La RAAN
Posted by Ashley Hagaman on February 7, 2010
Two weeks ago Rachel and I traveled to a city called Siuna to learn more about the work Salud Sin Limite is doing in La RAAN. La RAAN, the North Atlantic Autonomous region, has a fascinating history full of the detrimental influences of colonialism (the Atlantic coast was colonized by England, whereas the Pacific coast was colonized by Spain), conflict between indigenous and non-indigenous groups, a strong presence of Sandinistas (though it seems like everyone in Ortega's Nicaragua is a Sandinista...or at least they say they are), and the extraction of natural resources by foreign interests in spite of laws against such practice (Costa Rica, Canada, and our very own U.S. of A. seem to circumvent their own stringent environmental laws by extracting resources from the Bosawas reserve, where laws exist, but aren't well enforced).
This video explains a little more about Siuna and the work of Salud Sin Limite. Frazzled by the sound of the arriving plane behind me and trying to translate from Spanish (¨jovenes promotores¨) to English, I left out some statistics and information that may help put things in perspective:
- Siuna has a total population of around 80,000 people (20% of whom live in the one main city and 80% in the surrounding 140 rural communities). The one private ambulance you see for a moment in the video is meant to attend to this entire population.
- Salud Sin Limite´s main project is working with both urban and rural primary and secondary students to train them as health promoters for their communities. The health promoters share the knowledge they learn from health ¨tecnicos¨ with children and parents in their community and sometimes travel to other communities to train new health promoters. The current theme of the health promoters ¨charlas¨, or health talks, is sexual health and reproductive rights.
- The health promoters of the urban center of Siuna have also been developing health-focused radionovelas. Check out their program on Sunday at 2pm central time here!
This country is not my playground
Posted by Rachel Berkowitz on February 4, 2010
During our time in Nicaragua, I have been encouraged by many of the relationships that I have observed between dedicated foreign workers and their equally dedicated Nicaraguan counter-parts (of our recent meetings, Salud Sin Limite, JHC-CDCA, and Fabretto Children‘s Foundation seem to be good examples). These and other organizations seem to work with the same sense of "pragmatic solidarity" with which GlobeMed chapters hope to work in their own partnerships.
In some cases, however, the focus of foreign workers seems to be solely on the projects and ideas of the foreign workers, with little or no attention being paid by the foreign workers to the long-term impact of their projects on the communities or the continuation of those projects after the foreign workers have left. The experience and goals of the foreign worker seem to be elevated to a level of ultimate importance.
As we continue to meet organizations that may partner with one of our new GlobeMed chapters (establishing a new transnational relationship), these observations bring up lots of questions. What is the effect of the presence of foreign workers? How can one work most responsibly and productively in an international setting? What sort of collaboration is truly best and most effective for doing "good work" - direct presence/staff, hands-off fund contribution, or other hybrid forms (like GlobeMed's approach, which includes the potential for fundraising, collaborative resource generation, and direct on-site work)? What climate is ideal for any of these types of involvement? When do foreign workers do more harm then good, and what are the implications of their actions for future foreign workers? How can one truly work in "pragmatic solidarity"?
Though my conclusions continue to form and evolve as we meet different people, the one sentiment that has continued to reverberate in my mind is this: this country is not my playground. That reverberation has manifested itself for me in poem form. If you do not wish to read my attempt at free form poetry, do not read further. But please, PLEASE comment. I would love to continue grappling with your thoughts as well as my own.
This country is not my playground
It is not for me to frolic about
‘Experiencing' amazing things
With no regard for my status
As a visitor. As a guest.
This country is not my playground
I may not hug the ‘precious' children
Without considering how their hunger, their sickness
Is related to my presence
Affected by the history that follows my person
And is considered by everyone
As I walk by.
This country is not my playground
It is not for me to leap forward
Guns blazing
Ready to tackle the "issues"
As clearly only I can
Without stopping to see
All the "issue"-tackling that is already occurring
By those far more qualified to do so
By those who know their communities
Whose passion and work is far more awe-inspiring
Than anything I could possibly do
I am privileged to listen, to learn, to hope
That by working hand-in-hand with those
Whose work will continue long after I am gone
I can add-on, I can support, and I can develop
A relationship born out of mutually-held ideas and values,
Encased in a sense of solidarity.
And if we play, we must play together
To learn each others' games
For this country is not my playground.
- Rachel Berkowitz
GlobeMed stands with Haiti
Posted by Jon on January 29, 2010
GlobeMed students at Northwestern University and Rhodes College have emailed and met with their university presidents to coordinate meaningful responses. GlobeMed students at Barnard College have been working with their student government to educate students on the underlying causes of the disaster. GlobeMed students at University of Colorado-Boulder organized other student groups to plan fundraising events for Partners In Health's work in Haiti.
In addition, dedicated student volunteers at the GlobeMed National Office have been advising students at universities where GlobeMed chapters are not present on how to coordinate efforts and mobilize their campuses to support Partners In Health.
Please consider supporting the work of Partners In Health through:
- Donating to PIH
- Creating a fundraising page for yourself, your university, or your organization
- Emailing students@pih.org for advising and guidance on hosting events and supporting the work of PIH
We´re moving to Nagarote!
Posted by Hannah Robbins on January 26, 2010
After spending a relaxing weekend in the colonial town of Leon (formally the liberal capital of Nicaragua) and attending a very sweaty mass in the largest cathedral in Central America, we traveled on a repossessed yellow school bus to the cleanest city in Nicaragua: Nagarote. Nationally known for its quesillos, of which we were culinarily underwhelmed, Nagarote is a pleasantly walkable city where people sit on their porches and enjoy the cool night breeze. It´s a place where, as people pass each other on the street, instead of saying ´´hello´´ they say ´´goodbye´´ (You say goodbye, I say hello). The people we met there seem immensely proud of their city. Jose Angel, the local librarian and notorious chatterbox, detained us for 30 minutes describing the important sites in Nagarote and showing us the programs and resources of the library itself. He neglected to mention the permanent sidewalk art, which immortalizes the images of Mickey Mouse, Porky Pig, and the Chrysler symbol in front of the city´s largest church.
The organizations and people we met were very inspiring. Ramon, from Norwalk-Nagarote Sister City Project took us under his wing showing us the ropes of Sister City´s youth programs. We were introduced to Javier and his organic farming initiative as well as an unidentified, very friendly marsupial. We had a rousing discussion about social movements, gender roles and the power of student voices with Yeroslavi and Evelyn from Inti-Pachamama. Over pasta and a Nica chicken tamale we debated feminism and double standards with Roberto Jr, the owner of the hostel where we stayed. And we learned about the scope of MinSa´s (Ministerio de Salud) health structure in Nagarote from Angelica Blanco and Silvia at the local clinica.
We beat the heat by playing our harmonicas late into the night—much to the chagrin of the hostel dogs (see video here). We were sad to return to Managua, but are excited for this week´s meetings and next week´s trip to La RAAN.
Abrazote!
