SRF Newsletter No.46, Nov/Dec 2015, page 1
Registered Charity No. 1028085
Supporting educational initiatives and projects in Nicaragua
www.santarosafund.org
SRF NEWS No 46
November / December 2015
(See centre page spread for report.)
Little Cob grows in 2015
SRF Newsletter No.46, Nov/Dec 2015, page 2
From 2008 for the next four years, the Santa Rosa Fund made donations to educational projects benefiting
the children and adults who worked as recyclers on La Chureca, Managua’s major rubbish dump. In 2013
the dump was sealed and a recycling plant was created to take the city’s waste. Some, not all, of the people
who depended on the dump for their economic survival were employed elsewhere and in the recycling plant.
Other initiatives were also created, like the one described below by SRF trustee Amy Haworth Johns who
visited the project (at her own expense) earlier this year.
Earth Education Project: Re-Building Women’s Lives After La Chureca.
In 2013, La Chureca, Managua’s biggest rubbish dump, was given an overhaul in an attempt to address the
waste problem in the capital. The dump (located on the shores of Lake Managua) was transformed into a
recycling plant.
Environmentally and from the government’s point of view, this was a positive change to tackle sanitation
issues facing the city. But the change had an irrevocable impact on the families who relied on it for their
livelihood.
In a country where official figures give an unemployment rate of 7.2% in 2014 (IndexMundi, 2015) but
where under-employment reaches almost 50% of the population, scavenging metal, components and saleable
goods from the mounds of La Chureca
provided over 900 families with an income
they depended on. Its shutdown left many
to a life of destitution.
Of the people who relied on the dump, it
was the women who were left in the most
difficult situation. In a country where many
young women leave school before
completing their education so they can take
care of younger siblings or because they
need to earn money, their employment
prospects were low and many had nowhere
else to turn.
Into this came Earth Education Project (EEP). Run by Swiss-born entrepreneur Andrea Paltzer, EEP was
established in 2009. Even before the dump’s closure, Andrea saw that these women needed an alternative to
life on La Chureca. Now 6 years on, EEP supports more than twenty women, with its aim to: “empower
Nicaraguan women living in situations of violence, in isolated communities with education programmes and
job skill training to achieve full time employment, secure a stable income and
break the cycle of poverty.”
On my recent visit to Managua, I made my way to EEP to meet the women who have switched from recycling rubbish off the dump to producing beautiful
beads from recycled material instead.
Upon arrival I was met by the scene shown on the next page – twenty women
enrolled in EEP’s year-long programme, all rolling paper, making paper and
varnishing beads. Each day the women transform used newspaper and
magazines (sourced from doctors’ surgeries and waiting rooms of Managua)
into beautiful jewellery.
© Michael Cominic, Flikr
SRF Newsletter No.46, Nov/Dec 2015, page 3
Sold through the Chureca Chic
label in Nicaragua and
internationally, the jewellery is
EEP’s main source of income
for the project. As sales rise,
Andrea shares her hopes of
expansion and further training
for more women.
Upon enrolment the women
receive training in jewellery
making and every day have
lessons in reading, writing and
mathematics. As well as basic
education, the women receive Photos courtesy of https://www.facebook.com/ChurecaChic
a monthly stipend and packages of subsidised food and household goods. Equating to minimum pay, the
stipend means the women are able to continue their studies and commit to the year-long programme.
However it is not just school work;
at EEP there are workshops in
business skills to help them
prepare for a world which they’ve
never experienced – including
time keeping and money
management. EEP has established
connections with local businesses to encourage them to employ EEP’s graduates. They also receive
workshops on nutrition, sexual health, women’s rights, confidence building and psychological support from
a volunteer therapist who works from the small room off the main bead workshop. As many of the women
have experienced or are experiencing abuse, these sessions strike an essential balance to enable them to
build a new life free from instability and violence, and move on from La Chureca.
References: http://www.indexmundi.com/nicaragua/economy_profile.html
https://www.facebook.com/ChurecaChic
http://eartheducationproject.org/
https://www.facebook.com/EarthEducationProject
Nicaragua Now, Issue 4 Spring 2015, http://nicaraguasc.org.uk/news/article/132/nicaragua-now-issue-4-spring-2015
RENEWAL OF SUPPORT
With this newsletter, you will find enclosed a Supporter Renewal form. If you already have a standing order to the Santa Rosa Fund, please ignore this request and use the other side of the form for your telephone pad.
But if any of your contact details have changed over the last year, could you please return the form with
your alterations? To all who send their support each year in response to this end-of-year newsletter, please
consider another donation to the SRF, bearing in mind that the trustees of the Fund are always keen to
ensure that we maximise the amount and proportion of our yearly income that goes directly to the
beneficiaries in Nicaragua.
Virginia Castaño Díaz spent seven years living on ‘La Chureca’, Nicaragua’s
biggest rubbish dump, where she used to eke out a living by recycling the city’s
waste materials. She moved there with her four children after fleeing a violent
partner. Virginia still makes a living from recycling but her situation is now very
different. She has her own home and is employed at the Earth Education Project
(EEP). Liz Light, NSC
SRF Newsletter No.46, Nov/Dec 2015, page 4
Little Cob – Amy’s report
Santa Rosa Fund trustee Amy (whose photos appear on the front page) spent much of her time in Central
America as a volunteer at The Little Cob in Matagalpa in northern Nicaragua. This is her report.
Little Cob Library is like an oasis in the
desert. An oasis where children who are
forced to grow up quickly can have a safe and
peaceful space to actually BE children. A cool
and calm space, it has become a sanctuary for
the children of this neighbourhood where they
can come after school to read, do homework
and take part in a variety of activities. Based
on the skills of the volunteers who help at
Little Cob, the activities I have observed and
helped out with during my time there have
included: making cakes with Stina (Sweden),
a beautiful mosaic table with Abs (UK),
jewellery and a mobile out of gathered seedpods and homemade clay beads with Esther (Italy), Aikido with Iris
(Holland) and art and English classes with Clarisse (UK).
Running alongside these activities is the calming
influence of Kenia (Nicaraguan), the new librarian, with
whom the children can read, check out books and can get
help with homework – and the unwavering love of its
founder Dominique.
I don’t know anywhere else like Little Cob. The
word sustainability is over-used these days, but it
is a word that always comes back to me. In the
sustainable techniques used to build the library and
other buildings on-site, the layout of the garden
(with its domed oven and brand new beautiful
patio) and the dedication put into the lives of the
children who use it. Ranging from 6 years and up,
these children are given a chance to grow as
individuals and to access experiences they
SRF Newsletter No.46, Nov/Dec 2015, page 5
otherwise would miss out on.
“What an incredible place! Built and run with such
love and honest concern for the lives and futures of
the children who frequent it. Little Cob is unlike
anywhere else I have seen and I’m so happy I
finally had a chance to visit. Thank you to everyone
who I met during my time there. Thank you to
Dominique for creating such a wonderful space.
And thank you to the kids for being your cheeky
lovely selves!”
“I loved our Easter related activities for Semana
Santa. Making cards, angels and learning the British
game of painting and cracking hard-boiled eggs were great fun. The toilet roll angels
were an unexpected triumph and since then
they have made a zoo’s worth of toilet roll
animals!”
“I am so sad to not be able to see the
finished mosaic table but I can’t wait to see
the photos! A great project for the older
boys who are in the most danger of slipping
off the radar and into bad company. Too old
for the coveted Rompecabezas (puzzles) this
project gave them something lasting to be
part of and be proud of!”
Amy (right) with a Little Cobbler and
volunteer Esther (left)
And above the mosaic she wanted to
see completed
SRF Newsletter No.46, Nov/Dec 2015, page 6
Drumming and Marching in Central America
In September of each year the countries of Central America celebrate the anniversary of the day when they
gained their independence from Spain and their nationhood.
The celebrations entail all schools playing drums, dancing and marching around their villages, towns and
cities. Wherever you go schools will have suspended the normal curriculum so that rehearsals of the
drumming and the processions can be ready for the ‘big day’.
The ‘noise’ or should it be described as ‘sound’ is deafening and at times a good ‘wake-up’ call as schools
start at 7am. It is a tremendous spectacle with all classes from pre-school to seniors taking part.
The photograph is of primary school pupils on Santo Domingo Beach, on the Island of Ometepe in Lake
Nicaragua. The beach is the school’s playground and sports field. The rehearsals lasted two and half hours –
better than maths any day.
STREET CHILD UNITED SUMMIT – London, September 2015
Street Child United is a small charity with big ambitions. In September this year SCU held its Summit in London uniting
leaders and experts who work on the frontline with homeless and excluded children from 19 countries around the world.
Contributing to the Summit was Casa Alianza which is an advocacy and defender group for street children in Central
America and Mexico. (The Santa Rosa Fund has supported Casa Alianza in the past.) The Summit was agreed that the
major challenge to ensuring that street children are heard and valued is the stigma associated with living on the streets. “The
stigmatisation of street children remains a critical barrier to accessing their rights. They reinforced the idea that challenging
the stigma surrounding street children is the first step in transforming the way they are treated throughout society.”
http://www.streetchildunited.org/
http://www.casa-alianza.org.uk/
SRF Newsletter No.46, Nov/Dec 2015, page 7
NOTICE FOR POTENTIAL VOLUNTEERS
DBS/CRB Check for volunteers
All supporters of the SRF will be aware that we promote the work of volunteers with our partner
organisations in Nicaragua most of which cater to the educational needs of children and / or vulnerable
people. Volunteers involved in such work in the UK would need to have gone through the process of the
DBS / CRB check to ensure that they have no relevant criminal record. At our meeting in January 2015, the
SRF trustees decided that all future volunteers who work on SRF related projects in Nicaragua should also
undergo the same procedure.
We therefore ask potential volunteers to go through the process themselves and to provide the SRF with a
copy of the Basic Disclosure Certificate resulting from their check. This should be done before they begin
any SRF-related volunteer experience. On our website, we provide potential volunteers with a note of
guidance about how to go through the process and this can be found at:
http://www.santarosafund.org/volunteer-reports/dbs-crb-check/
Benefit Night On 31
st October 2015 at Whitchurch Village Hall, singer/songwriter Mike Silver and performance poet Rob
Barratt entertained a hall full of people, most of whom were Santa Rosa Fund supporters.
Mike Silver www.mikesilver.co.uk is a superb songwriter, masterful guitarist and captivating performer. He has a lifetime of professional music behind him, plus a busy on-going concert, songwriting and recording schedule. Mike continues to perform throughout the UK, Europe and America.
Rob Barratt www.robbarratt.co.uk is a comic
poet and singer from North Cornwall who
combines word play, verse and song with satire,
parody and audience participation. Rob deals with
such important topics as squid, the weather in
Scotland, distressed furniture and tuk-tuks. In
recent years Rob has appeared at folk, literature and arts festivals all over the UK and in Australia.
We are very grateful to Mike and Rob for donating their performances
for the cause of the Santa Rosa Fund. But we should also note our
great thanks to all who supported the event by making cakes for sale,
serving teas and coffees, taking the entrance monies and running the
raffle. Many thanks also to everyone who came along to enjoy the
entertainment. After covering all our costs of the event, the Fund
raised a total of £444.
Rob and Mike performing together at the event.
SRF Newsletter No.46, Nov/Dec 2015, page 8
SANTA ROSA FUND NEWSLETTERS
SRF supporters may be interested to learn how the SRF Newsletters are distributed. The Fund had 220
copies of Newsletter no. 44 (November 2014) printed by Dart Print in Tavistock. Of the 220:
101 were posted to destinations in the UK
6 were posted to overseas destinations
66 were hand delivered to SRF supporters who live in West Devon.
5 were hand delivered to groups and persons in Nicaragua
and:
104 supporters received the newsletter by email. Because of the increasing numbers of people taking the newsletter by email, the number we have had to print has been declining over the last few years. Although a reserve supply of newsletters is necessary (to give to new supporters and to respond to inquiries about the Fund), we dropped the print run to 200 for Newsletter no. 45 (June 2015) and for this edition (no. 46). If the trend towards electronic receipt continues, we shall drop it further in future.
Colour print Newsletter No. 44 was printed in colour for the first time, and this proved to be very popular. We have received only positive feedback about this. Accordingly, at the SRF AGM in January 2015, the trustees took the decision to continue with colour print for the next two editions during 2015 and to reconsider the further continuation of colour newsletters at the next AGM in January 2016. The cost of colour printing is of course considerably higher than for black and white printing. Our black and white print runs generally cost us between £60 and £70 for around 220 copies. The colour print for 200 copies costs £150. The trustees considered that this extra expense was worth it for the value added to our communication about the Fund to our supporters. We would be interested to receive any feedback from supporters about this issue. Pregnant teenagers The Nicaraguan government has announced that it aims to ensure that schools must guarantee the continuing
education of pregnant adolescents. According to UNICEF, Nicaragua has the highest rate of early pregnancy in Latin
America with one in three Nicaraguan women a mother before turning twenty. The number of pregnant adolescents
between 15 and 19 years of age dropped from 106 to 92 per 1,000 women between 2006 and 2012, and the
government wants to continue the work to prevent adolescent pregnancies, but wants also to ensure that the girl’s
education is not interrupted.
SANTA ROSA FUND CONTACTS www.santarosafund.org
Chair: Pete Mayston, Rose Cottage, Tuckermarsh, Bere Alston, Yelverton, Devon PL20 7HB
Tel. 01822 840297 Email: [email protected]
Secretary: Jacky Rushall, Culliford House, The Down, Bere Alston, Yelverton, Devon PL20 7HG
Tel. 01822 841676
Treasurer: Pat Mayston – as for Pete (above)
Twinning links representative: Rick Blower, 4 Glebelands, Exminster, Exeter EX6 8AR
Tel. 01392 823646 Email: [email protected]
Membership secretary: Martin Mowforth, 51 West St., Tavistock, Devon PL19 8JZ
Tel. 01822 617504 Email: [email protected]
PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER BY DART PRINT, TAVISTOCK