Nicaragua Covenant News

Transcription

1 Nicaragua Covenant News Giving hope to Thousands of Nicaragua s Poorest Citizens on Giving Tuesday Dan Dolan, Executive Director Giving Tuesday for 2016 is Tuesday the 29 th of November. We ask that you consider making a gift to the Amanecer Mobile Health Clinic s (AMHC) Global Board of Global Ministries (GBGM) Advance # on this year s Giving Tuesday. To be perfectly frank with you, the future of the AMHC depends on your donation as we enter into a very critical period for the future of this important mission. In terms of life changing mission work, the most significant accomplishment in recent years, if not the history of the organization, has been the work of the Amanecer Mobile Health Clinic (AMHC). The clinic is currently serving a population of 45,500 of Nicaragua s poor with a family practice model of medical and dental care. The AMHC is considered by many to be the best mobile clinic operating in Central America. The Nicaragua Covenant is also playing a part in nurturing the growth of the nascent Methodist Church in Nicaragua. The principal avenue for this support is through the work of the AMHC which is currently serving eight (8) Methodist communities, but also includes mission team projects and relationship building efforts. Pastor Eduardo Rodriguez, the president of the Nicaraguan Methodist organization, noted at a recent meeting, the significant impact that the AMHC has had on the health and vitality of the communities that are served. He added that the presence of the clinic has raised the profile/importance of the EMC church in those communities and it has allowed EMC pastors to know the needs of all community members (regardless of their denomination). We remain very optimistic that our opportunities for new grants, and revenue streams looks very favorable in 2017, but we are concerned with our ability to mind the gap between now and then. Our mobile health clinic is currently focusing on new treatments that are improving prenatal care, child health care, and the elimination of parasites in entire communities. We believe the good work of our talented medical team and the data collected from their life-saving service to the poor will underscore our grant opportunities in A combination of your generous donations, and a good measure of thrift have allowed us to get to this point, but the next six months are looking like the low point in this financial drought. If you or your church were planning to make a donation to the Nicaragua Covenant, I would like to ask you to join the members of our board of directors and make your annual donation on Giving Tuesday. A clearer understanding of available finances now, will help us better gauge our options in Giving is as simple as going to and clicking the Donate Now button. 1 New England Conference October 2016 Volume 2, Issue 3 Inside this issue: AMHC news 2 Customer survey results Basic Spanish phrases Building a wall in Cincoyo Nicaragua fast facts Trees and desks 5 What is the NC? 6 population: 6,071, million people in Managua 8 recognized languages 4 ethnic groups Donations can be made through our website ( g/)and click Donate Now button or through the NEUMC, PO Box 249, Lawrence, MA Please specify Nicaragua Fund #803 in the memo line of the check.

2 Amanecer Mobile Health Clinic (AMHC) news Richard Rinker, Director Almost a year ago the AMHC undertook a large-scale anti-parasite program in 12 communities with a total population of well over 6,000 people. We are happy to report that the program has had phenomenal results in most of the communities over the past year. The total number of patients diagnosed with parasites, during clinic visits to the 12 communities, has been reduced by an amazing 248% July 2015 to July 2016! The parasites found in the communities can cause many symptoms including diarrhea vomiting and even death. The parasites can come from the water or the land primarily due to poor sanitation. The success of the program has been due to the combined efforts of the AMHC team and the volunteer brigadistas in each of the 12 communities working together to promote community health education as well as testing and medication compliance. In addition, a clean water initiative by the Nicaragua Covenant has also made a demonstrable difference in the reduction of parasites, as well as diarrhea, in the communities where clean water projects have been completed. But there is still much to be done in the other 18 communities that we service. Recently, a health fair was held in the community of El Horno, in Matagalpa where the AMHC tested 52 people for parasites. Only 9 of the people tested were free of parasites and 3 of the patients had multiple parasites present. The good news is that the success of the program puts us in a very good position to obtain an End 7 Grant in 2017, for up to $40,000. The end 7 Grant is sponsored by the World Health Organization and the Gates foundation to promote the eradication of parasites in certain developing countries. Programs such as the parasite program, as well as the hypertension and diabetes clinics make a significant difference in the lives of the poor in these rural communities, but the programs are relatively expensive and we need your support as well as future grants to continue God s work in these communities. Customer Satisfaction Survey comments. Thank you for your willingness and God bless that they continue fulfilling this great work Thank God, the people of the clinic and our brother donors A recent customer satisfaction survey resulted in a 94% positive rating. We appreciate that thanks to this program we have a health brigadista to take the pressure, glucose test and some medications that they give us with love Never change because the Lord blesses the work they do with each of us They treat us with love, kindness and respect 2

3 It Begins With Hello helpful Spanish phrases for visitors to Nicaragua English Spanish Pronuncation Good morning. Buenos días. booehn-os DEE-as Good afternoon. Buenas tardes. booehn-as TAR-dehs Good evening. (greeting) Buenas noches. booehn-as NO-chehs Hello, my name is John. Hola, me llamo Juan. OH-la meh YA-mo Wahn What is your name? Cómo se llama usted? KOH-moh seh YA-mah How are you? Cómo está usted? oos-tehd KOH-moh ehs-ta oos- TEHD I am fine. Estoy bien. ehs-toy bee-ehn Nice to meet you. Mucho gusto. MOO-choh GOOS-toh Goodbye. Adiós. ah-dee-ohs See you later. Hasta luego. AHS-ta looeh-go Excuse me. Con permiso. OR Perdóname Please. Por favor. pohr fah-vor Thank you. Gracías. gra-see-ahs I'm sorry. Lo siento. low see-ehn-to Bless you. Salud. sah-lood You are welcome (it was De nada. kohn pehr-mee-soh OR pehr-doh-nah-meh deh NA-da nothing). How much does it cost? Cuánto cuesta? kooan-to KWEHS-ta How many are there? Cuántos hay? kooan-tohs eye There are many. Hay muchos. eye MOO-chohs Do you want to buy this? Quiere comprarlo usted? kee-ehr-eh kohm-prarloh oos-tehd What time is it? Qué hora es? keh OR-ah ehs How do you say maybe in Spanish? Cómo se dice maybe en Español? KOH-mo seh DEE-seh maybe ehn ehs-pahn-yol Yes. Sí. see No. No. no I do not understand. Yo no comprendo. yoh no kom-pren-doh Would you speak slower, please. Por favor, habla mas despacio. Who? Quièn? kee-ehn Why? Por què? pohr keh pohr fah-vor, AH-blah mahs dehs-pahs-ee-oh In a world of 7.4 billion people, 427 million speak Spanish Learning another language is not only learning different words for the same things, but learning another way to think about things Flora Lewis, American journalist News from Nicaragua Nicaragua celebrated its independence from Spain on 15th September. The independence of Central America was enacted in September Nicaragua then became part of the first Mexican Empire, until it was overthrown in Nicaragua then joined the United Provinces of Central America. Finally in 1838 Nicaragua became an independent republic. Nicaragua also goes to the polls this November 6 th. The election is for President & National Assembly deputies and 20 deputies will be elected to the Central American Parliament. 3

4 A Big Project for a Great Little School Dan Dolan, Executive Director The Nicaragua Covenant supports schools in Cincoyo, Camino a Emaus, Maranatha, La Cruz Verde, Los Laureles Sur and Ciudad Sandino. A blended team of New England United Methodists spent a week in Nicaragua this past August and managed to provide the means for some big changes at a little school in a rural community. In the months leading up to the trip, the mission team raised about $2000 from their local churches and communities to support the construction of a large wall. The priority project that was selected by the team was a massive wall needed to mitigate a steep drop off, caused by erosion, that was encroaching on the schoolyard. The earthen cliff was both a safety risk to small children, and a threat to the integrity of parts of the Cincoyo Christian Elementary School in the mountain village of Nandasmo. Having witnessed the problem on a trip in February of 2016, I was able to appreciate the size of this project. It was a major engineering effort that would require a concrete and stonewall feet high and some 80 feet in length. I was a little skeptical, but the headmaster of the school, Pastor Juan Maldez, assured me that he would have the volunteers, tools, and an engineer to assist with the design and construction. We acted on trust and faith. The materials were purchased and delivered a week prior to the team s arrival. The project was already underway when team arrived. The team put in two days of labor, and left the rest to the local volunteers. Approximately two weeks later the wall was completed and was capped off by a high quality chain link fence that will keep the children safe inside of the schoolyard. The quality of the construction was impressive, but more impressive was the obvious pride that the community took in completing the work. The pride of ownership was earned through a lot of sweat equity contributed by parents of school children, church members, and neighbors. The Cincoyo elementary school, is one of three schools partially supported by funds from the Nicaragua Covenant. The talented teachers joyfully teach some 120 children (pre-k through 6 th grade). Cincoyo is a happy, and now much safer place for these rural children to receive a quality education. The Nicaragua Covenant is proud to support Cincoyo Elementary, and two other schools in Nicaragua. These church based schools are offering hope and the tools needed to give these students a better chance for a future. 4 Team Members Cale Camereno and Rick Tolles reviewing the blueprints with Pastor Maldez

5 Students Helping Students Sandra A. Collins, Communications Director July 2015, two students from Cape Elizabeth Maine visited Nicaragua on a mission trip. Their experience led them to ask, When can we return? It was then that Alison Ingalls and Tory McGrath began planning for a return trip. July 2016, they co-faciliated a team of ten students from Cape Elizabeth, Maine to travel to Nicaragua and complete a variety of service projects. Project number one consisted of continuing work begun by students from Central High School in Springfield, Massachusetts during a February 2016 trip. Central High School students working with El Porvenir, planted 1000 seeds for a reforestation project in Ciudad Dario. With the help of sun and rain, these seeds grew into seedlings, ready to be planted. July 2016, Cape Elizabeth students along with students and families from the village planted 100 trees on school grounds. This type of tree will not shed leaves throughout the year, which will help provide shade to keep the school cooler during the day. Project two was formulated following a visit by Dan Dolan to the Camino a Emaus School in San Rafael, Tipitapa. A student requested help in learning English, planting this seed resulted in the growth of a teaching English project. English lessons consisted of completing worksheets, singing songs and playing games. Funds were raised to construct a wall for a 5 grade classroom, desks and a white board were purchased to complete the learning atmosphere. Donations of school supplies were presented to all classroom teachers. th As usual with service trips; not only was work completed, friendships were formed and memories for a lifetime were created. On the final day, school staff presented Cape Elizabeth students with t-shirts; with the school logo, which officially made us part of the team. A tree living for 50 years will generate $31,250 worth of oxygen and recycle $37,500 worth of water. 5

6 What is the Nicaragua Covenant? The Covenant between the New England Conference of the United Methodist Church and our Covenant and ministry partners in Nicaragua was formed to accompany one another in solidarity as a response to the unjust and inequitable differences between North and South, rich and poor. In response to the healing ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ, we develop and support programs that enhance the lives of the poorest of the poor in Nicaragua. The covenant was established in 1986, providing financial support for children feeding programs, rural teachers and women s empowerment through sewing schools. A mission house was secured and teams from the US started traveling to Nicaragua to support our work. A mobile health clinic was started in In recent years our mission has been greatly expanded and we were blessed with the donation of Quinta Amanecer, our headquarters facility in Masaya which houses our mobile medical clinic and training facility and provides hospitality for visiting mission teams. Our Amanecer Mobile Health Clinic calls on 30 remote villages. To address chronic illness observed by our medical team we started a program to bring clean water and good sanitation to villages we visit. Visiting mission teams work on the water projects and school renovations. Visit our Facebook page: Quinta Amanecer Use the QR logo to visit our website at: The Nicaragua Covenant Team in New England Dan Dolan, Executive Director Kevin McNally, Chairman Sandy Melius, Co- Chair Rev. Steve Melius Richard Rinker, Director Mobile Health Clinic Kathi Peterson, Treasurer and Education Gwen McGrath Joanne McNally, Water Projects Sandra A. Collins, Director of Communications/PR daniel_dolan_66@msn.com kevinmcnally@nicacov.org sandsmelius@verizon.net sandsmelius@verizon.net rmrinker@comcast.net annaneva1@msn.com edgwen@mac.com momstaxi46@hotmail.com sac1330@gmail.com 6