tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-257744412024-02-18T22:55:52.249-07:00Empowerment Internationalgreetings! This is about the our projects in Costa Rica and Nicaragua. As founder and director of a grassroots organization for children called Empowerment International I make frequent trips there.Empowerment Internationalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08950750604539587317noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25774441.post-18629089419871937352008-01-12T10:08:00.001-07:002008-01-12T10:08:38.952-07:00FlickrThis is a test post from <a href="http://www.flickr.com/r/testpost"><img alt="flickr" src="http://www.flickr.com/images/flickr_logo_blog.gif" width="41" height="18" border="0" align="absmiddle" /></a>, a fancy photo sharing thing.<div class="blogger-post-footer">www.empowermentinternational.org</div>Empowerment Internationalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08950750604539587317noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25774441.post-11660713519992590052007-12-29T11:55:00.000-07:002007-12-29T11:56:08.965-07:00A New Year Show<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" bgcolor="#ffffff"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://www.smilebox.com/play/4d6a41794e546b314d413d3d0d0a&campaign=blog_playback_link" target="_blank"><img width="386" height="303" alt="Click to play A+Toast" src="http://www.smilebox.com/snap/4d6a41794e546b314d413d3d0d0a.jpg" style="border: medium none ;"/></a></td></tr><tr><td><a href="http://scrapbooks.smilebox.com" target="_blank"><img width="386" height="46" alt="Create your own scrapbook - Powered by Smilebox" src="http://www.smilebox.com/globalImages/blogInstructions/blogLogoSmileboxSmall.gif" style="border: medium none ;"/></a></td></tr><tr><td align="center"><a href="http://scrapbooks.smilebox.com" target="_blank">Make a scrapbook - it's easy!</a></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="blogger-post-footer">www.empowermentinternational.org</div>Empowerment Internationalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08950750604539587317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25774441.post-29761564022615089802007-12-27T09:52:00.001-07:002007-12-27T09:52:11.349-07:00Phenomenal Photo Stream from NicaraguaEmpowerment International in Nicaragua uses photography to help at-risk youth stay in school and as a creative outlet.<br/><br/><a href='http://blog.joshuaberman.net/07-12/phenomenal-photo-stream-from-nicaragua.html'>read more</a> | <a href='http://digg.com/arts_culture/Phenomenal_Photo_Stream_from_Nicaragua'>digg story</a><div class="blogger-post-footer">www.empowermentinternational.org</div>Empowerment Internationalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08950750604539587317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25774441.post-17955826910618834952007-06-17T20:49:00.000-07:002007-06-17T20:49:41.783-07:00Empowerment International: New Website!<a href="http://empowermentinternationalkathy.blogspot.com/2007/05/new-website.html#links">Empowerment International: New Website!</a><div class="blogger-post-footer">www.empowermentinternational.org</div>Empowerment Internationalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08950750604539587317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25774441.post-46594032270698567832007-05-22T09:28:00.000-07:002007-06-17T20:42:00.274-07:00New 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.<br />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.<br /><br />We've just launched a new website and encourage you to visit us at <a href="http://www.empowermentinternational.org/">http://www.empowermentinternational.org/</a> . 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?"<div class="blogger-post-footer">www.empowermentinternational.org</div>Empowerment Internationalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08950750604539587317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25774441.post-17955245044133942682007-05-21T19:29:00.000-07:002007-06-17T19:32:06.380-07:00Pictures of Josephina<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4HL7W0KCbm3G5MKWgaz12ldeNoFeC1OfQB25nDpJff-pwwr937lkemhF5qjsESmQaRuO4DvkgCnP8jIo_-AHFftNWy_ndeKWCq3NGpaTPF8itv05dV7ak2f8J59vGaiYugx52/s1600-h/marluz3.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4HL7W0KCbm3G5MKWgaz12ldeNoFeC1OfQB25nDpJff-pwwr937lkemhF5qjsESmQaRuO4DvkgCnP8jIo_-AHFftNWy_ndeKWCq3NGpaTPF8itv05dV7ak2f8J59vGaiYugx52/s320/marluz3.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq8vQQFjjbkAA0cypE1lMfEU5dBmP39kHArl_wSsynkLYcSVrRkDalW5ACkgkwag1GwQ4Zsu9SR3T4aIZgs4XmvLsXeGruXmD-0O9ukfhKt_U2HnmhF8Beg67FqfFolD-W3CeZ/s1600-h/fotos_003.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq8vQQFjjbkAA0cypE1lMfEU5dBmP39kHArl_wSsynkLYcSVrRkDalW5ACkgkwag1GwQ4Zsu9SR3T4aIZgs4XmvLsXeGruXmD-0O9ukfhKt_U2HnmhF8Beg67FqfFolD-W3CeZ/s320/fotos_003.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF00nf47ZKY5xJVKjIC9mP8Yxyr4kcRpM0gxnqDDgMhxLDryZn1z2AUOPRTPvqVXGjjqzKd5CEk5gTAVhzpdCxMtI8i9T3ZRV-lt_aDsIFe5YGLvRlQrp_meO_JvlebHveXbvi/s1600-h/marluz4.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF00nf47ZKY5xJVKjIC9mP8Yxyr4kcRpM0gxnqDDgMhxLDryZn1z2AUOPRTPvqVXGjjqzKd5CEk5gTAVhzpdCxMtI8i9T3ZRV-lt_aDsIFe5YGLvRlQrp_meO_JvlebHveXbvi/s320/marluz4.JPG" border="0" /></a> <div style="CLEAR: both"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">www.empowermentinternational.org</div>Empowerment Internationalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08950750604539587317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25774441.post-80595994228089362372007-05-20T18:19:00.000-07:002007-05-20T18:38:23.270-07:00Dreams - A young Nicaraguan girl learns her dreams can come trueIt 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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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!<div class="blogger-post-footer">www.empowermentinternational.org</div>Empowerment Internationalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08950750604539587317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25774441.post-37178461301185127332007-03-25T09:52:00.000-07:002007-05-03T07:53:31.665-07:00Big 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<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin5hhzVSXtZVSiy6mn0TNDCa8uWPuTJv0BP8BWVLeedQR0T-f440LOaQxUaSoZ8XyUDBo37TIuiL3xOvnVDsBRlym7FIWJOB5Nx8uEcROiBmGEjSQuGniDejEh2ZaOGPLjVgYX/s1600-h/KianandFriends.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin5hhzVSXtZVSiy6mn0TNDCa8uWPuTJv0BP8BWVLeedQR0T-f440LOaQxUaSoZ8XyUDBo37TIuiL3xOvnVDsBRlym7FIWJOB5Nx8uEcROiBmGEjSQuGniDejEh2ZaOGPLjVgYX/s320/KianandFriends.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />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<br /><br /><br /><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">www.empowermentinternational.org</div>Empowerment Internationalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08950750604539587317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25774441.post-86401345502550004222007-03-24T21:59:00.000-07:002007-03-24T22:00:58.503-07:00An 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.<br /><br />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.<br />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.<br />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.<br /><br />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.<div class="blogger-post-footer">www.empowermentinternational.org</div>Empowerment Internationalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08950750604539587317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25774441.post-42785545521540583472007-02-17T15:17:00.000-07:002007-03-25T15:20:36.980-07:00More of getting ready in Costa Rica<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFvMgcN3s2tufCuY63V-Hp6T1LVxAsGSsFOx_FrDz5g9Ub4gzXIdiBMOxNHArB22EWvkKRI0Y_TBhfrm9pkQNY3FImz2gyLiFEp-98WMLgrE_NIjcHYefZTyDlMnqKiq30ndgE/s1600-h/P1010542.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFvMgcN3s2tufCuY63V-Hp6T1LVxAsGSsFOx_FrDz5g9Ub4gzXIdiBMOxNHArB22EWvkKRI0Y_TBhfrm9pkQNY3FImz2gyLiFEp-98WMLgrE_NIjcHYefZTyDlMnqKiq30ndgE/s320/P1010542.JPG" border="0" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu1qxf179VstyAxkZS0wgMhHXAWp9UcePB8FF3H-c83z1wKzjcYyKSEXOo6keFR0eOH6zEZpqtoNw87SdCq51p8Uhk23_mqpoDHAjXvBbR95nQBfSJywA_9ZOLbwtd2-h1rzsb/s1600-h/P1010543.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu1qxf179VstyAxkZS0wgMhHXAWp9UcePB8FF3H-c83z1wKzjcYyKSEXOo6keFR0eOH6zEZpqtoNw87SdCq51p8Uhk23_mqpoDHAjXvBbR95nQBfSJywA_9ZOLbwtd2-h1rzsb/s320/P1010543.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Supplies and uniforms needed to be organized and we had a great team to help. Mothers and older students helped readily and happily.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbOg3sXE5J9UQpm7b_0eJMEcWDlbA3ywD_qpjXgr2fwOVAvKHiBMhLJDLPeMXuGHAc7WvSFFGtfLzfAYojUTqvAQPxFx8z2AYpUjy0Y81hS3uZafy7DSiePGoX7rF4pMK0AL05/s1600-h/P1010549.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbOg3sXE5J9UQpm7b_0eJMEcWDlbA3ywD_qpjXgr2fwOVAvKHiBMhLJDLPeMXuGHAc7WvSFFGtfLzfAYojUTqvAQPxFx8z2AYpUjy0Y81hS3uZafy7DSiePGoX7rF4pMK0AL05/s320/P1010549.JPG" border="0" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8RxfhZI8gSYwB_YTOLcH6zD18agvzu6vT5XNXoxkaCYgrTM2X5vugB_ILDOB9vQueNudZXjF4PbNUPLTmpX2R0fo7s-8UMz3SQzlHKCE0TqV0FnvQ7Jph8PSQIUDarbAks8qU/s1600-h/P1010551.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8RxfhZI8gSYwB_YTOLcH6zD18agvzu6vT5XNXoxkaCYgrTM2X5vugB_ILDOB9vQueNudZXjF4PbNUPLTmpX2R0fo7s-8UMz3SQzlHKCE0TqV0FnvQ7Jph8PSQIUDarbAks8qU/s320/P1010551.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Two of our star volunteers, Effrain and Jaqueline (long time participants)<div style="clear: both;"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" alt="Posted by Picasa" style="border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">www.empowermentinternational.org</div>Empowerment Internationalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08950750604539587317noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25774441.post-78381227469147853502007-02-16T15:10:00.000-07:002007-03-25T15:14:48.014-07:00Costa Rica School Preparations 2007Costa 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.<br /> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgR_bwctY8qiZTaDTN9uEqBsW3yAlpxxcfgRKWzqfPXcqmBE-qUH9UWyufe4qJvXpZhwN3xjTN8W-SnYckqk5lz8Uska4sv_sNTnW0wP_dZcMQItcqR-a-okxBdsL2-kUKr9XB/s1600-h/P1300024.JPG"><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgR_bwctY8qiZTaDTN9uEqBsW3yAlpxxcfgRKWzqfPXcqmBE-qUH9UWyufe4qJvXpZhwN3xjTN8W-SnYckqk5lz8Uska4sv_sNTnW0wP_dZcMQItcqR-a-okxBdsL2-kUKr9XB/s320/P1300024.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />Darcy and Anielka checking out uniforms<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoK0EnlPI4we0UtPID1_1KCKrRS8_BEhwdhFlFr-HZs5bmtI8NXQtPe7vPJv5lDjJrrgu_-EbNDHPE5qzENSf7UW5-hTFYHjldzpom85tPsFLBEoChIYpNbN2j7z-_Aj_FXiwL/s1600-h/P1300025.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoK0EnlPI4we0UtPID1_1KCKrRS8_BEhwdhFlFr-HZs5bmtI8NXQtPe7vPJv5lDjJrrgu_-EbNDHPE5qzENSf7UW5-hTFYHjldzpom85tPsFLBEoChIYpNbN2j7z-_Aj_FXiwL/s320/P1300025.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />Owner of the distribution center Bolvi , Edgar, not only gave us a deep discount but gave us some backpacks that were not selling well.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLA7AdGG1PdBn_MIgnPEtgwfK7yjmpXu7F9-E3TgkuuVTEMsOGfAj1sagYIjDpW1Iwz4cabQ2wK431As3Npggv-GZ4-eBtTCyh3iSpgeMGkjlOkwi8ZmJ-hBHUufYQ5oTE5YOw/s1600-h/P1300028.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLA7AdGG1PdBn_MIgnPEtgwfK7yjmpXu7F9-E3TgkuuVTEMsOGfAj1sagYIjDpW1Iwz4cabQ2wK431As3Npggv-GZ4-eBtTCyh3iSpgeMGkjlOkwi8ZmJ-hBHUufYQ5oTE5YOw/s320/P1300028.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />Checking out of the store.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhztX1qYdhyphenhyphenyl-2coJgJ9xk-lkVzH7Oc4mRWO7aPkjxEbbP0eajvof4WVaUDkN7NvSP6PuvdD3VE2PsEW23pGI7-oh5XiBFLa_5BOHpBCYEM4KPYBuF6CiCz532KdsRR8EKA6X9/s1600-h/P1010556.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhztX1qYdhyphenhyphenyl-2coJgJ9xk-lkVzH7Oc4mRWO7aPkjxEbbP0eajvof4WVaUDkN7NvSP6PuvdD3VE2PsEW23pGI7-oh5XiBFLa_5BOHpBCYEM4KPYBuF6CiCz532KdsRR8EKA6X9/s320/P1010556.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />Sea of backpacks<div style="clear: both;"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" alt="Posted by Picasa" style="border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">www.empowermentinternational.org</div>Empowerment Internationalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08950750604539587317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25774441.post-55129262602916945532007-02-05T11:09:00.000-07:002007-03-25T12:51:29.919-07:00Inscription Day - Perspective of EI Supportor<em>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</em><br />___________________________________________________________________<br /><strong>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".</strong><br /><br />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.<br /><br />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. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPaBVYrRSQbdjiz-JSgrrSaDweIILAzt9SNcQGedoGTYbZrvPcYhZURiEyoOX1lvmujFjn0uvoyaVK9G_8O5QjB90s1gT9qH1rQMSF7I2Wqt3s8fy3vb1uWn2G9ZSFhB4BZBol/s1600-h/P1010352.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5045928787293611362" style="WIDTH: 284px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 226px" height="265" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPaBVYrRSQbdjiz-JSgrrSaDweIILAzt9SNcQGedoGTYbZrvPcYhZURiEyoOX1lvmujFjn0uvoyaVK9G_8O5QjB90s1gT9qH1rQMSF7I2Wqt3s8fy3vb1uWn2G9ZSFhB4BZBol/s320/P1010352.JPG" width="286" border="0" /></a><br /><br />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?<br /><br />“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.<br /><br />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. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyMrft__SRUWS7NvIyHTYLpYHHD0xx86LDSb8Tujjl9BjIlJedbphsLWMcS_Iim9qA_ak5xydCoBacXsSnCbDXIJzIMOmNpb-wJFDkirSdrS4gTGgI6qm9qteZmxpjzfmNKQ8L/s1600-h/P1010365.JPG"></a><br /><br />“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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyMrft__SRUWS7NvIyHTYLpYHHD0xx86LDSb8Tujjl9BjIlJedbphsLWMcS_Iim9qA_ak5xydCoBacXsSnCbDXIJzIMOmNpb-wJFDkirSdrS4gTGgI6qm9qteZmxpjzfmNKQ8L/s1600-h/P1010365.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5045928937617466738" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyMrft__SRUWS7NvIyHTYLpYHHD0xx86LDSb8Tujjl9BjIlJedbphsLWMcS_Iim9qA_ak5xydCoBacXsSnCbDXIJzIMOmNpb-wJFDkirSdrS4gTGgI6qm9qteZmxpjzfmNKQ8L/s320/P1010365.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />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.<div class="blogger-post-footer">www.empowermentinternational.org</div>Empowerment Internationalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08950750604539587317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25774441.post-62312873309806376822007-02-02T15:22:00.000-07:002007-04-23T15:30:24.650-07:00Distribution Day!<div style="BACKGROUND: #000; MAX-WIDTH: 511px; MARGIN: 0px auto; LINE-HEIGHT: 0; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><div style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; WIDTH: 100%; PADDING-TOP: 0px; HEIGHT: 341px"><iframe style="WIDTH: 100%; HEIGHT: 100%" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/KathyAAdams/DistributionNicaragua/photo#s5030420617288211874" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></div><a href="http://blogger-templates.blogspot.com/2007/04/picasa-slideshow.html"><img title="Install to your blog" style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: medium none; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; FLOAT: left; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none" alt="Picasa Slideshow" src="http://btemplates.googlepages.com/add.gif" /></a><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com"><img title="Go to Picasa Web Albums" style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: medium none; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; FLOAT: right; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none" alt="Picasa Web Albums" src="http://btemplates.googlepages.com/picasa.png" /></a><a onclick="window.open(this.href,'SlideShow','type=fullWindow,fullscreen,toolbar=no,menubar=no,location=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=no,status=no');return false" href="http://picasaweb.google.com/KathyAAdams/DistributionNicaragua/photo#s5030420617288211874"><img title="View in fullscreen [Press F11]" style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: medium none; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none" alt="Fullscreen" src="http://btemplates.googlepages.com/fullscreen.gif" /></a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">www.empowermentinternational.org</div>Empowerment Internationalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08950750604539587317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25774441.post-29684149643587745092007-01-08T17:10:00.000-07:002007-03-18T23:25:35.311-07:00New Years in Nicaragua<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2i7cUge_-aLsIdG6oLhyphenhyphen2htY57urLD2fhNdl8pAWlJuGYZeTQA3g8TVE_Vnl083IzD33ZnPM-HotDBs527oBfFUwPNqz-2DDNlgIQPPgYG0UsoDCDJC3mjx33lIR4PVyAPGpJ/s1600-h/DSC02638.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2i7cUge_-aLsIdG6oLhyphenhyphen2htY57urLD2fhNdl8pAWlJuGYZeTQA3g8TVE_Vnl083IzD33ZnPM-HotDBs527oBfFUwPNqz-2DDNlgIQPPgYG0UsoDCDJC3mjx33lIR4PVyAPGpJ/s320/DSC02638.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5043517848187434994" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;"> This was my first New Year passing in Nicaragua. It was one I will never forget. Past Dutch volunteers and current Board Adv<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWVMKaJWQfoT4hDHZZutA5DCqfSOZ9iP6q3wAmejOftwmDXJSK3JjVx8U1n6eD1wOKQHC8p5eXshYNQjsogMGWek0rxVCI299IXz14yzBtO2ck-dFwHNX9vAO546UwDTfZOqMc/s1600-h/DSC02595.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWVMKaJWQfoT4hDHZZutA5DCqfSOZ9iP6q3wAmejOftwmDXJSK3JjVx8U1n6eD1wOKQHC8p5eXshYNQjsogMGWek0rxVCI299IXz14yzBtO2ck-dFwHNX9vAO546UwDTfZOqMc/s320/DSC02595.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5020603771601703090" border="0" /></a>isors Leen and Ingeborg were visiting all the way from their current home Congo Africia and it <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-m1J83tUwmTdTvSsCn3y9YxbzTzQrt8bR1e6QE55RDC5AtN1j7xPXZxbki_6-rBr3Tzt9ELlYSiZ1EN5m5Speb4qu4c2eJ4CyI8bRSFDd1L0AwLtCOVIp54WReoB_Te5VmEbm/s1600-h/P1010032-a-50.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 271px; height: 204px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-m1J83tUwmTdTvSsCn3y9YxbzTzQrt8bR1e6QE55RDC5AtN1j7xPXZxbki_6-rBr3Tzt9ELlYSiZ1EN5m5Speb4qu4c2eJ4CyI8bRSFDd1L0AwLtCOVIp54WReoB_Te5VmEbm/s320/P1010032-a-50.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5020607134561095922" border="0" /></a><br />felt like 'old times' with them here.</div> </div>The neat thing about New Years here is it is for kids <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNV4fjJG2yH0277pZUT5bcMJqDMEzT4DRMtGt2bvKL-R315e3ExGizUs5xuT7c0GUR2qeaXZN31UIh2wvXaUnR4FXZ7Y-MjXVpS-1PbJmWe1ZVWQ7sRVg1nwKKlv8sfszrptgw/s1600-h/DSC02599.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNV4fjJG2yH0277pZUT5bcMJqDMEzT4DRMtGt2bvKL-R315e3ExGizUs5xuT7c0GUR2qeaXZN31UIh2wvXaUnR4FXZ7Y-MjXVpS-1PbJmWe1ZVWQ7sRVg1nwKKlv8sfszrptgw/s320/DSC02599.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5020605283430191298" border="0" /></a>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<div style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0e5g30Mm6C2fH-VJz3imP6Xcjw1mZkpZpmefvLfs95A5kagXTi2pFgoSzzgggtLyt07tMvr6eS3qvfnKHKm2jdEzztZNk7wu2mjZWLkfYd3CQM9bdgoAswwE3qQOYzyTp0_Eb/s1600-h/DSC02639.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0e5g30Mm6C2fH-VJz3imP6Xcjw1mZkpZpmefvLfs95A5kagXTi2pFgoSzzgggtLyt07tMvr6eS3qvfnKHKm2jdEzztZNk7wu2mjZWLkfYd3CQM9bdgoAswwE3qQOYzyTp0_Eb/s320/DSC02639.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5020605511063458002" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br />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.<div class="blogger-post-footer">www.empowermentinternational.org</div>Empowerment Internationalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08950750604539587317noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25774441.post-27889578458375325562006-11-20T22:41:00.000-07:002007-03-18T22:56:19.557-07:00Graduations!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 <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7zwnIVDzC_hLXidkWjzyQMIMwt0-gkAcIOQM3BbYZbr2T3kKYGBOjtc65e_zIuH50Js0Ax1lFCEILhaWYKu1y2Sr97BF414T96xFRImmZY-OTdfqor0Z6c7duJW4_dt6WB124/s1600-h/collage.jpg"><img style="width: 365px; height: 274px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7zwnIVDzC_hLXidkWjzyQMIMwt0-gkAcIOQM3BbYZbr2T3kKYGBOjtc65e_zIuH50Js0Ax1lFCEILhaWYKu1y2Sr97BF414T96xFRImmZY-OTdfqor0Z6c7duJW4_dt6WB124/s400/collage.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" border="0" /></a>many costs and while for us they are not much, for parents it is often difficult to find the funds.<br /><br />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. :-) <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR8dXdYudc0WgNEjQXkTgiV1yjOtw7xO-5_rQ009jg41q5dRbE92QtvfFtbC-98QPXHZ8lsaR8Wrlp-_s-yMKeljrLWDKevwJU6CMpOl_Kyn7vo5NssVUo80mJm1DD4ddQAwFt/s1600-h/collage2.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR8dXdYudc0WgNEjQXkTgiV1yjOtw7xO-5_rQ009jg41q5dRbE92QtvfFtbC-98QPXHZ8lsaR8Wrlp-_s-yMKeljrLWDKevwJU6CMpOl_Kyn7vo5NssVUo80mJm1DD4ddQAwFt/s400/collage2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuQbjBD3AC25IgQ57-Tyb8AWlznmPJqxHOW1SeKV_nPfS7AI9swmj5W6-wFwJEBEsUvhrk8r8P_d2pG2RTEFkPDPVJKLRZbgYCZieIyhrNRxLJ1UktFv5QfpmBcgRSzKdCTgVP/s1600-h/collage1.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuQbjBD3AC25IgQ57-Tyb8AWlznmPJqxHOW1SeKV_nPfS7AI9swmj5W6-wFwJEBEsUvhrk8r8P_d2pG2RTEFkPDPVJKLRZbgYCZieIyhrNRxLJ1UktFv5QfpmBcgRSzKdCTgVP/s400/collage1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" border="0" /></a> <div style="clear: both;"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" alt="Posted by Picasa" style="border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">www.empowermentinternational.org</div>Empowerment Internationalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08950750604539587317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25774441.post-1145174262923141492006-02-06T00:59:00.000-07:002007-01-16T05:35:38.227-07:00Nicaragua February 2006 - A day in a life of a young Nicaraguan girl<span style="font-weight: bold;">February 5, 2006</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/Saar-Nica-MM-2006-12.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/320/Saar-Nica-MM-2006-12.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a href="http://www.bobsaar.com/">Bob </a>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 <span style="font-style: italic;">extremely</span> 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.<br /></div><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/Saar-Nica-MM-2006-05.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/320/Saar-Nica-MM-2006-05.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br /></span> <div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-style: italic;">The road to Maria's house.</span></div><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/Saar-Nica-MM-2006-13.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/320/Saar-Nica-MM-2006-13.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Maria </span><span style="font-style: italic;">and four of her </span><span style="font-style: italic;">siblings</span></div> <span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/Saar-Nica-MM-2006-20.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/320/Saar-Nica-MM-2006-20.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Maria on her walk to get chilli peppers</span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/Saar-Nica-MM-2006-21.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/320/Saar-Nica-MM-2006-21.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Maria picking the peppers.<br /></span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/Saar-Nica-MM-2006-30.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/320/Saar-Nica-MM-2006-30.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Maria getting </span><span style="font-style: italic;">her school uniform off the clothes line.</span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/Saar-Nica-MM-2006-14.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/320/Saar-Nica-MM-2006-14.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Maria and her brother.</span><div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/Saar-Nica-MM-2006-26.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/320/Saar-Nica-MM-2006-26.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br /><br /></span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />Maria's lit</span><span style="font-style: italic;">tle sister getting a bucket bath.</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/Saar-Nica-MM-2006-18.0.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/320/Saar-Nica-MM-2006-18.0.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br /><br /></span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br /><br /></span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">While H</span><span style="font-style: italic;">er </span><span style="font-style: italic;">mother cooks lunch Maria get's ready for school, as well as her brother and sister.<br /></span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/Saar-Nica-MM-2006-34.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/320/Saar-Nica-MM-2006-34.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Maria gets ready for school</span><span style="font-style: italic;">.<br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/Saar-Nica-MM-2006-35.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/320/Saar-Nica-MM-2006-35.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/Saar-Nica-MM-2006-36.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/320/Saar-Nica-MM-2006-36.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br /></span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br /></span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />She eats her lunch<br /><br /></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/Saar-Nica-MM-2006-40.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/320/Saar-Nica-MM-2006-40.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/Saar-Nica-MM-2006-44.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/320/Saar-Nica-MM-2006-44.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Then off to school!<br /><br /><br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/Saar-Nica-MM-2006-51.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/320/Saar-Nica-MM-2006-51.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br /></span><br /></div> </div><div class="blogger-post-footer">www.empowermentinternational.org</div>Empowerment Internationalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08950750604539587317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25774441.post-1145082340768121592006-02-03T22:00:00.000-07:002006-10-20T14:51:45.197-07:00February 2006 - Impromtu Fiesta!<span style="font-weight: bold;">February 2, 2006</span><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">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.<br /><br />I met Maria Jose (see left as a street kid) over<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/P1010695.0.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/200/P1010695.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a> several trips to Granada. She was always somewhere in the city selling something and we seemed to constantly meet up. She<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/P1010658.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/200/P1010658.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a> 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 <span style="font-style: italic;">Yo Puedo</span> for street kids regularly so I asked if she wanted to got to real school. She said 'yes'!!!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/DSCN2026.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/200/DSCN2026.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />So we went to see her <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/DSCN2038.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/200/DSCN2038.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>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.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/P1010830.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/200/P1010830.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>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. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/DSCN2084.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/200/DSCN2084.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>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<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/P1010824.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/200/P1010824.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a> backers (donors and volunteers).<br /><br />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<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/DSCN2090.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/200/DSCN2090.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a> 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!</div><div class="blogger-post-footer">www.empowermentinternational.org</div>Empowerment Internationalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08950750604539587317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25774441.post-1145032954491502672006-02-01T10:27:00.000-07:002006-10-20T14:51:45.095-07:00February 2006 - Nicaragua In The BarrioFebruary 1, 2006<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/DSC06501.0.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/200/DSC06501.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/DSC06514.0.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/200/DSC06514.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>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<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/DSC06520.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/200/DSC06520.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a> 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<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/DSC06477.1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/200/DSC06477.0.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a> and people etc. Anielka's favorite English comment (she is learning English now) was "Come on Bob!" with the most endearing <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/DSC06516.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/200/DSC06516.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/Alexander1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/200/Alexander1.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>tone.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/DSC06537.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/200/DSC06537.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><div class="blogger-post-footer">www.empowermentinternational.org</div>Empowerment Internationalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08950750604539587317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25774441.post-1144985302100953462006-01-31T20:56:00.000-07:002006-10-20T14:51:45.032-07:00January/February 2006 School Visit<span style="font-weight: bold;">January 31, 2006</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/DSCN1939.1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/200/DSCN1939.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Bob, Tom, Anielka and I went to visit one<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/DSCN1947.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/200/DSCN1947.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a> of the best schools in Granada where about 50% of our kids go. The school is amazing and hard to believe it exisits in Nicaragua. There is a computer lab, library, free lunch and much more. We are trying to encourage more of our kids to go to this school if it is close enough <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/P1010742.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/200/P1010742.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>to their homes. Some of you may ask, okay, if there is already a<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/DSCN1971.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/200/DSCN1971.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a> school, what does <a href="http://www.empowermentinternational.org">EI</a> do? Well, we help impoverished children who do not have the money to afford the manatory uniforms shoes books etc attend school and teach them and their families the value of sending them to school vs. sending them on the street to work. Now, I will let the pictures to do the talking!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/P1010745.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/200/P1010745.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/DSCN1975.0.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/200/DSCN1975.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/DSCN1881-a.0.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/200/DSCN1881-a.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/DSC06592.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/200/DSC06592.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/P1010734.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/200/P1010734.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/P1010747.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/200/P1010747.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span><div class="blogger-post-footer">www.empowermentinternational.org</div>Empowerment Internationalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08950750604539587317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25774441.post-1144906050359808392006-01-30T23:12:00.000-07:002006-10-20T14:51:44.964-07:00Villa Esperanza Distribution 2006 - Part 2After the performances Rosanna and her team handed out the backpacks. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/161%20-%20789896-R1-01-25A.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/200/161%20-%20789896-R1-01-25A.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/177%20-%20789896-R1-17-9A.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/200/177%20-%20789896-R1-17-9A.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />I was thrilled to get a chance to say hello to several of the kids and catch up and play.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/P1010631.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/200/P1010631.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/197%20-%20Saar-Nica-1-29-06-barrio%20%2813%29.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/200/197%20-%20Saar-Nica-1-29-06-barrio%20%2813%29.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Bob and Tom seemed to have a blast getting to know them as well!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/P1010614.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/200/P1010614.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/tom2.0.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/200/tom2.0.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The kids were having a blast in general too!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/152%20-%20222222-R1-18-8A.0.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/200/152%20-%20222222-R1-18-8A.0.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/146%20-%20222222-R1-12-14A.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/200/146%20-%20222222-R1-12-14A.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><div class="blogger-post-footer">www.empowermentinternational.org</div>Empowerment Internationalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08950750604539587317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25774441.post-1144735492212519482006-01-29T21:09:00.000-07:002006-10-20T14:51:44.900-07:00Villa Esperanza Distribution 2006-Part 1<div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div> <span style="font-weight: bold;">January 29th, 2006</span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/P1010564.1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/200/P1010564.0.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>This was a very busy day from the get go! Aneilka (our only employee) and Jude our wonderful volunteer from England worked very hard to get all the uniforms and shoes sorted and packed in plastic bags so life would be easier for the next step. I need to pause and mention that this year not only were our shoes hand made by a local shoemaker, but our uniforms were made by folks from the same barrio we serve, Villa Esperanza. So, we still had 174 pacs to fill! Wow! The team worked very hard and were running late for our scheduled arrival to the barrio. A wonderful man, named Peder from Holland, helped us transport the packs in his oversized LandRover. It was PACKED with packs!<br /><br />The rest of us walked to the barrio. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/144%20-%20222222-R1-10-16A.0.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/200/144%20-%20222222-R1-10-16A.0.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Much to my awe and surprise when we arrived there were well over 300 people assembled in and around Ana's (a parent volunteer) yard. Balloons were placed over an archway that invited us in. A large sign said "Bienvenidos Katy y sus Amigos" (Welcome Kathy and your friends) . Carefully placed were an exact number of plastic chairs for each of us in front of what was to be a performance stage. There we<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/Saar-Nica-1-29-06-barrio%20%284%29.0.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/200/Saar-Nica-1-29-06-barrio%20%284%29.0.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>re urgings for me to enter, I felt nervous. I paused, took a deep breath and finally entered. Tears welled up. Goosebumps formed all over my body in the 95 degree heat as I walked to the 'stage' area and clapping began. I like to help with all my heart, and really feel the best gift I get in return is seeing the children go to school. Somehow this was almost too much for me, the community showing appreciation for the work we do touched me so deeply.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/P1010575.0.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/200/P1010575.0.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a> Young girls dressed in traditional dresses performed traditional dances, beaming shy smiles at myself and friends. My chills remained (really) as more children recited poetry and sang songs. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/P1010572.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/200/P1010572.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Then a speech was ma<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/DSC06313.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/200/DSC06313.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>de by Ana and then I made one thanking them all and the staff and volunteers and Give a Kid a Backpack for making this a reality. In all my years of service with EI, this was the most amazing moment do date.</div><div class="blogger-post-footer">www.empowermentinternational.org</div>Empowerment Internationalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08950750604539587317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25774441.post-1144724470222393222006-01-28T20:35:00.000-07:002006-10-20T14:51:44.828-07:00January/February 2006 Granada Nicaragua<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/P1010423.0.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/200/P1010423.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">January 28, 2006</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"> <div style="text-align: justify;"> </div> Amazingly we all scattered from Costa Rica via various modes of transportation with the plan of regrouping in Granada that afternoon and evening. Bob via Tica Bus, Give a Kid a Back pack via Taca airline, and myself who went with Tom (remember him?) via Nature<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/P1010099.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/200/P1010099.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a> Air . The flight to Granada was stunning yet very bumpy. The most amazing thing occurred during it and stayed wiht us for about 15 minutes! A rainbow BELOW us! As many are, Tom was a bit concerned about the safety of Nicaragua. The war has been over for 20 years. All I see there is peace. I tried to explain to Tom we are about to enter another world. Dangerous Nicaragua is not, while the stigma holds, it is actually more peaceful than Costa Rica. Nicaragua for me is PURE. Untouched still by tourism (but that is going a bit crazy too). Granada is like entering a world many years back except for the few cars on the cobblestone streets you would<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/P1010074.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/200/P1010074.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/P1010107.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/200/P1010107.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a> never know what century you were in! And reality is, it is the oldest colonialized city in the Americas, settled in 1524 by the Spaniards. Then I explained that the 'barrio' <span style="font-style: italic;">Villa de Esperanza</span>, where we worked, was about a 20 minute walk from the main city and that most people that visit Granada rarely see that side of it.<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><br /></div><br /><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">www.empowermentinternational.org</div>Empowerment Internationalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08950750604539587317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25774441.post-1144719288569282572006-01-27T19:07:00.000-07:002006-10-20T14:51:44.758-07:00Costa Rica Jan 2006 Fiesta and Distribution!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/096%20-%20789898-R1-25-22A.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/320/096%20-%20789898-R1-25-22A.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">January 27, 2006</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The day came quickly to distribute everything! While there were a few glitches, such a Winn getting his bags stuck in customs, we managed to pull everything off JUST IN TIME! Carrying 2 carloads of school supplies and another with 2 pinatas we arrived at the pasture with 110 kids eagerly waiting! We decided, let's play first! The kids pulled together a really sweet presentation of a song and dance for our collaborators <a href="http://givekidsbackpacks.com">Give a Kid a Back Pack Foundation.</a> Later we 'did' the pinatas. Let me tell you, they are quite interesting and I am still not sure who imagined the<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/DSC06102.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/320/DSC06102.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a> concept of teaching children to hit an animal full of candy with a stick, blindfolding the child who hits<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/011%20-%20789898-R1-11-8A.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/320/011%20-%20789898-R1-11-8A.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>the animal, with tons of other kids eagerly standing hear the blindfolded kid with the stick, then all the kids dive in once it is broken while the poor blindfolded kid has no idea he broke it open until the candy is gone! :-) Later once the pinata chaos was over the children sat<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/095%20-%20Saar-Costa-1-29-06-precario%20%284%29.0.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/320/095%20-%20Saar-Costa-1-29-06-precario%20%284%29.0.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a> very nicely in a circle and wait<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/032%20-%20Saar-Costa-1-29-06-precario%20%2813%29.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/320/032%20-%20Saar-Costa-1-29-06-precario%20%2813%29.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>ed for their names to be called to receive their new school supplies. Rosanna Kingston Director of Give a Kid a Backpack passed out the packs.<br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Below are Amy and Winn two top notch volunteers Rosanna brought with her!<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/016%20-%20789898-R1-21-18A.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/320/016%20-%20789898-R1-21-18A.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/003%20-%20010_16A.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/320/003%20-%20010_16A.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />And a few more random shots....<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/030%20-%20Saar-Costa-1-29-06-precario%20%2811%29.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/320/030%20-%20Saar-Costa-1-29-06-precario%20%2811%29.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/031%20-%20Saar-Costa-1-29-06-precario%20%2812%29.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/320/031%20-%20Saar-Costa-1-29-06-precario%20%2812%29.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><div class="blogger-post-footer">www.empowermentinternational.org</div>Empowerment Internationalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08950750604539587317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25774441.post-1144705421180947602006-01-26T15:29:00.000-07:002006-10-20T14:51:44.397-07:00January 2006 Costa Rica - Random Photos<span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span><br />I am posting some photos that sort of speak for themselves.<br /><br />Below....the front of the Precario<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/mercedes%20in%20front%20of%20barrio.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/320/mercedes%20in%20front%20of%20barrio.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/blues1.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/320/blues1.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />Where the kids play...a pasture adjacent to their homes. They jump the little barbed wire fence to get i . It is also where we have events sometimes.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/DSC05746.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/320/DSC05746.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/playing%20in%20the%20field.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/320/playing%20in%20the%20field.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />More everyday life....<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/010%20-%20789898-R1-08-5A.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/320/010%20-%20789898-R1-08-5A.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/108%20-%20789898-R1-03-0A.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/320/108%20-%20789898-R1-03-0A.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/054%20-%20022_2A.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/320/054%20-%20022_2A.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/DSC05634.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/320/DSC05634.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/everyday%20life%20I.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/320/everyday%20life%20I.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Marilyn is another of my/our long term kids....and a great one at that!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/Marilin%20and%20Kathy.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/320/Marilin%20and%20Kathy.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><div class="blogger-post-footer">www.empowermentinternational.org</div>Empowerment Internationalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08950750604539587317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25774441.post-1144700865584589242006-01-25T14:21:00.000-07:002006-10-20T14:51:44.322-07:00January 2006 Costa Rica - Erika and Pinatas<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/Erika%20and%20Kathy.0.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/200/Erika%20and%20Kathy.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Erika Santamaria is a special girl from a special family. She is from the third family I started working with so far the most successfull. Her mother Roxcinia has been assisting EI for several years now. Erika has wanted to be a doctor since I have known her (since 1998). Bob was looking for someone to do a feature story on and I thought she would be a great candidate. We took her out to dinner and he interviewed her for his <a href="http://www.empowermentinternational.org/library/BobArticle1.pdf">second article</a> on EI.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/Santamaria%20family.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/200/Santamaria%20family.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Santamaria Family at home<br /></span></span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">This year we were honored to have <a href="http://www.givebackpacks.com">Give a Kid a Backpack </a>foundation give us an in-kind grant of backpacks and school supplies which typically we provide along with the mandatory uniforms and shoes. In order to prepare for their arrival we purchased 2 pinatas to use for a party in their honor. Bob and I took a young helper, Efrain, with us to select the candy and pinatas . He also got his first shot at shooting video. Bob wanted a kids persepective on a candy store. By the way Efrain had NEVER seen such a store. A definite first for him! When I told him to start filling bags with candy his eyes just about popped out of his head!<br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/kid%20in%20candy%20stor.0.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/200/kid%20in%20candy%20stor.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/1600/pinatas.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2433/2697/200/pinatas.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><div class="blogger-post-footer">www.empowermentinternational.org</div>Empowerment Internationalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08950750604539587317noreply@blogger.com0