Check out the new video filmed in La Chureca.

Empower. Love. Inspire. International Women's Day

Martha Ney is the mother of 2 amazing sons, David and Alejandro, who participate in MPI’s Baseball, Math, Literacy and English Programs. MPI programs work to empower young women like Martha to be agents of social change by providing health, education and livelihoods programming for women in the communities we serve. Martha participates in our English, Nutrition and Exercise Programs – her passion motivates all of us to be stronger teachers. Martha's selfless and compassionate personality and commitment to learning and providing opportunities for her family are constant inspirations.

Spring Break Begins!

This week, MPI Nicaragua is excited to host our first two groups of spring break volunteers, from Vanderbilt and UNC Chapel Hill. Our Vandy group will be working closely with our math and literacy program, and have brought books and other supplies that will greatly benefit the class. Meanwhile, UNC Chapel Hill will be helping with our women’s health and nutrition initiative by funding and hosting a inaugural hands-on cooking lesson in El Farito for our new women’s nutrition class. Later on this spring we will also host groups from UGA and Worcester State. Stay tuned for daily updates from our spring break volunteers themselves—you can find each university’s postings on the appropriate tabs above. Enjoy!

Baseball and a special visit

Pictured: Lori and Modesta 

Hello, hello! While I was caught up in the excitement of our new women’s sexual heath class, I neglected to mention two recent and noteworthy happenings here in Nicaragua. Shortly after our return to the Manna house in January, we had a visit from MPI Executive Director Lori Scharffenberg, US Director Joel Griffith, and Financial Manager Greg Welch. Many families in Cedro Galan had been anxiously awaiting Lori’s visit for months, and were extremely excited to spend time with a dear friend and original program director! Lori was able to watch the evolution of old programs and the development of new ones, and also meet Modesta, the child whom she sponsors in La Chureca. The trip was equally exciting for Joel and Greg, who had never before visited the MPI Nicaragua site. We were happy to share a bit of our daily lives and enable them both to better understand exactly how we positively affect and are affected by community members throughout Cedro Galan and Chiquilistagua.

In other news, Davis and Jesse have recently restarted Boys’ Baseball, holding weekly practices and attending league games at El Salero. Although the Manna team is often the underdog in terms of age and size, on Saturday they won their first victory with a score of 3-0. Although Davis and Jesse have little experience coaching baseball, they are able to manage the team thanks largely to the help of David, a student in Manna English classes who loves baseball and has a strong relationship with many of the team members.

Girl Power!

Hello, everyone! It's been quite a while! Last week, you met Lindsay, the newest member of the MPI Nicaragua team. We're lucky to have her here with us--her enthusiasm and smile have already proved contagious! In other news, with the new year we've decided to add a new class to our current programs at el Farito.

During our time here, Christin and I have become increasingly aware of gender inequality and an overall need for a safe space in which women can discuss their lives and obtain basic sexual and reproductive health education that often goes untaught in Nicaraguan schools. Over winter break, we began brainstorming, and put together a curriculum based on an adapted version of a health education manual by the Boston Women's Health Collective. Upon our return, we asked girls and young women ages 11 and up if they would be interested in a women's health class, and after receiving a positive response, we held our first class in mid-January. By polling the class and urging them to submit anonymous questions, we found that our students were interested in a wide range of topics. Thus far, we have had three classes, in which we have addressed a variety of subjects, including menstruation, body image, and healthy relationships. Attendance is slowly growing as more community members become aware of the class, and Christin and I are now contemplating holding class once a week as opposed to twice-monthly. We anticipate increased attendance and a potential partnership with a local health clinic in the near future, and will keep you posted as we move forward!

Mi primera semana = My first week.

Last monday I arrived on site to the Manna Project International house in Nicaragua. I thought I would share 5 first impressions since my arrival.

1) Coming from the Northeast, the weather here is beautiful. In January/February/March it is the dry season in Nicaragua. The temperature is 80+ on most days with an occasional breeze.

2) The Manna House serves many purposes. Located slightly outside of the community we serve the house is not only sleeping quarters but also a home office, social networking, an exercise room and most importantly a place to build friendships with 10 other people who have the common desire to work along side the people here in Managua.

3) The main form of transportation here is our micro. I have learned to love it already, as it serves not only as our mode of transportation but we often pick up several kids in the different programs at their homes. Otherwise I don't think they would attend without us picking them up each day.

4) It takes a village to raise a child. This statement has reoccured in my mind several times this week. Here in Nicaragua the front door is always open. In the states, I think our culture has drastically shifted away from helping our neighbors. Just in the short week I am reminded that it is oh so important to invest in your neighbors and those who you live with. Each time there is a break in between classes, any one of us can simply walk across the street and chat with just about anyone nearby.

5) The programs are successful because of the people behind them, both in the community and the staff in the Manna House. Everyone is devoted to their individual programs and are often looking for ways to make improvements. Upon arriving to the house I wasn't really sure which program (s) would interest me most. The best thing about being here so far is that I don't have to decide yet and there is a wide variety to choose from. Will share more later on each of those programs. #buenosdias

MPI Ecuador

Our friends at MPI

Equador

Hey everyone, this is Heather Kryzak, one of the 7 Program Directors at the MPI Ecuador site. I am in charge of our site’s blog, (along with Watkins Fulk-Gray) and am writing to give our Nicaragua and Guatemala readers an update on how things are going here in the Chillos Valley.

We arrived here in July and spent our first two weeks living in Quito with host families, getting to know the Ecuadorian culture and taking some intensive Spanish classes. Then we moved into the valley and got started with a 3-week summer camp for kids. This was a great chance for us to meet the kids in our community and their parents and to start finding our way around the valley.

Since then we have been busy with our first quarter of programs, most of which we run out of our public-lending library and community center in Rumiloma. This space holds our adult and children’s English classes, children’s art, women’s exercise, adult’s nutrition and cooking classes, and a new computer class one of our PD’s Charlie started up this year. The library is also a safe space for children to come and play games, read, and get help with their homework. A special part of the library is reserved just for teens to hang out, play videogames and ping-pong, and occasionally watch movies on a Friday night.

In addition to the programs we hold in the library, the small business development program meets directly with local businesses giving them free consultations and help with accounting. Two of our PD’s work directly in a nearby high-school giving nutrition classes for children once a week. We also have an agriculture program that works with a local organic farmer’s cooperative and with another foundation nearby that has small organic garden plots.

We just said goodbye to our first round of short-term volunteers, a group of 5 girls from the University of Georgia who spent the week shadowing our programs and helping us with some manual labor. It was exciting and refreshing to get some big projects taken care of and hear some outside perspectives on what we are doing here.

The first quarter has flown by for us in a whirl of meeting new people and establishing lasting relationships in the community. As we wrap up and prepare for vacation we are also busy planning a Christmas party for community members in the library and a larger community celebration to be held when we return in January. We have found it to be important to hold events every once in a while to attract new faces to the center while letting everyone know we are still here and our programs will continue to go strong.

Thanks to Guatemala and Nicaragua for this chance to share a little bit of news from Ecuador. Check out our site’s blog: http://www.openhandsdirtyfeet.blogspot.com/ for more information on life in the Chillos Valley!