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Winter Newsletter
2009-2010 |
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Greetings!
Thank you for your interest in The Sunrise Foundation and the children's project in Nicaragua that it supports, Hogar Luceros del Amanecer. We are very proud of the achievements we have made over the past five years, as well as the things we have accomplished most recently. Please keep reading to hear about what we have been up to in Camoapa!
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Keeping a Family Together
One small effort at a time
The Nicaraguan Ministry of the Family (MiFamilia) has stated that a child is better off with a loving family than in institutional care, no matter how poor the family. We agree. In collaboration with MiFamilia, our team works as hard as we can to maintain this family structure by offering social services if it is within our capabilities. We have recently had the opportunity to organize a community in order to help a child remain with her family despite their tremendous lack of resources. Here is her story:
Our Social Worker received an urgent phone call from Don Augustin, the local representative from MiFamilia, asking her to use her contacts to place a three year old girl into a residential facility. "The whole family is starving to death," he said. Our team went to meet the family and found an elderly couple, their daughter and the three year old grandchild living in a tiny shack. They were as he said: starving. The grandfather, with occasional help from his wife, had been supporting the family by collecting and selling firewood. He was now too sick to work. The daughter was disabled; she appeared to have poor coordination and could barely walk on her own. And because of this situation, the granddaughter was without the necessary food to develop appropriately.
Read More...
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Informational Charlas
Over the past several months, we have both hosted and traveled to other local organizations to provide and receive a number of seminars/trainings on various topics.
Hogar's in-house Social Worker, Aleyda, the only Licensed Social Worker in the city of Camoap a, has volunteered her time to participate in a in a series of workshops sponsored by Los Pipitos, an organization that works with handicapped children, at their center in Managua. She then gives trainings for parents and for their volunteer staff in Camoapa and nearby communities. These trainings include topics such as communication techniques between adults and children with intellectual deficiency and structuring of daily routines to better serve the child. At the Centro de Desarollo Infantil (Center for Early Childhood Development) she has provided trainings to staff on early intervention techniques to more effectively promote healthy development.
We have also recently invited the family members of our children and other interested community members to Hogar for seminars, provided by specialists from Managua, on how to eat a well-balanced diet and family planning/sex education.
These charlas, both here at Hogar and elsewhere, happen on an ongoing basis and we eagerly respond to new invitations whenever it is possible, for our social worker and staff members.
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Building Community Alliance
Brings Support for Children
One of Hogar's most recent and exciting initiatives has been launching a new Agency Alliance in the city of Camoapa. The local government is, by law, required to provide 1 percent of the city budget to the local children and to the programs that support them. However, since May 1998 when this law was first created, the Comision de la Ninez y la Adolescencia (Commission for Children and Adolescence) has not seen any of that money. Nor has the Comision been functioning in any practical capacity. Feeling frustrated with disorganization and a lack of services provided to the people of Camoapa, we decided to take matters into our own local hands.
To start building capacity Hogar Luceros del Amanecer initiated a town wide meeting and invited all local organizations that work with children, adolescents and/or adults. Local representatives from the following organizations came to the meeting:
- Los Pipitos, a national non-governmental agency of the families of handicapped children to increase their involvement and abilities within their communities.
- Programa Amor, a subsidiary program of the Nicaraguan Governmental Agency, El Ministerio de la Familia, that works for children's rights and protection.
- Centro de Desarollo Infantil (CDI), a strictly local organization that provides daycare, early education schooling and nutrition to infants and children up to the age of 6 whose families are of limited resources.
- Casa de la Mujer, a local chapter of a national program for women that provides training and social services, and especially assistance to those who have been victims of domestic violence.
Read More...
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Dance Performances & Raffles
Hogar Luceros del Amanecer rarely has the resources to take field trips. We usually have just enough money to pay operating expenses. But last month, we hosted a raffle in order to raise enough money (approximately 3,200 Cordobas which is about $160) to take the children who are studying dance to see a Folkloric Dance performance at the Ruben Dario National Theater in Managua.
The prize was a Canasta Basica (basic basket) of typical Nicaraguan Food. The kids sold raffle tickets around town for C$5, which is just under 25 cents each. One of the staff here at Hogar won the raffle and donated the basket it to a local family to whom we are providing services.
The performance was meant to inspire the children who are studying dance, to provide them with a cultural experience and to give them the opportunity to see other parts of Nicaragua. For some, it was their first time to Managua.
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Booksale raised $2700!
On a beautiful sunny day in mid-September, and after several months of planning, Lisa Hall, one of the Sunrise Foundation's board members, organized our third annual fundraising event in Northampton, Massachusetts. She collected nearly 3000 used books throughout the summer from various friends (and friends of friends) and had a large scale tag sale right in the middle of downtown. Also for sale were some artisan crafts from Nicaragua.
With help from several National Honor Society Members from Northampton High School, Lisa was able to raise a total $2700 dollars to help Hogar Luceros del Amanecer with basic operating expenses. Though many people are out and about looking to find good deals on books, a lot of folks are thoughtful enough to give a little more in donations than the books were worth. Some even chose to give donations without buying any books at all.
Leftover books (of which we had about 60 boxes) will go to either the Prison Book Project, a project called Reader to Reader, a local Church Fair or be sold or recycled through a company called Got Books?
We appreciate the generosity of everyone who was able to provide books, donations, time or all three. Thank you for your support. |
More News...
Encouraging Women in Small Business Endeavors
As an effort to assist local women in developing marketable skills, Hogar has provided sewing classes to interested Mothers of the children who are enrolled at Hogar Luceros del Amanecer. To learn more and to see some photos of the women at work, please click here. We have also recently made contact with a German organization that provides start up products and supplies for women interested in beginning farming cooperatives. This will continue to be supported and hopefully implemented on a trial basis in a nearby village called La Calamidad.
Welcome
We welcome our new Intern, Emily Mew, from Holyoke MA, who brings valuable experience and skills to Hogar. Emily graduated from Skidmore College with a major in anthropology and a minor in Spanish. After several years of working in youth programs she completed a Master's degree in Public Policy and Administration at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She is assisting with programs, administration and communications.
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The Hogar is supported entirely by private donations. Please consider making a donation to help us continue and expand our programs. Go to our website www.thesunrisefoundation.org for more information or to make an online donation.
Sincerely,
Rachel Greenwood
The Sunrise Foundation |
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