announced, the ecstatic Josephina was called for second place. She received a banner with the colors of Nicaragua (blue and white) that stated “Academic Excellence 2007” along with a certificate. With this success, she is now also considering computer engineering as a potential profession.
Josephina is grateful to Empowerment International which has provided her the opportunity to discover her potential in school, motivated her to continue working hard in school, allowing her to become a better student and person each day. Her mother feels very grateful to all the people that make Empowerment International possible because she says that she could not afford to send her daughter to school without their help. She is also extremely proud of her daughter. And so are we at Empowerment International!
For Josephina (name changed for privacy), school is something she takes quite seriously, despite her many responsibilities that to an outsider would seem more appropriate for a 30-year-old woman than a 14-year-old girl. Josephina seized the opportunity to return to school when in January 2006 Empowerment International announced openings in the program.
Each morning she awakens to the roosters crowing at 5:30 AM. Hopping out of bed onto the earthen floor in her tent-like home made of plastic (like heavy garbage bags), she bathes in the traditional Nica fashion (a “bucket bath”), and dons her pristinely washed uniform and perfectly polished black shoes before walking 2 miles on a muddy path to attend the morning shift of classes from 7 AM to noon at one of Granada’s best public schools, Padre Pablo Antonio Estella.
After classes are dismissed at noon, she travels another 2 miles (further from her home) to the market to purchase supplies so her mother can start on a batch of plantain chips or enchiladas to sell. Josephina has lunch, does her chores and some homework, before going out to sell the food her mother has prepared. She and her sister work from 3 PM to 6:30 PM each afternoon in the streets of Granada. In the evening, she eats dinner then finishes any pending chores and homework before heading to bed. This working family team is common in Nicaragua, especially in the countryside. This family earns about US$40 a month.
In 2006, Josephina was able to return to school with the assistance of EI. It was that year that she began to realize that her future holds many possibilities, far beyond street sales. At the end of the school year in 2006, she announced that she wanted to be a doctor to help all of the poor people that were sick get well. This year she has discovered she has other talents as well while competing in the Mathematic Olympics Competition. Although she took the exam with the best students of each area school, Josephina reported that she was not nervous because she had studied so hard. When the results were announced, the ecstatic Josephina was called for second place. She received a banner with the colors of Nicaragua (blue and white) that stated “Academic Excellence 2007” along with a certificate. With this success, she is now also considering computer engineering as a potential profession.
Josephina is grateful to Empowerment International which has provided her the opportunity to discover her potential in school, motivated her to continue working hard in school, allowing her to become a better student and person each day. Her mother feels very grateful to all the people that make Empowerment International possible because she says that she could not afford to send her daughter to school without their help. She is also extremely proud of her daughter. And so are we at Empowerment International!
March 25, 2007
Big Hearts come in all ages and sizes....
What a surprise for us to find out a young boy (age 10), Kian from California chose to help us put a child to school after he visited Nicaragua. Below is his picture and his story. Thank you Kian for your big heart! We look forward to seeing you in Nicaragua someday soon! - Kathy
My name is Kian (2nd from left) and I am 10 years old. My family visited Nicaragua last January and I loved it there. When I got home I decided that I would like to help a Nicaraguan boy my own age have an education and be able to play on a sports team. I decided to have a bake sale and invited a couple friends to join me. We sold mostly cupcakes and brownies I looked at many organizations but chose Empowerment International. It seemed like it had a very personal feeling and the money I earned could do so much! I can't wait to be in touch with my new friend . Author - Kian
My name is Kian (2nd from left) and I am 10 years old. My family visited Nicaragua last January and I loved it there. When I got home I decided that I would like to help a Nicaraguan boy my own age have an education and be able to play on a sports team. I decided to have a bake sale and invited a couple friends to join me. We sold mostly cupcakes and brownies I looked at many organizations but chose Empowerment International. It seemed like it had a very personal feeling and the money I earned could do so much! I can't wait to be in touch with my new friend . Author - Kian
March 24, 2007
An Amazing Year! (From EI's Newsletter)
There have been so many changes since the beginning of 2006! Empowerment International and the communities it serves have moved forward in every way. Amazingly the increase of parental meeting and event participation rose from 35% to 98%. We now have active local and community volunteers as well as our amazing international volunteers. We continue to grow our partnerships with other organizations to leverage our combined resources. With a wonderful collaborative effort from our ground team in Central America (Dan Boyer, Kevin Boxer, Anielka Gutierrez, Marshall McCormick, Kelly Meeks, and Darcy Phillips) and the program participants (the children and their families), Empowerment International’s program is something we believe our donors and supporters can truly be proud of. Our program has continued to shape itself into something much more powerful than just providing scholarships.
Over this past year, we have witnessed a revolution in the interest of the children and their parents in school and education. There is a shared passion for education and the opportunity it brings. It is wonderful to walk through Villa Esperanza and see children outside their homes with their school books studying, often with their older siblings and parents sitting with them and participating. Children will often proudly run up to volunteers and visitors to show them their notebooks and exams.
The parents often will stop a volunteer or staff member to share concerns and questions. In the past year, we have learned techniques and processes for fostering this passion, interest, and investment in the future of the participants in the community. We feel we are getting closer to establishing a true community-maintained program in Villa Esperanza which will allow us to dedicate our personnel resources to other needy communities.
The gains this year have been due in large part to the dedication of our program volunteers. These volunteers have given three months to over one year of their time (and often over 40 hours a week) and their passion and dedication shines through in all they do. Along with the increased community participation, they have also built an infrastructure, such as a web-based database with participant information and a streamlined Sponsor a Child program that can be readily scaled as we expand to other communities. In addition, we have an annual Nicaragua Adventure Tour which all donors and interested supporters of EI are invited to attend. In the United States, our Board and volunteer staff continues to grow as does their dedication to the program, amidst their busy lives.
I am very excited about 2007 as we look toward continuing to refine our program to meet the needs of these communities and start the process of creating a reproducible program for another location in Nicaragua. I would like to thank each and every one of you for your ongoing support and belief in us and, most importantly, in the future of the children of Costa Rica and Nicaragua.
Over this past year, we have witnessed a revolution in the interest of the children and their parents in school and education. There is a shared passion for education and the opportunity it brings. It is wonderful to walk through Villa Esperanza and see children outside their homes with their school books studying, often with their older siblings and parents sitting with them and participating. Children will often proudly run up to volunteers and visitors to show them their notebooks and exams.
The parents often will stop a volunteer or staff member to share concerns and questions. In the past year, we have learned techniques and processes for fostering this passion, interest, and investment in the future of the participants in the community. We feel we are getting closer to establishing a true community-maintained program in Villa Esperanza which will allow us to dedicate our personnel resources to other needy communities.
The gains this year have been due in large part to the dedication of our program volunteers. These volunteers have given three months to over one year of their time (and often over 40 hours a week) and their passion and dedication shines through in all they do. Along with the increased community participation, they have also built an infrastructure, such as a web-based database with participant information and a streamlined Sponsor a Child program that can be readily scaled as we expand to other communities. In addition, we have an annual Nicaragua Adventure Tour which all donors and interested supporters of EI are invited to attend. In the United States, our Board and volunteer staff continues to grow as does their dedication to the program, amidst their busy lives.
I am very excited about 2007 as we look toward continuing to refine our program to meet the needs of these communities and start the process of creating a reproducible program for another location in Nicaragua. I would like to thank each and every one of you for your ongoing support and belief in us and, most importantly, in the future of the children of Costa Rica and Nicaragua.
February 17, 2007
More of getting ready in Costa Rica
Supplies and uniforms needed to be organized and we had a great team to help. Mothers and older students helped readily and happily.
Two of our star volunteers, Effrain and Jaqueline (long time participants)
February 16, 2007
Costa Rica School Preparations 2007
Costa Rica was a week of very intense hard work...and well worth it. Darcy, Anielka and I took the 12 hour bus journey to Costa Rica from Granada and visited, sized, purchased and distributed materials for 94 kids that have remained in our program.
Darcy and Anielka checking out uniforms
Owner of the distribution center Bolvi , Edgar, not only gave us a deep discount but gave us some backpacks that were not selling well.
Checking out of the store.
Sea of backpacks
Darcy and Anielka checking out uniforms
Owner of the distribution center Bolvi , Edgar, not only gave us a deep discount but gave us some backpacks that were not selling well.
Checking out of the store.
Sea of backpacks
February 5, 2007
Inscription Day - Perspective of EI Supportor
In January, Sheila McAuliffe and her husband Bob Bechtel from Denver Colorado came to visit Granada and had an a couple of opportunities to experience Empowerment International on the ground level. Below is an article about inscription day written by her. -Kathy
___________________________________________________________________
In spring of 2006 I learned of Empowerment International (E.I.). Their efforts in Nicaragua and Costa Rica to provide essential uniforms and school materials, tutor kids at home, and counsel parents to focus on the long-term payoff of keeping their children in school fit my dream for Nicaraguan children. This story is about my experience helping with "Empowerment International's Inscription Day".
Today, I get to help with registering children from Villa Esperanza in Empowerment International’s 2007 school year program. Kathy and I walk to the school where the E.I. staff is calmly finishing the final touches on organization for the big day. Half of nearly two hundred children will register today, the other half tomorrow. The walled-in school compound takes me back to the American School of Guadalajara, Mexico where I taught thirty years ago.
I am assigned, along with Kathy and three others, to interview the children and help them write letters to donors. The interview template looks straight forward. I think I understand the Spanish. We open for business and greet the parents and children who arrive at our door. I introduce myself to a very small boy and his mother and ask his name. He stares wide-eyed. His mother nudges to tell his name. Finally, she says it for him.
The room fills with children’s voices. Everyone seems to be talking. Everyone but my little boy. I ask if he has brothers or sisters, if he has a pet, what he likes to play. With each question, he smiles wider. His eyes are big with wonder. He looks at me as if I’m a rare bird. I wonder, does he understand me? I know how different Nica Spanish sounds to my Mexican trained ears. How must I sound to him?
“I’m sorry my Spanish isn’t better,” I tell him and his mother. She says she can understand, but this is his first time. He’s beginning school this year. I try to speak slowly and clearly, shrink closer to him and make my smile as big as the one he shares. I compliment him for being big and brave. Finally, with much prodding from Mom, we finish. Once finished, he’s as hesitant to leave my table as he was to speak. Through the morning I interview other kids, returning students who are quick to respond and enjoy telling about themselves. I enjoy them all, but my little first-timer is something special. The first-timers are so brave as they make the first steps into the new world of school.
Midday Yoaska, her sister, and two friends come to register. The young ladies with rod-straight posture and thick shining hair are striking in their immaculate jeans and tops with wide eyes and quick smiles. They offer to stay and help interview other students when they finish. Yoaska answers the last interview question and asks why there is a blank space at the bottom of the page.
“So the volunteers can translate the Spanish into English for the donors,” I answer. She sees a chance to practice the English she’s learning and starts translating her interview. When she gets hung up on something, I help. In no time she finishes.
I’m taken aback to see how much English she’s learned and we show her work to Kathy. After a hug of congratulation, Kathy grins and hands Yoaska a stack of interview forms. Yoaska motions for my help. We work through letter after letter. With each one, she grows more confident. When the English does not match the Spanish grammar, she wants to know why. I do my best to explain. She is so driven to learn and succeed, she frowns with impatience when I take a bathroom break or stand to stretch. At the end of the day, she hands Kathy a thick stack of letters she has completed. Delighted with herself, she gives me a big hug.
Yoaska’s mother has waited for her all afternoon. When I note how bright Yoaska is, how much English she knows, her mom sits tall and gracefully accepts the praise, smiling into her daughter’s eyes.
I walk back to the center of town tired but happy. I’ve been among the parents, children, volunteers, Anielka and Kathy for just two days, but I’ve seen how well they work together. The E.I. staff offers support and holds high expectations and the children respond to meet these expectations. As one who has spent nearly thirty years working with teachers and schoolchildren, it is a pure pleasure to see a program that works so well and accomplishes so much to better the lives of these children, their families, and the community.
___________________________________________________________________
In spring of 2006 I learned of Empowerment International (E.I.). Their efforts in Nicaragua and Costa Rica to provide essential uniforms and school materials, tutor kids at home, and counsel parents to focus on the long-term payoff of keeping their children in school fit my dream for Nicaraguan children. This story is about my experience helping with "Empowerment International's Inscription Day".
Today, I get to help with registering children from Villa Esperanza in Empowerment International’s 2007 school year program. Kathy and I walk to the school where the E.I. staff is calmly finishing the final touches on organization for the big day. Half of nearly two hundred children will register today, the other half tomorrow. The walled-in school compound takes me back to the American School of Guadalajara, Mexico where I taught thirty years ago.
I am assigned, along with Kathy and three others, to interview the children and help them write letters to donors. The interview template looks straight forward. I think I understand the Spanish. We open for business and greet the parents and children who arrive at our door. I introduce myself to a very small boy and his mother and ask his name. He stares wide-eyed. His mother nudges to tell his name. Finally, she says it for him.
The room fills with children’s voices. Everyone seems to be talking. Everyone but my little boy. I ask if he has brothers or sisters, if he has a pet, what he likes to play. With each question, he smiles wider. His eyes are big with wonder. He looks at me as if I’m a rare bird. I wonder, does he understand me? I know how different Nica Spanish sounds to my Mexican trained ears. How must I sound to him?
“I’m sorry my Spanish isn’t better,” I tell him and his mother. She says she can understand, but this is his first time. He’s beginning school this year. I try to speak slowly and clearly, shrink closer to him and make my smile as big as the one he shares. I compliment him for being big and brave. Finally, with much prodding from Mom, we finish. Once finished, he’s as hesitant to leave my table as he was to speak. Through the morning I interview other kids, returning students who are quick to respond and enjoy telling about themselves. I enjoy them all, but my little first-timer is something special. The first-timers are so brave as they make the first steps into the new world of school.
Midday Yoaska, her sister, and two friends come to register. The young ladies with rod-straight posture and thick shining hair are striking in their immaculate jeans and tops with wide eyes and quick smiles. They offer to stay and help interview other students when they finish. Yoaska answers the last interview question and asks why there is a blank space at the bottom of the page.
“So the volunteers can translate the Spanish into English for the donors,” I answer. She sees a chance to practice the English she’s learning and starts translating her interview. When she gets hung up on something, I help. In no time she finishes.
I’m taken aback to see how much English she’s learned and we show her work to Kathy. After a hug of congratulation, Kathy grins and hands Yoaska a stack of interview forms. Yoaska motions for my help. We work through letter after letter. With each one, she grows more confident. When the English does not match the Spanish grammar, she wants to know why. I do my best to explain. She is so driven to learn and succeed, she frowns with impatience when I take a bathroom break or stand to stretch. At the end of the day, she hands Kathy a thick stack of letters she has completed. Delighted with herself, she gives me a big hug.
Yoaska’s mother has waited for her all afternoon. When I note how bright Yoaska is, how much English she knows, her mom sits tall and gracefully accepts the praise, smiling into her daughter’s eyes.
I walk back to the center of town tired but happy. I’ve been among the parents, children, volunteers, Anielka and Kathy for just two days, but I’ve seen how well they work together. The E.I. staff offers support and holds high expectations and the children respond to meet these expectations. As one who has spent nearly thirty years working with teachers and schoolchildren, it is a pure pleasure to see a program that works so well and accomplishes so much to better the lives of these children, their families, and the community.
February 2, 2007
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