Celebrations

The month of December has been a sweet, sweet time to be involved in the lives of our community members. December brings graduations from elementary and secondary school, communions at the catholic churches, Purisima (kinda like a mixture of caroling and trick-or-treating), and of course, a little Christmas celebrating. We feel so lucky to be invited to these personal and familial events and it's been a great glimpse into the Nicaraguan culture. We are all leaving for Christmas break this weekend, so the events almost seem like a great way to celebrate and reflect on the past 5 months that we've spent here. We love this time of year!

The PD Experience

This is an excerpt from a post that one of our PDs, Kiely, wrote about her experience as a Nicaragua PD thus far. If you're interested in applying for the 2013-2014 PD team, click here!

"I have been a Program Director for four months now. It took me one month to learn how to make the 'tostonés,' or fried plantains, on my own at home so I could basically eat fried deliciousness whenever I wanted. It took me two months to feel as though I had solid friendships in the communities where we work. It took me three months to feel as though I could understand a full conversation in Spanish (which was at a zero percent comprehension-level when I arrived) and four months to feel as though I am now fully at home in my beautiful surroundings. To be a Program Director for Manna means allowing yourself to be swept up in an energetic, excitingly new pace of life. While I joke about the arbitrary benchmarks of my experience, after living in Nicaragua for four months I can say with certainty that I am getting exactly what I wanted out of my choice to become a Program Director. I have learned to actively create or expand new programs, teach classes alongside other PD’s and how to make the necessary decisions about what our community programs may need to become more sustainable in the future. My personal development with Manna thus far was brought home for me today in Chureca with the U.S. Ambassador to Nicaragua as we chatted about our experiences as long-term Manna P.D.’s: 'Thank you,' she said to us all after our discussion, 'for being such great ambassadors, yourselves'."

Day in the Life of a NICA PD!

Check out this video that one of our Program Directors made about a day in the life of a Program Director. Click here to apply to be a PD for 2013-2014!

La Chureca

Hi all!

Please take a few minutes to watch this video that one of our PDs, Hannah, made about our work in La Chureca. It's a good inside look at what life is like there. Keep in mind, it's never advisable to film there out of respect for our friends who live there, so a lot of the footage was taken from the car.

If you're interested in applying to be a PD next year or a Summer Intern this year, please click here! The next deadline is December 1.

Men's Health Class at Colegio Chiquilistagua

I'm very excited to introduce our newest program for Manna Project Nica... Men's Health! This class came about 8 months after the Sexual and Reproductive Health class for girls at Colegio Chiquilistagua was started. SRH has a class of 11-13 year olds on Wednesday, and a class of 14-16 year old girls on Thursday. During these times, the boys in these classes would have an hour for extra recess! Seeing that this was a great opportunity to provide for the boys, JJ, Jamison and Javier decided to start a complementary Men's Health class. It's just beginning but we're all really excited about it. Here's what JJ had to say:


"This month we began a health class for 6th-8th grade boys at the public school in Chiquilistagua.  There was already a program in place for the young women at this school, so MPI Nicragua expanded our efforts to teach to the young men as well.  Now, we teach two classes a week to boys whom before the class begun had a free hour while the girls were in heath class.  Just like the women health class, we use Como Planear Mi Vida as a resource for our subject material.  A lack of information about health, gender relations, and sexual relation is present in this community so we see a lot of potential to provide a beneficial class.  We are very excited to continue get to know the students and provide a valuable lessons to the young men in Chiquilistagua."

Apply to be a Program Director!!

Tomorrow is the first deadline to apply to be 2013-2014 Program Director in Nicaragua, Ecuador, or Guatemala. But don't worry, you can still send in your application after October 15th!

Below is a video that I made for my family and friends about my experience thus far in Nicaragua. I spent my first year out of college working in an office and decided to go abroad to get more experience and adventure under my belt. It's been the best decision I could have made.

Click here to apply!

We Are Family

This blog post was featured on Hannah's blog, and I thought it was beautifully written! If you are interested in applying to be a Program Director in 2013-2014, apply soon! The first deadline is October 15th.

"One of the aspects of Manna that really drew me to apply was it's very unique, strong relationship with the communities it works in.  There are many programs that can teach English or do microfinance which don't get me wrong are very helpful in developing countries. However, the people we are helping are not numbers, but people with personalities and families and life stories. They have experiences and values that can be shared and are important to understand toreally touch them in an impacting way.  Just like my own family, they face struggles and hardships as well as find happiness in the celebrations of births and graduations.  This is why since coming to Nicaragua and meeting the community members of Cedro Galan and Chiquilistagua, I have never once felt like an outsider or a person incapable of understanding their culture. Instead, I have been welcomed with open arms and been invited into each of their families.

Two nights of the week I am invited into Lorena's home for a delicious dinner while we sit in rocking chairs on the front porch talking about life.  She hugs me tightly and says "adios mi bebita" when it's time to go. Despite the rain, Jaqueline and Proyanka carry me through the lake of a road to their house so I can teach them English on a Friday night.  They don't hesitate to give up one of their sweaters so I don't catch a cold and give me their only candle when all the electricity is cut off. Tammy and her mom Lupe come over to my house to have fun in the pool and eat some lunch. As Tammy and I are catching up in my room, I am nearly knocked over when she throws her arms around me and says "you are my aunt!"

These are just a few examples of the love and acceptance I have received since coming to this beautiful country.  I am reminded of the beauty of human connection every day and I know I will forever be impacted by the kindness I have experienced here. Every day I can feel myself learning how to become a better person and I have the beautiful people of Nicaragua to thank for that."