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)

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

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
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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.

Distribution Day!

New Years in Nicaragua

This was my first New Year passing in Nicaragua. It was one I will never forget. Past Dutch volunteers and current Board Advisors Leen and Ingeborg were visiting all the way from their current home Congo Africia and it
felt like 'old times' with them here.

The neat thing about New Years here is it is for kids just as much as adults. In the daytime on the day before it is common to have pinatas for the kids. At night the kids participate in the festivities as well since New Years is a family event

The Pinatas were pretty tuff and we called in experts like volunteer Darcy to help break it open.Children chanted "Darcy! Darcy! Darcy! " As she strongly swung pole.

Graduations!

I was told a story about a Nicaraguan lady who was in her 60ies. To this day she sadly recalls when she was a child that while she was able to attend school, she will never forget that she was not able to participate in the graduation cerimonies. In Nicaragua, these ceremonies come with many costs and while for us they are not much, for parents it is often difficult to find the funds.

November was a month of several graduations for our program participants and we are pleased they were all able to attend. I think you can see they were too. :-)

Nicaragua February 2006 - A day in a life of a young Nicaraguan girl

February 5, 2006

Bob wanted to film a "day in a life of Maria Magdelena" and while he focused mostly on the video portion, he took some still shots and some are here. Maria, is a quiet and reserved young of lady of the age of 8 and has 7 siblings. She attends the 2nd grade in school and hopes to be a teacher when she grows up. When she gets up in the morning she helps her mother by going out and picking chilli peppers which her mother sells in the afternoon while the children are in school (kids go for only half a day in Nicaragua). The walk is long to find these peppers and the amount of money her mother makes is extremely low. Maria also helps with household chores since her mother is on her own (no father in the picture). They live in a house made of plastic and it amazes me how they manage to keep the kids so clean, especially for school.

The road to Maria's house.

Maria and four of her siblings

Maria on her walk to get chilli peppers





















Maria picking the peppers.

Maria getting her school uniform off the clothes line.
















Maria and her brother.

Maria's little sister getting a bucket bath.


















While Her mother cooks lunch Maria get's ready for school, as well as her brother and sister.


















Maria gets ready for school.



































She eats her lunch





































Then off to school!

February 2006 - Impromtu Fiesta!

February 2, 2006

Today Maria Jose's grandmother came to pick up her school supplies as well as Maria's Jose's sister's. Maria is an special case of ours since she is located outside of the barrio Villa Esperanza where we are currently concentrating.

I met Maria Jose (see left as a street kid) over several trips to Granada. She was always somewhere in the city selling something and we seemed to constantly meet up. She and I became friends. Last year, in January 2005, I was in Granada helping to procure all the supplies for school and I ran into Maria Jose at the market where we were purchasing uniforms . She came in and asked what I was doing and I told her. She looked sad. I knew she was attending my friend Donna Tabor's school Yo Puedo for street kids regularly so I asked if she wanted to got to real school. She said 'yes'!!!

So we went to see her Grandmother who was her guardian and she agreed to allow Maria Jose to go as well as her sister Maria Luisa. Well, we had a change of staff over the year, and due to her location, we almost 'lost' Maria Jose. Anielka set off various days with Jude armed with a picture of Maria Jose and finally found her. It turns out she and her sister finished the year with utmost success, pride, and joy.


Well today, when the Maria's Grandmother came, she took me and grabbed me with so much joy and love. Tears welled up AND openly steamed down her face as she shared her gratefulness and pride. Her girls were doing so well in school AND she decide to take them off the streets to make me proud. We sat down and talked and we laughed and cried and laughed and cried. Never have I felt so much gratitude....well it at least compared to the crowd of 300 and the party the barrio threw for us. The grandmother said I was an angel from God. Well, I would not be that angel without all my angel backers (donors and volunteers).

I really wanted to see the girls so I invited them all for a dinner at the house that evening. The next thing I knew we started inviting everyone. Peder from another organization, Carita de Feliz, our renter Amara, other local friends and of course all of the staff and volunteers. It was a blast! Dancing, legos, the girls proudly reading to me, yummy local food, laughter, joy and love.Several said it was the best party they ever attended! I must agree!

February 2006 - Nicaragua In The Barrio

February 1, 2006

Today is Tom's last day in Nicaragua. We went to the barrio to visit families and Anielka had interviews to do for our new Sponsor a Child Program. Tom found some young boys playing baseball, which is the national sport of Nicaragua, unlike the rest of Central America where it is soccer. He found one star player Louis and had blast with him. So now I invite you for a visual trip thru the barrio. One thing I have neglected to mention was Bob had thevideo camera on us constantly, sometimes right in our face. Anielka and I at times were very uncomfortable and gave him a hard time. (Alex when you edit this you will see some funny things!) The other thing is it was so difficult to get Tom and Bob to 'move on' as we walked. Seemed they kept getting distracted by things and people etc. Anielka's favorite English comment (she is learning English now) was "Come on Bob!" with the most endearing tone.