UGA

After a great week with Vanderbilt, UGA is here to do a week focused on arts and crafts! We're very excited about this because the arts are not present in most kids lives in our community. They ask about art classes ALL of the time! Keep up with UGA this week on their page labeled "University of Georgia."

Spring Break

This month MPI Nicaragua is hosting Spring Break groups from some of our MPI University chapters. We're so excited to share our work with them and see what kind of passion they bring to the community! Be sure to click on the pages next to our "home" button to read an account of their week! Each group has a special event or project that they will take part it and will be here from the following dates:

Vanderbilt: March 2-9
University of Georgia: March 10-17
Worcester State University: March March 17-24

PD Interview with Robin!

Check out this video of Nicaragua PD, Robin, answering your questions about her year with MPI!

Backpacks!

The other week MPI gave out over 60 backpacks to students who received the best grades last year! It is a wonderful way to reward students. School supplies can be a big cost for families, and some kids don't go to school if they can't afford their supplies. It's a motivation to keep them doing well in school and to let them know that it's important to work hard and earn good grades!

PD Interviews!

Hello everyone! Starting in February we're going to post monthly PD Interview blogs. We will be highlighting someone different every month and asking them questions about their experience in Nicaragua with MPI so far. The best part is that you will get the chance to ask the questions-- so please leave a comment below or send an email to jennifer.metzger (at) mannaproject.org with questions for Robin! Keep an eye out on the blog for the video to be posted later this month.

La Chureca Relocation Well Underway

In 2007, the Spanish government began a five-year development project in La Chureca, the municipal trash dump in Managua home to over 150 families.  As part of the project, the trash dump that provides the sole means of income for families would be turned into a landfill, a recycling plant would be built and new houses would be constructed.  After years of anticipation the changes are now really coming to fruition.  The recycling plant was up and running in early December, offering a set salary to at least one parent of each household.  The day before the current group of Program Directors was set to leave for Winter Break, the government barged into the community in large camouflage painted trucks tearing away the old houses piece by piece.  Families were moved one by one to their new houses in a matter of a few hours.  Returning from break, we were anxious to find each family safe and healthy in their new homes.  For the majority, this is what we found.  Children running around their new concrete floors, jumping on their own sturdy twin beds, drinking their milk in a new kitchen; on the outside it seemed idyllic.  However, used to living in houses where gas and water were free, running their new sink taps and cooking in their new stoves would quickly come at a cost.  The livestock their livelihoods relied on are prohibited in the new land.  Additionally, families are only secured a job at the recycling plant provided they have an identification card and clean criminal record, requirements achieved by few.  Most disheartening is the reality that not every family received a title for new land if they were not present for the census in 2007.  For the time being, we are staying in our clinic as long as the government allows.  We have bought new land near the new houses and are waiting to secure enough funding to move ahead with the project.  We are taking one day at a time and providing love and support to all the families so dear to our hearts.

 

Retreat in San Juan Del Sur

About every quarter the Nica PDs and our Country Director go on a retreat to one of the many beautiful locations in Nicaragua. This past weekend we went to a beautiful house on a cliff overlooking Playa Maderas and Playa Marsella. The retreats are the perfect time to do team building, organizing, and goal setting. We are lucky to have Katie as our Country Director because she is really knowledgeable about how to identify the needs of your community, how to structure your programs around those needs and measure how well we're doing it. Each retreat helps us learn how to do those things better so we can implement it in our daily programs. Plus, we always make time to hang out, go to the beach, and eat tons of food.