"Where Love and Acceptance Triumph"

Last week I had the opportunity to hear a friend, Patricia Lopez, speak about her work with Psicoballet, a methodology that combines ballet and therapy for children with disabilities such as autism, Down Syndrome, and severe physical and mental disabilities. "I used the word 'disabled,' she says, "because the children are held back by their differences— they are cut off from the world. They need help to realize and cultivate their special abilities so that they have self-esteem, hope, and can reintegrate into society."

According to Patricia, 12% of the population of Nicaragua lives with disabilities. In addition to those born with disabilities, the figure also includes people wounded in accidents or during the Contra War of the 80s. The government provides little support for people with disabilities. The one government hospital that provides rehabilitation for the wounded does not provide ongoing care. Most people seek help through local non-profit organizations, their churches, or beg for money on the street. It is not uncommon in Managua to drive past a man wheeling his brother with cerebral palsy up and down the lines of cars at a red light asking for spare change all day in temperatures of over 100 degrees.

Because of the lack of government support, high rates of poverty, and societal rejection the disabled children in Nicaragua are especially vulnerable. As in the U.S., many families in Nicaragua regard having disabled children as a disgrace and a great burden. With so much poverty, all members of the family are expected to contribute economically, and children that will never be able to live on their own or work are considered "good for nothing." In the majority of families with disabled children, the fathers end up leaving, not wanting to handle the disgrace or the extra financial burden. Mothers are left alone to struggle to support all of their children. Households headed by single mothers represent over 40% of homes in Nicaragua, with rates much higher among families with disabled children.

Even in households where both parents are present, the reality of disabled children often does not improve. They suffer high rates of physical and sexual abuse. Some, locked away in back rooms, never leave their households. Some (perhaps the luckier ones) are abandoned at one of the two homes for disabled children in Nicaragua, Pajarito Azul, where Patricia works.

The children that come to Patricia's psicoballet classes then, suffer not only from severe mental and physical disabilities, but from the deeply-rooted trauma suffered by abandonment, rejection, and physical and sexual abuse. Psicoballet allows children an opportunity to transform their suffering. For the first time, they learn to interact in a group of friends that loves and accepts them. For children who spend all of their time alone in a bed or wheel chair, to be able to roll on the floor and move their bodies around the room allows them a chance not only work on motor skills and strengthen muscles, but allows them a freedom of movement and creative expression that is liberating.

I am grateful for Patricia's example. She is a woman who, like Jesus, reaches out to and loves those society says are worthless. She is an example of someone who lives out her passion not in order make money or become famous, but to aid in the transformation of injustice through art. I am grateful to live in a community with people like Patricia, Nineth, and Gerardo—all artists who use their skills in dance, music, and painting to give hope to young people and transform situations of violence and discrimination.

Patricia, originally born in Columbia, was trained in modern dance and ballet. She was recently received training in psicoballet in Cuba, where the methodology was first developed. The title the first performance of psicoballet Patricia directed while working with a group of children at a group home in Cuba was called "Fantasy Fair: Where Love and Acceptance Triumph." After months of group work, the students in brightly-colored costumes, performed ballet on stage at the Astral Theater of Havana in March, 2007 in front of 1,500 people.
___
With only six months left in Nicaragua, I hope to take the opportunity to learn as much as I can here through friendships with people in the community like Patricia. I am looking forward to being home the first week in August to share with family and friends what my experience here has been like.

This week Christine and I started our second English class with a group of 16 adults ranging from university students, single moms, and a 70-year-old man. From the first day we had them greeting each other-- "it's nice to meet you!" --and spelling their names. Christine and I look forward to teaching the class and also learning about each of our students along the way. We are also in the final stages of selecting two more volunteers to come to Nicaragua to accompany the Centro Cultural Batahola Norte for another 2 years!

Laura

Shared Hope International Fellowship for "those with a deep commitment to the protection of women and children"

For those interested:

International Hope Fellowship Program
The International Hope Fellowship Program allows individuals with a deep commitment to the protection of women and children to make a significant difference in the world. International Hope Fellows are usually graduate students or professionals who demonstrate an understanding of human rights and work in fields related to law, public policy, marketing and media, or academia. However, all fields of expertise are welcome. Special exceptions can be made for motivated undergraduate students. Fellowships usually last from three months to one year.

The International Hope Fellowship Program is research intensive. The scope and nature of projects are determined on an individual basis, based on the talents and interests of the candidate and the needs of SHI.

Check out the link at: https://www.sharedhope.org/involved/fellowships.asp

Manual de Liderazgo para Mujeres (en español)

Haz "clic" donde dice "more" y luego "save document" para guardarlo en formato PDF en su computadora o "print" para imprimirlo.

Manual de Liderazgo

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Manuals liderazgo para mujer

Reflective Peacebuilding: A Planning and Monitoring Toolkit

This toolkit was emailed to me by the Oxfam International Youth Partnership Program, and I thought some of you might find it interesting and useful. Check it out!

Click: http://kroc.nd.edu/sites/default/files/reflective_peacebuilding.pdf

The toolkit centers on the belief that reflection and learning, knowledge and theory are key to the peace-building process. Its goal is to improve peacebuilders’ ability to be reflective practitioners; this involves enhancing peacebuilders’ capacity to design and impact transformative change, and track and improve upon those changes over time, in unpredictable conflict contexts. In particular it gives tools for reflection, learning in communities, conflict transformation and evaluating and monitoring change.

Solidadrity with Gaza

We've been very disturbed here lately to hear of the situation in Gaza, the killing of over 1,100 people and injuring over 5,000, the vast majority of whom are civilians. Yesterday while UN personnel were on the phone with the Israeli military, pleading to be kept safe, Israeli bombs dropped on their center, where hundred of Gazans refugees were living and where food and medical aid were being stored. There are reports that Israel is using experimental new weapons created by the US military called DIME bombs that are ripping through the limbs of people. Those lucky enough to survive with amputations are at risk for cancer in the long term because of the kind of particles left in their bodies by the bombs. White phosphorus is being dropped on people, which is illegal according to international law. White phosphorus burns through the skin of people and cannot be put out with water or fire extinguishers. Many of the Israeli targets are school, mosques, hospitals and other civilian targets. Israel is not allowing food aid and medicine into Gaza. They are not allowing journalists and aid workers either.

I encourage you all to stay current on the situation on Democracy Now or other non-mainstream news sources. The picture to the right is a photograph of Ali and Ahmed, whose father was killed, with their mother from Free Gaza. Below left is the bombing of the UN in Gaza, and the funeral of a 2-year old child.













This slaughter is reminiscent for many of massacres of civilians by US-backed troops that have happened in Nicaragua and throughout Latin America, especially in the 80s to root out "communism."The real underlying motivations at that time were protecting US economic interests, such as securing open markets in Central America. Despite lofty US rhetoric, the motivations behind military intervention were economic. Nicaraguans remember the Contra War of the 80s and US bombs dropping on their homes.

Today "communism" has been replaced by "terrorism" as an excuse to persecute and wipe out civilian populations in order to bring them "democracy" and "freedom." Since the fighting has begun, 13 Israelis have died. 4 of them were killed by "friendly fire" (meaning that their own Israeli troops accidentally killed them). Over 1,100 Gazans have been killed, 5,000 wounded.

One lesson we must learn from Nicaragua is that President Reagan wanted to launch a full U.S. invasion of Nicaragua in the 80s to overthrow the Sandinistas. What stopped him? He didn't have the support of the American people. Americans who came to work in solidarity with Nicaragua and those who came on short-term trips through Witness for Peace and other organizations went back to the US and lobbied for a change in U.S. foreign policy. They spoke out in their schools, churches, local communities, and in the media and increased the awareness about the reality of Nicaragua--the reality that was not printed newspapers.

According to an interview on Democracy Now with Avi Shlaim, who once served in the Israeli military and who is one of the world's leading experts on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, half of Gaza's 1.5 million inhabitants are refugees. Gaza is the most crowded piece of land on earth and some term it the "world's largest prison." In 2006 there were 8,000 Jewish settlers living in Gaza, yet they controlled 25% of arable land and the largest share of the scarce water resources. According to the UN, Gaza has the world's highest unemployment rate at 45%. Right now the basic needs of most Gazans are not being meet--most have no food, water, electricity, medical supplies, and nowhere safe to seek shelter.

For the Americans reading this, we must remember that our tax dollars are financing this genocide. Israel is the #1 recipient of US foreign aid-- over $2 billion each year. As Americans we must demand an end to this unjust military aid. Jews of conscience must speak out to demand a change in Israel's policies. Victims of one of history's most horrific genocides should not be perpetuating such violence.

We must remind others that speaking out against US foreign policy doesn't make us "un-American," nor does criticizing the state of Israel make one "anti-semitic." For those of us who are American, Israeli, or Jews of conscience it is our obligation to demand higher ethical standards from our leaders and peaceful solutions to this crisis.













I wanted to share with you a message sent my Muhammed Abed Rabbo, a Palestinian friend and also member of the Oxfam Youth Partnership Program:

"We, as Palestinians, don't need other countries to fight with us against the brutal Israeli attacks, the only thing we need is that they don't support the Israeli organized terrorism and bring our cause to the international level so that everybody knows the truth far from the completely biased western propaganda. Let the whole world see the heart breaking pictures of young children being burnt by the white phosphorous bombs, it's very difficult to watch the news, but if every person imagines that those children were his children, he/she will understand our pain."

You can sign a petition to call for an end to the violence at:

Amnesty International Petition

2008 Chronic Poverty Report: Nicaragua

Prs Wiggins Nicaragua

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Education report poverty

The Central American Youth Parliment and End of the Year Updates

At 5am I am walking up the corridors of the convent silently, looking out at the grove of orange trees that slope down the side of the mountain. There are twenty people already gathered in a circle when I arrive at the open clearing. Heidy, a young Mayan priest from Guatemala, is dressed in the purple woven fabrics of her village and standing in the center. She is placing candles that represent North, South, East and West in a circle, preparing to begin the ritual fire. We each hold a candle representing our prayers, and one by one we place them around the fire. Heidy leads the group of young people from Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Mexico, and Honduras in the Mayan ritual of prayer to Mother Earth until we see the sun coming up and the birds began their chirping and we go back silently to our rooms to prepare for another day of talks on youth violence and strategies for social action.

Last week I participated in the Central American Youth Parliament held in San Salvador, El Salvador, whose focus was on addressing the issue of youth violence in the region. Central America is a diverse region ecologically, containing 15% of the earth’s biodiversity in less than 1% of the earth’s surface. Its people are equally diverse, speaking hundreds of indigenous languages as well as Spanish and Creole English, and coming from indigenous, Spanish, English, African, and other backgrounds. The Youth Parliament was a testament to this great diversity and was an opportunity for youth to share their cultures as well as the ways they are responding to the threats of gangs, drugs, violence against women, HIV/AIDS, and other issues in their communities.

From Nicaragua we had 15 delegates from various organizations including the Centro Cultural Batahola Norte, Covenant House (which helps to rehabilitate street kids from abuse and drug addiction), Cantera (which runs a youth center with programs like painting, folkloric dance, and karate), and other organizations. The week focused on teaching young people how to strategically plan programs for violence prevention programs in the community as well as ways to be politically active in pushing for legislation to protect youth. Nicaragua, for example, invests less than 3% of its national budget on education. Since investing in education is one of the best ways to eradicate poverty, prevent gang and drug activity, and create a better future, pushing for the Nicaraguan government to spend more on education would be one area where youth could be effective.

The Youth Parliament was an incredible opportunity for me and I look forward in 2009 to building upon what I learned and the connections I made to continue working with youth from Batahola Norte on important issues.

As we are finishing up the year at the Centro Cultural Batahola Norte, Christine and I have been working hard to finish up projects, paint our house, and evaluate our experiences over the past year to be able to make bigger contributions in the coming year. This past Saturday was the graduation ceremony at the Center and we were proud to give diplomas to 11 of our adult students.

Teaching English this year has been a tremendous learning experience for Christine and me. Our students have been dedicated to learning English and using their skills to help others. Among our students are two of the Center’s staff members, Arlen who runs the library, and Ingrid, an administrative assistant. Another of our students, Mary Luz, is a doctor who works in public health who goes out of her way to help people in need no matter the hour of the day (she has come to the aid of Christine and I in various medical emergencies!). Martha is a hydrologist who helps bring clean water systems to rural areas, and Kathia is a university student studying International Relations who hopes one day to work as a translator. Our other students included a manager of a paint shop, university students and a psychologist.

It was a privilege for Christine and me to assist these extremely intelligent and socially aware people to learn a skill that will help them in their work. Learning English will help those without jobs to find employment, and for those with jobs to be able to work together with international counterparts in addressing issues of social justice and human rights. Martha will be able to work with English-speaking scientists in projects like predicting volcano activity and creating water systems in poor rural zones, and Mary Luz attended a conference in Washington, DC a few months ago on Public Health and was able to share ideas with her U.S. counterparts about ways to combat malaria, dengue, and other tropical diseases.

Christine and I are excited to teach English again to another group of students, as well as continuing our other work next year. Christine has been focusing on the women’s quilting collective and on promoting fair trade events where small businesses can promote their artwork, and I have been focusing on the continued development of the volunteer program and on youth organizing work.

I am excited about the next eight months in Nicaragua, and taking the opportunity to learn more from community-based organizations here about creative and holistic solutions to poverty reduction and social justice.

Wishing you all a very happy holiday season and a Happy New Year,
Laura

Apply to Volunteer with Us!

Friends of Batahola Volunteers (FOBV) is searching for the next two volunteers to accompany the Centro Cultural Batahola Norte for two years beginning in the summer of 2009!

Who are we?

FOBV is a new volunteer program that works with the Centro Cultural Batahola Norte in Managua, Nicaragua. The program was started by Christine Ruppert and Laura Hopps, both graduates of Boston College in ’07, in collaboration with the Center.

Where do we Work?

The Centro Cultural Batahola Norte (CCBN) is a technical training and holistic education center focused on the empowerment of women and youth in the community for social transformation. It was founded in 1983 by Sister Margie Navarro, CSJ, and Fr. Ángel Torrellas, OP during the U.S.-backed Contra War in Nicaragua.

Over the past 24 years the CCBN has helped over 2,000 women and youth to defend their rights, find and develop new sources of income and improve their living standards. We currently offer a varied program of basic adult education and vocational training that is approved by the National Technological Institute (INATEC) and coordinated with the Ministry of Education (MECD). Approximately 500 students enroll in 25 different technical and domestic arts courses each year.

Courses include:
- Literacy (basic adult education through 6th grade)
- Basic Accounting
- Computer Science
- Typing
- Communicative English
- Cooking (including national and international cooking classes, pastry making, cake decorating, etc)
-Sewing
- Natural Medicine
- Handicrafts

Art programs include:
- Music lessons
- Choir
- Orchestra
- Painting and drawing
- Theatre
- Dance (Latin dance and folkloric)

The CCBN also provides a scholarship program to help young people to continue their formal education and a 5,000-volume library open to the public. We also seek to support the healthy development of young people through the arts, offering classes and performance opportunities in folkloric dance, music, painting and theatre. Since 1994 we have enabled over 100 young people from poor families to finish their studies (primary through university levels) and become trained professionals, including lawyers, doctors, translators, social workers, journalists, business administrators, physical therapists, engineers, and musicians.


Our Mission:

Friends of Batahola Volunteers is a 2-year program that brings young people from the U.S. to live and work in Nicaragua. Volunteers seek to accompany the Centro Cultural Batahola Norte in its mission of empowering women and youth for social transformation. Volunteers dedicate themselves to the development of their spirituality and social consciousness through their community life.

Our Values:
Accompaniment: Batahola Volunteers strive to live and work in solidarity with the Nicaraguan people through their commitment to simple living within the community of Batahola Norte. Volunteers open themselves to learning, listening, and sharing with community members.

Social Justice: Batahola Volunteers’ methodology is one of praxis, the cycle of action and reflection upon action for social change. A commitment to social justice is lived out through work focused on empowerment, especially of women. Volunteers contribute through a stewardship of their time, energy, experience, and talents to collaborate with the community. Batahola Volunteers also commit themselves to searching for nonviolent solutions to poverty and oppression in their work and community life.

Community of Faith: Batahola Volunteers live in a community of faith, in which volunteers share and explore spirituality together and with the larger community.

What do we do?

The work of FOBV volunteers depends on the interests, artistic, musical or other skills, and the needs of the Centro Cultural.

Some of the work Christine and Laura have done include:

- Creation of an English program for working adults
- Accompaniment of a women’s quilting collective
- Facilitation of a women’s reflection group to focus on self-esteem, intra-family violence, and
other issues
- Help in the creation of a micro-enterprise course
- Creation of a weblog to promote international awareness of the reality of Nicaragua and a
solidarity network to support the CCBN
- Participation in a Central American youth conference on gangs, drugs, and violence
- Youth organizing to create a group to focus on formation, education, and action in the
community around issues such as: environmental protection, HIV/AIDS awareness, gender
equality, and others
- Organization of a micro-enterprise fair to sell the goods of local collectives and cooperatives

Living in Nicaragua:
Friends of Batahola Volunteers is supported by the non-profit organization VMM, an ecumenical Christian organization that provides volunteers with:

- Medical and life insurance, including 3 months of medical insurance after completion of service
- Monthly stipend
- Pre-departure orientation
- Visa expenses
- Spanish language training
- Annual retreats with other volunteers throughout Central America
- $1,000 re-entry stipend upon completion of service

As part of the program, volunteers spend one month before their arrival in a Teaching English as a Foreign Language program.

Housing

Volunteers live in a simple but comfortable house that belongs to the Centro Cultural Batahola Norte, and is located adjacent to the Center. Each volunteer has her/his own room. Rent and electricity is included in the program, and volunteers pay for other utilities from their stipend.

Who We Are Looking For:

We are looking for 2 highly motivated young people over the age of 21 committed to learning about and participating in social change. Women and men are welcomed to apply. A high level of Spanish competency is required, and a college degree or equivalent. We welcome applicants of diverse races, faiths, nationalities, sexual orientations, and physical abilities to apply.

We have a preference for people who have spent time previously in Latin America for 3 months or longer and have knowledge of the cultural and historical context.

The Centro Cultural Batahola Norte is an exciting and dynamic work environment. We encourage applicants to apply who can work well independently as well as collaboratively, are flexible, and have a strong commitment to social justice and their own personal growth.

How to Apply:
If you are interested in applying to the program, please email us with your resume at bataholavolunteers@gmail.com and we will contact you with further instructions.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Paz,
Laura & Christine

Speech from Julio Perez at the School of the Americas Protest Nov. 2008

Julio Speech

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Sign Petition to Change US Foreign Policy in Latin America

Dear Friends,

Please see Witness for Peace's Petition to President Obama outlining changes in US foreign policy in Latin America.

We are all elated at the election of Obama--but we must organize to demand that he make the necessary changes on domestic and foreign policies!

Paz,
Laura

Sign Petition to President Obama to Close the SOA

Sign the Petition to call President Obama to close the School of the Americas. The military training school at Ft. Benning, Georgia has trained thousands of Latin American soldiers, many of whom have gone on to carry out scorched earth campaigns against civilian populations, political assassinations and other atrocities in the name of protecting U.S. economic interests.

Transforming Violence Through Art and Education

I am excited to share with you that this month I am starting to focus on youth organizing in the community to form a youth group at the Centro Cultural Batahola Norte. I recently had a planning meeting.

We sit around the table in our living room in a “cool” (68 degrees F) Sunday night in Managua after Church. Ernesto sits in a rocking chair, his “Che” baseball hat cocked to one side, sipping hot chocolate. He is a senior anthropology student working on a thesis on Nicaraguan immigrants to Costa Rica. Clarisa, a graphic design student, in a black and white striped shirt sits in another chair opening a packet of cookies. Melvin, an engineering student and member of the Batahola Choir, leans back in his chair turning over the cover of a documentary on teen pregnancy. “There is so much misinformation out there,” he says. “And so many young girls who are dying.” “Next Friday,” says Ernesto, “we’ll have the first meeting, we can invite all the young people from the Center.” “We will need to organize games too,” added Clarisa, “We can talk about serious things, but we need to make it fun as well!”

The youth group will be a space for young people to come together and socialize in a safe environment, educate themselves on important issues like intrafamily violence, sexual health, and environmental protection, reflect on their reality, and organize events to reach out to others in the community. Ernesto, Melvin, Clarisa, and other scholarship students of the Center are excited to get the group going.

One of the central values of the Centro Cultural Batahola Norte is of solidarity, of encouraging students who benefit from the Center’s projects to pass along what they have learned to others. This is the focus of the youth group—to bring together the Center’s high school and university scholarship students to organize educational campaigns and activities in the community to reach out to other young people with the aim of preventing an increase in violence, delinquency, teen pregnancy, gang activity, and other social problems.

Some of the Center’s staff members are working on similar issues with youth in the Oscar Romero Center in then nearby neighborhood of Jorge Demitrov. Patricia, the dance teacher, Gerardo, the art teacher, Bayardo the theater teacher, and Karen, the psychologist have been working at the Romero Center since March on a violence-prevention program.

Every passing car creates a dust-storm on the narrow street. The children momentarily cover their faces, then return to hopping in potato sacks across the street while the Reggaeton music blasts. Neighbors are laughing to each other, crossing street to see the new mural at the Romero Center. Gerardo had to plaster over the bullet hole punctures before starting the mural, but now the wall is covered by images of children disarming a gun, a green tree bearing fruits of peace, tolerance, solidarity, and hope, and loving families. A teenage boy shows off his work to his mother and aunts, explaining the meaning of the different images.

Demitrov is one of the most dangerous neighborhoods of Managua, and the Oscar Romero Center is on the border between the two most powerful gangs in the community. Each month at least two people are killed. Most of the children who come to the Romero Center have family members who are in the gangs and have lost loved ones in the violence. The goal of the Romero Center is to give children and young people a space in the community where they can be involved in healthy activities.

On November 1, there was a celebration of the project between the Centro Cultural Batahola Norte and the Romero Center, which included dance, theater performances, and games. The streets, usually empty for fear of the gangs, were filled with children playing and dancing to music. The children were proud of the mural they helped to paint, and to take part in dance and theater performances. It was a rare moment in Demitrov when people came together to promote a culture of peace.

Laura