In November 2013, five Project Redwood partners traveled to Nicaragua to visit the sites of several funded projects.
Donna Allen enjoying a meal with a tour guide in Nicaragua.
Here are my reflections on our experience in Nicaragua. I found:
- Dedication of the United States-based staff members of Compatible Technology International (CTI), its partner organization EOS International, and Self Help International (SHI) to propose and provide the means to improve the lives of poor Nicaraguans.
- Commitment of the Nicaraguan staffs to develop and introduce devices for improved living and working conditions, and to persuade their communities to accept and gain from the tools they have been offered.
- Awareness of the significant impact Project Redwood’s relatively small grants can have.
- Enlightenment about the people helped by these funds through their testimonials regarding the life improvements they are making and the pride they feel.
- Pleasure at the words of welcome and gratitude, expressed mostly in a language I can’t speak, but accompanied by smiles whose meaning was crystal clear.
- Excitement about bringing our stories to Project Redwood partners in a way that will encourage others to make these journeys and see how the funding, expertise, and connections we provide to social entrepreneurs truly address the challenges of global poverty.
But more than anything else, when I relive my experience in Nicaragua, I think a great deal about the people we met. Here are my observations about some of the people who hold much of the future of Nicaragua in their hands:
Although not a native Nicaraguan, Wes Meier has spent the last several years of his life working to improve the lives of the people of Nicaragua, especially the rural poor – first as a Peace Corps volunteer riding his horse Whiskey to bring assistance to villages in the remotest of rural areas; then as founder of EOS International, creating appropriate technology to allow families to lift themselves out of poverty; and now as director of in-country projects for CTI. Wes, as manager of CTI’s water-purification project, has created synergy with non-government organizations such as EOS International and SHI and with a myriad of governmental agencies to assure that the CTI-8 water chlorinator reaches as many as possible of those who otherwise have no access to potable water. His intelligence, people skills, and commitment to Nicaragua are clear; he states with conviction that this is his life’s work. Project Redwood, CTI, and Nicaragua will continue to benefit enormously from Wes’s dedication. He was a perfect host to our team.
Sergio Romero, the local director of the CTI water-chlorination project, has extensive experience with Nicaragua’s department of health and other governmental organizations, strong relationships with non-government organizations, friendships throughout the country, and the best motivational leadership presence imaginable. He uses these attributes to create a network of Nicaraguans dedicated to bringing pure water to as wide a population as possible. He is committed to every detail of this endeavor – communicating the simple technology of chlorination, keeping records, and developing individual relationships with all of the leaders and the local water committee volunteers who maintain the chlorinators – and he engenders great respect from all who know him. He became a favorite of ours in a few short days.
Marlon Castro is employed to install and monitor water-chlorinator systems for CTI. He rides his 250-CC motorcycle into the roughest of terrains to reach chlorinator locations; he climbs water towers to check chlorine tablets; he trains water committee members to maintain their systems; and he always seems to have a smile on his face. He also drives a mean 4×4 pickup truck to ferry around visitors, including those of us from PRW.
In the tiny community of Barrio Manuel Piqueras, the water committee is headed by two beautiful young mothers, Yadira Salazar and Liseth Mendez, who are committed to CTI’s chlorination project so that the children of their settlement can stay healthy. With very limited resources for water storage, they see to it that pure water is available to their community, even if it means queuing up at one am every morning in the dry season to collect water for the households.
In Matagalpa and Jinoteca, we were invited to attend meetings of the area leaders of water committees, with the sessions led by Sergio Romero. Members of Nicaraguan department of health (Ministerio de Salud, MINSA) spoke about the effectiveness of water chlorination, and the water committee leaders – far too many to mention by name — responded in a lively discussion of issues, problems and successes of their CTI chlorinators. The freedom of this information exchange was refreshing and the participation was universal, with problems noted and solutions undertaken immediately. Project Redwood was privileged to observe the people, their give-and-take, and the positive actions that came out of these meetings.
Alvaro Rodriguez, Milton Tinoco, and Evelyn Gutierrez of EOS International introduced Project Redwood to low-cost technologies created by engineers from Iowa State University to generate income and improve health for rural Nicaraguan families. These technologies include drip-irrigation systems, fuel-efficient barrel ovens and bio-digesters, as well as CTI water-chlorination systems. Alvaro, Milton, Evelyn and their staffs, working with other development organizations as well as with farmers and families directly, have created a broad network of individuals and a synergy among non-government organizations which allow these technologies to reach more people in need. Their dedication and collaboration are contributing to the eradication of poverty every day.
Claudia Rodriguez is one of many who have benefitted from EOS International products in her home and property. We observed first-hand how she cooks on a gas stovetop fueled by a biogas generator, how she uses drip irrigation in her garden to conserve water and grow nutritious produce, and how she bakes in a fuel-efficient oven which consumes far less wood. Her pleasure with these products and the improvements they have made in her life are evident in the wide smile she exhibited throughout our visit.
Merry Fredrick and Fran Mueller, as United States-based Executive Director and Board Chair respectively, have led SHI during a time of expansion in Nicaragua. In addition to training and assisting local farm families with planting, cultivation, and the post-harvest problems of storage, processing, marketing and transport, Self Help has succeeded in providing micro-credit loans for women to start small-scale businesses. Merry and Fran feel a real sense of satisfaction as they prepare to turn over SHI’s executive-director role to Nora Tobin, one of the many members of the next generation who are taking on the mission of eradicating poverty and improving the lives of the rural poor. We in PRW share that feeling of gratification when we see leaders like Nora of SHI taking on the challenges of global poverty.
Jorge Campos is SHI’s Project Manager responsible for farmer training and water-chlorination systems. He is a large man with a large personality who is respected and admired for his leadership by those he works with and trains. His knowledge and dedication were obvious to us as he proudly explained the efficient use of space and drip irrigation in the SHI model garden, growing nutritionally superior quality protein maize and new, more nutritious produce crops. Assisted by staff members, Orlando, Alfredo, and Alvaro, Jorge is striving to help improve the lives of rural farmers and to build a stronger Nicaragua for them, for his community, and for his own family and two young daughters.
Lucia Vega Galeano, SHI Operations Manager, is a young local woman responsible for seeing that SHI runs smoothly. Educated in the United States and fluent in English as well as Spanish, her administration, communications and networking skills are central to the San Carlos operation.
Yolanda Del Carmen Fletes Rosales, SHI Project Officer for Women’s Micro-Enterprise, has also proven exemplary in her role as leader and program director. Yolanda teaches women financial and business skills, and finds great pleasure in seeing her students gain self-confidence and a greater sense of self-worth.
We met villager and student Petrona on our arrival at the SHI training facility when she handed us our special lunch– her nacatamales. By far the oldest member of the women’s micro-finance group, she was also one of the most energetic. She had risen very early and spent her entire morning, as she has done for exceptional occasions throughout her long life, carefully going through the eight steps required to prepare this treat for ‘her guests’. Hearing her story, we realized how much Project Redwood’s support has meant to Petrona and the others who are benefitting from the work of SHI in Nicaragua.
Primativa is a local woman who has received a micro-loan and business training from SHI. She has taken her long experience in bread-baking for her family to a new level, creating a business baking and selling delicious breads in the local markets. We especially loved her onion bread, and our compliments about it were met with a beaming smile of appreciation.
There were many other women with all kinds of treats, special drinks and desserts. There were local farmers who told us how much SHI’s work had helped them. And there were children, from babies to adolescents. Some were shy, some bold, some smiling and some watchful. One in particular has stayed with me when I think of the children of Nicaragua. Alejandro was the curious boy, constantly circulating among us as we met the people at the SHI training facility, heard their testimonials and observed their work. His bright eyes and inquisitive look instilled in us a hope that he, as well as the many other children we saw that day and everywhere we traveled, will have a better future because of the work of PRW’s grantees and organizational partners–CTI, EOS International and SHI–in Nicaragua.