Arries Weblog

This last entry is different from earlier ones in which I have tried to describe first our successes and indicate challenges. Today those categories seem to be two sides of the same coin rather than distinct experiences.

After speaking with the principal today I am certain that in Escuela Paula Lopez Bejarano in the municipality of Tisma we have at last found a school near Masaya that will be stable in terms of staffing. It appears to be a site where we will be greeted with open arms next year. I believe my colleague Lauren and I both think that the chances are good that this continuing project could eventually lead to adult extension projects with the parents in additon to EFL for the children. Lauren made a point today of making a home visit with the principal, Don Jorge, to make that first parent contact on which she can start building a relationship with a parent group. I envision the same trajectory in Barrio Camilo Ortega in Managua, but as this was our third summer in that neighborhood in Managua I suspect we are closer to the point where we can start contributing to the current parent outreach program there.

I find that an exciting prospect, but don´t underestimate the challenges that are part of this. For example, we and the principal talked today at some length about the aftermath of the Contra War. He was in the Sandinista army and said he came to realize that it was a war that pitted farmers against farmers and that it was the farmers in the North, the Central part of Nicaragua and on the Caribbean side who had suffered most. When the truce came the school community in Tisma was very polarized. So much so that it took seven years before some parents could stand to be at the same meeting. Some parents still ask him if the Americans that go to Tisma (in the past Peace Corp and Amigos de las Americas) are “the good ones or the bad ones,” and he has to tell them that in all countries there are good and bad people, including in Nicaragua. He also says that some Nicaraguans watch sensationalist news and worry that all foreigners are pedofiles. He explained that he works on dispelling myths and seems to be as enthusiastic at the prospect of an ongoing August program as he is delighted with Cat´s English lessons.

That same information can be seen as a list of potential problems.  For example, we don´t know if the community is still divided or how our first “brigadita” will be regarded by the parents. I addition, the school PLB is rural and by definition serves a dispersed population whereas La Hispanidad in Barrio Camilo Ortega has an easier time of bringing parents in to meet us.  I anticipate that it will take some time for us to reach the point where we can figure out how to best meet the needs of the parents´ for extension programming.