Twice a week the beats of Danza Kuduro can be heard
throughout Cedro Galan. The sounds may
be mistaken for a filming of a latin music video, but in fact it’s our Women’s
Exercise class. Two hours a week four PDs (Hannah, Robin, Kiely and Julia)
teach a fun, energetic work out to the powerful women of Cedro Galan. Although the age separates the women, their
goal unifies them. In a routine where
caring for children and putting food on the table three times a day is what is
expected, giving women a sense of empowerment and free time is a valuable. Due to the imposing theme of machismo in
Nicaragua, women are rarely allowed to leave the house and do something they
enjoy for themselves. In addition to
this, women are often subordinated and made to feel worthless through either
emotional or physical abuse. Our program
tries to combat these issues through our exercise classes and self-esteem
charlas given by our psychologist.
We have gotten to know each woman personally through the
class and it is amazing to see them open up more each week and find a new sense
of ease in completing each exercise we give them. In each hour we do a warm up, cardio,
weights, abdominal exercises, yoga. Each
class we try to add something fun, Danza Kuduro and The Wobble are our personal
favorites. We often end the class with
free dance so the women have a chance to express themselves and release their
stress. The women always come in with a
huge smile on their face and always have new ideas to make the class even
better. Here is a picture of the women
in exercise action:
The other component of the program is to provide empowering
charlas to help women overcome issues machismo in the household. Through knowledge of women’s rights laws in
the country as well as understanding their self worth are very important to
combat inferiority complex present in this community. Our psychologist, Elisabeth, has come twice
to discuss self-esteem and healthy communication within relationships. The women responded very positively to both
charlas and really connected to Elisabeth.
We are very excited to continue growing and improving this
program. We hope to start a nutrition
class to supplement the exercise class to educate the women on how to lead a
healthy lifestyle. In the past there
have also been cooking classes which we hope to start back up again as
well. This program has so many
directions to improve, and we know with the overwhelming support from the women
we will be able to make a great impact in the community!
(Written by Hannah Peterson)
