Final Reflection

The term has quickly come to an end and I would like to reflect on all that I have learned in this class. This class has been more that just being lectured about Nicaragua and then writing papers. This class has been very practical in that we have delved into the issues surrounding Nicaragua and discussed them. We’ve interacted with Nicaraguans in person and through skype. We’ve had guest speakers with experience in Nicaragua. We’ve had workshops and educational sessions. This class has been more than just a grade for me. I’ve really put forth a great effort in learning about Nicaragua in all facets in order to be prepared for when I go on my trip in December. Our professor, Douglas Moody, was amazing. He was not only knowledgeable, but he also facilitated great discussion. Also, knowing that he will be on the trip with us made me feel assured that he truly cares about Nicaragua.

I want to highlight some of the most influential experiences that I had in this class. By far, the experience that influenced me the most was when the Daughters of Corn dance troupe along with Compas de Nicaragua came to visit us in our class. I will never forget the discussion we had. They told us that they would never live in the United States because they are proud of where they come from and here in the U.S. we have an emptiness inside of us that they don’t have. After learning about all this issues that Nicaraguans face and all the adversity that they have overcome, it astonished me to see their energy and pride. Also, I was also very touched by the fact that despite their limitations, they do whatever they can to help one another. Through the Women in Action initiative facilitated by Compas de Nicaragua, microloans have been made available to families and these loans have truly made a difference. In addition, they spearheaded a soy food program to grow and cultivate soy which is an inexpensive and nutritional alternative to more expensive foods.

Another experience in which I learned a lot was when Dr. Jim Saunders came to speak to our class about the seven sins of humanitarian medicine. Even though I am not going to be part of the community health team when I go to Nicaragua, I feel like his advice is applicable to all those that volunteer on service trips. He addressed not going into the underdeveloped countries thinking that we are the saviors because we can indeed cause harm. Throughout the entirety of this course, I have realized that service is something that can harm if not done correctly and this is the last thing I want to do when going to Nicaragua. Dr. Saunders, also addressed not leaving a mess behind and not being bad guests. We have to remember that these countries are hosting us and just because we are going to help doesn’t give us the right to look down upon them because most of the time they know more than us. Something that a lot of in class speakers have addressed is learning a lot more than they would have thought from service trips. They thought that they were going to go to their respective countries and provide life-changing services. In reality, they made small contributions, but learned so much more than they gave.
I am very excited for this service trip to Nicaragua in December. I joined this trip because of my love for service. Obviously, that’s always a requirement, but many well intentioned people like me end up causing harm. I have received 10 weeks of training and I went from not knowing where the country is to knowing so much about the culture, the people, and service in general. I am ready to go on this trip and give my everything. I’m looking forward to interact with the local Nicaraguans and learn much more from them than I could ever teach them. I am completely humbled and I am ready to serve and listen to one of my brothers in god.

Final Presentations

This week in our class we all presented on a subject matter relating to Nicaragua that interested us. There were so many interesting topics presented along with great proposals for solutions. In my group we analyzed three separate international development projects including their successes and failures and provided a form in which this formation can be useful to the Nicaraguans. Many groups explored topics related to problems in Nicaragua and gave excellent proposals and solutions.

One presentation that I truly enjoyed was that of Patricia and Rocco. They addressed the issue of poor Dental Hygiene in Nicaragua. They made it clear that dental hygiene in Nicaragua is abysmal due to the lack of dentists available in the rural regions and in order to prevent the need for dental care, preventative care is essential. It is not that the Nicaraguans don’t understand the necessity of dental hygiene, but they are just simply not encouraged to follow these practices and do not have reinforcing structures to do so like here in the U.S.

The aspect of this project that I enjoyed the most is how a tangible project will be implemented when we travel to Nicaragua. Patricia and Rocco created a toothbrush holder with dental hygiene cartoons on the front to distribute to young children in Nicaragua. They really put a lot of thought into creating this toothbrush holder from what material would be used to create it to how to make it last. Once their prototype was created, they created a three step implementation plan in order for the holders to have the best possible impact. These three steps being motivation, ability or education, and the presence of a visual trigger. I think it was very important how Rocco and Patricia understood that their project was not a revolutionary change but rather a small-step towards long lasting change. They admitted that they knew this toothbrush holder wasn’t going to completely change dental hygiene in Nicaragua but it would be a strong step in reversing the vicious cycle of bad dental hygiene. I also think it is important to note that they will be using their own funds to create 50 of these toothbrush holders as well as devoting out of class time to the project. This project clearly reflects the steps that need to be take in order to make changes to the problems in these regions. We need to make small changes to ultimately end the problem.

Another project that interested me was Kira and Kayuri’s. They discussed mining in Nicaragua. I particularly enjoyed their project due to the questions and discussion that it incites. They presented facts about the mining industry in Nicaragua. For example, it produces $460 million annually for the economy and provides jobs for working class people. Families depend on this industry and it is an industry that is currently booming due to the interest of mining companies to settle in Nicaragua. A case study of a mining company, B2 gold, was provided and it was shown that the company praises Nicaragua as a great place to do business due to relaxed laws that make exploiting the Nicaraguan resources easy. Obviously, they create confusing jargon to explain this reason.

These mining companies promise to provide safe working conditions and provide benefits and resources in the communities in which they are established. However, as we can observe throughout history this is not the case. We were shown a video of a protest by a small mining community against B2 gold because of the destruction of their community. Is this an example of a community that enjoys the presence of a mining company? At the end of the day the government benefits from mining and the mining companies benefit from mining, so there is no reason to change the system. There is no reason to stop exploiting local communities. However, Kira and Kayuri made an interesting point as to how mining is not a logical way to sustain the economy. Gold veins are finite and eventually all natural resources will be exhausted. What will occur then? The country’s economy will spiral out of control. This also bring up an important question which is should mining be abolished even though for most it provides the only form of income. This is where one weighs the pros and the cons which is impossible to do. What is more important,  safety and the economical success of future generations or your short-term survival. This is an impossible question to answer and the Nicaraguans shouldn’t have to. The government has to step up and provide ways in which the Nicaraguans can thrive without the exploitation of their resources and the endangering of their health.

Healthcare in Nicaragua

 
This past class Dr. James Saunders attended our class and gave a presentation on healthcare. He is  an otolaryngologist, specializing in ear, nose and throat disorders. He has a lot of experience in healthcare specifically in Nicaragua due to his work there with an organization he helped to co-found: Mayflower Medical Outreach

I  really enjoyed his entire presentation but I was most interested by his explanation of the seven sins of humanitarian medicine. This is something that we had learned about a while back in our class, but it was nice to hear it from someone who has actually been part of many humanitarian health brigades to Nicaragua. He began by talking about #1: leaving a mess behind. He gave an anecdote about arriving in Nicaragua ready to do ear surgery  with his team after being there 6 months prior. Him and his team were received very coldly due to the fact that a different health team had just been in the area fixing cleft lips and right after they had departed the wounds began to open. The children were then left much worse off than before. Dr. Saunders emphasized the importance of having a plan in case things do go wrong and not taking on more than you can handle.

Next he talked about sin #2: failure to match technology with local needs and abilities. He discussed the use of cochlear implants with people with very bad hearing loss or deafness. These cochlear implants are not only very expensive but they require a lot of upkeep which is certainly not feasible in Nicaragua. Dr. Saunders then compared the situations of 2 girls in Nicaragua with profound hearing loss. One girl lives in Managua and comes from a middle class family and the other lives in a very rural part of Nicaragua. The one in Managua was able to get a cochlear implant because the technology was available to do so, but the other didn’t have the same resources so a low-tech solution was more realistic for her situation. This made me reflect on how sometimes as Americans we believe that our technology and our ways of doing things are universal, but we have to take into account the locations in which we are helping because high-tech solutions in some cases can prove disastrous.

Sin #3 is the failing of NGOs to cooperate and help each other. There are many charitable organizations out there that do wonderful work in countries like Nicaragua. However, when they don’t cooperate, they don’t make the biggest impact that they could make. Dr.Saunders discussed how in places like Nicaragua communities will never reject service because they are grateful. Nonetheless, there are time when they get the same services over and over which is not really beneficial to them. An organization that provided an already provided service could have allocated those funds for an other purpose that the community could have benefited from.

Sin #4 is failing to have a follow up plan. This sin corresponds with leaving a mess behind. When a medical service is provided there is no guarantee that there will be no complications. Thus, Dr. Saunders stressed training people in the communities to address those complications because realistically there won’t always be an American health professional available. He made the wonderful analogy of not only teaching a man to fish but also giving him a fishing pole. So, Dr.Saunders’ organization is not only training people to handle these complications and to do other general medical work, but it’s also providing the proper equipment to facilitate god medical care.

Sin #5 is allowing politics, training, or other distracting goals to trump service, while representing the mission as service. In certain occasions, political parties within some countries want to use these service missions to their benefit in order to make themselves look better. Dr. Saunders emphasized that you can’t always ignore the politics going on around you, but you just have to along with it and not get sucked into it. In my opinion, I think its very easy to get sucked into politics and very controversial issue when doing service work. I think the best plan is to do work that benefits the masses and that doesn’t take a stance on an issue. For example, one wouldn’t  go into a developing country and start facilitating abortions.

Sin#6 is going where you are not wanted and being poor guests.

Coming from the first world, we tend to think that we are the saviors of the third world and we know what’s right for them. Hence, we impose our will and feel entitled because we are providing “service.” Sometimes our help is not wanted or needed and just being poor guests. Dr. Saunders said that in countries like Nicaragua the people are very polite and won’t refuse your help. However, I think it’s essential to really reflect and ask ourselves if we are helping and making the situation better rather than worse. The medical student that spoke at the end of the presentation spoke about needing to test babies’ hearing for her research. She didn’t simply go into hospitals with the expectation to be able to test these babes because she was from America and providing service. On the contrary, she established relationships and didn’t see herself as above the Nicaraguans. So I think part of being poor guest is having a feeling of entitlement and looking down upon those that we are trying to “help” when in reality we might not even be helping.

Lastly sin #7 is doing the right thing for the wrong reason.

This sin is essential especially in my case because  I have frequently questioned myself as to why I’m going to Nicaragua. The worst thing would be going to pad my resume or to have a travel experience. After a lot of pondering, I realized that I’m doing it out of a love for fellow mankind. When I go to Nicaragua I’ll do my best to serve whole heatedly and taking into account that just because I’m there to serve doesn’t mean I can’t cause damage.

Dr.Saunders was great and provided a lot of insight into not only medical service, but service in general. I know that I used to think that simply because I’m volunteering means that I’m doing a good deed but Dr. Saunders has shown that damage can be caused and we always have to  take into account the seven sins of humanitarian medicine. I want to take it further and say that these sins are applicable to all humanitarian service.

The World is Watching

Recently we presented on movies that we have been watching for our class related in some way to Nicaragua. My group presented on two separate films: The World is Watching and The World Stopped Watching. These movies have to do with the Contra War in Nicaragua during and then after the war. For the purpose of this blog I would like to focus on The World is Watching. This movie really touched me. In class we have discussed the Contra War and many of its aspects on several occasions but watching this movie allowed me to put a face to the Nicaraguan people specifically their experiences during the Contra War.

To begin with, this movie addresses the burden of scrutiny that Nicaragua faced in the media. They were one of 5 Central American countries that signed a supposed peace treaty but Nicaragua was the only country that was actually held to the standard of the peace treaty. Journalists that were sent to Nicaragua to document the war were only out to document conflict in order to please their editors back home. They ignored positive aspects of Nicaraguans because that wouldn’t attract as much attention as conflict. This is something that can be seen even in current times. Take the Iraq or Afghanistan war as examples. Think about the last time you heard about something positive occurring in those countries. It’s truly an abomination that we overemphasize the bad to the point where it becomes expected. Another point that was brought up was that editors in U.S. corporate offices are the ones who decide what is or what isn’t news. That was a much bigger problem in the 80s simply because the only source of information was the newspaper or TV, but now that isn’t as big of a problem with the internet. Nonetheless, very few sources provide unbiased reports of the news and by consequence control what the public thinks. During the Contra War, the media was brainwashing the public and convincing them that the Sandinistas were the enemies when in reality they wanted peace and the U.S. funded Contras were the ones wreaking havoc. Foreign Minister Miguel D’Escoto said in regards to Ronald Reagan, “You throw enough mud on the wall and then you hope that some would stick.” Thus, he was expressing the idea that the media and others including the President just say whatever negative things come to mind and eventually the public will believe something.

As the movie transitioned to specific stories of different Nicaraguans, I was amazed to see the actual damage done by the Contras. The first Nicaraguan interviewed was a young Sandinista soldier. He recounts losing is wife, brothers in law, mother in law and son just prior to the interview. They were not only killed but they were mutilated. It was a horrible story to hear. The soldier remarked that Regan is responsible for the war and all the Sandinistas want is peace. He responded with an unreal stoicism and it’s not that he didn’t care, but I believe that Nicaraguans were already so accustomed to this type of brutality occurring on a daily basis. The second story is of an elderly campesina woman and her community who had recently been raided by the Contras. They had no possessions to their name and this woman didn’t know where to go on from here. She comments that the sandinistas simply want to provide for the poor and the wealthy do not like this so they declare a war on communism when a communism doesn’t exist. Despite her circumstances, this woman had an eerie determination to move forward and not give up. I believe that this is the identity of Nicaraguans even up to this day. A couple of blog posts ago I commented on how the Nicaraguans that came to Dartmouth to visit us were so joyous and proud despite their poverty. This is what make them a unique people. What angers me though is that these stories were not included in the media, rather false lies of rebellious and communist country were spread in order to incite anger against the sandinistas when in reality they just wanted to live in peace.

I just briefly talked about this movie but what I took from it is that media has such a grand impact on history. The media can literally incite wars or end them and one can only imagine how many lives could have been saved and how much suffering could have been prevented if only the media portrayed the truth and not what was beneficial to their corporations. Even worse, is that the world eventually stopped watching Nicaragua and when the war was over these people were just forgotten.

Conducting Ethnography

This week I conducted an oral interview on a local community member. Her name is Marta Ceroni and she is a forest ecologist by trade. I know her through the Dartmouth Argentine Tango society since she is the advisor and I go to the weekly lessons. I decided to interview her because she has experience in international development in an ecological perspective. In class we are always talking about health care, education, nutrition, the revolution etc. and we didn’t investigate possible ecological development that could be done in Nicaragua. She is not too familiar with Nicaragua but her responses can be applied to any development context. I learned a lot about what type of ecological development could be implemented in Nicaragua. In addition, Marta also provided her opinion on some more philosophical questions.

To begin the interview, I made sure that I followed some type of protocol. Thus, I greeted her and thanked her for allowing me to interview her. Rather than start off and startling her with a series of question, I decided to ease her into the questions. I began by asking her where she was from, what she studied in school, where she works, etc. These questions provided a strong foundation for the interview. I began by asking her what exactly constitutes a good development project in a rural and poor country like Nicaragua. She answered with two very good points. She asserted that a country needs to establish a baseline as to where they are and what has has happened before that baseline. In addition, she argued that a country must have a vision that incorporates the local community. She also stressed attacking things at a systemic level rather than just focusing on one solution. Marta works at the Donella Meadows institute which focuses on creating a sustainable economy using a systems thinking approach. Her work everyday consists of solving sustainability problems and she has learned from experience that most problems occur at a systemic level.

Next, I asked her point of view on whether or not short-term service projects like the CCESP make an positive difference. She immediately responded that we shouldn’t discount the feeling that we get when we volunteer because if nothing else, we are empowered to make change and gaining essential practical experiences. Marta expressed that there will always be obstacles in service work and despite the fact that we might not make a life-changing difference, the exchanges and conversations that we have with the locals are enough to justify the trip

We then began talking about what can be done to preserve the integrity of the Bosawás. She commented that there are international treaties in place that protect biospheres like the Bosawás. Obviously, governments are corrupt and simply don’t follow established law. Her proposed solution is to expose the exploitation and colonization of land in the Bosawás in order to create awareness of the problem. If enough commotion is created, Nicaragua will have to abide by the international laws or face global isolation. We finally discussed the ethics of ecotourism more specifically in the Bosawás. Marta argued that ecotourism if done correctly can be ethical. She explained that the ecotourism would have to be run by the locals and they would have to see direct benefits from this tourism. However, if the locals have no say in the situation and if their land is just going to be further exploited, then only more problems are being created. We discussed these topic in a lot more depth and the entire interview can be found on my oral ethnography page.

This was my first experience conducting an interview and it was more difficult than I thought. I found it difficult to give proper feedback and I felt as if I was not acknowledging her very well articulated responses. I would simply move on to the next question. Also, I overextended my questions making them more confusing than they had to be. In addition, in certain instances I would find our discussion getting off topic and I didn’t exactly know how to redirect it without disturbing the flow of the interview. On the other hand, I feel pretty good about my ability to ask questions on the fly and adapt them to comments that she made. Also, I was able to control myself when I wanted to interject and allowed her to complete her ideas.

All in all, this was a very productive experience. Not only did I learn a lot about ecological development and Marta, I was able to successfully conduct an interview and to identify mistakes that I made. I will be conducting an interview in Nicaragua and it will be much different but I hope that this experience helps me to feel more comfortable and gain valuable knowledge from the Nicaraguans.

Nicaraguan Visitors in Class

This past week visitors from Nicaragua came to visit us in our class. Most of these visitors were part of a Dance group called Los hijos de Maiz which is a traditional folk dance group.  Along with them was the executive director of an organization called Compas de Nicaragua, Michael Boudreau. This organization focuses on doing community development work in Nicaragua and a project they have been working on since the beginning is their Women In Action (WIA) program. This program consist of 40 women who organize health and education projects in La Primavera, Nicargua. One of these women, Ana Narvaez, was also in attendance.

I was very excited to have actual Nicaraguans visit our class in order to give us some perspective on the Nicaraguan lifestyle. We had been reading about the problems and difficulties that they faced, but hearing a first-hand account is a completely different experience. What first fascinated me was Michael’s story. I was completely astounded by how from coming from NH, he became involved with Compas and completely devoted his life to this organization and its mission. He now lives in Nicaragua full-time and his story gave me hope in humanity because there are people that care and that are willing to sacrifice themselves to make a positive difference. I see Michael as a role model and hope to someday follow in his footsteps.

I enjoyed hearing about the WIA initiative that exists in La Primavera. Ana described how the program was begun and it really inspired me. 40 poor women in this very poor neighborhood decided to get together and change the position that they were in. They didn’t wait for their government to bail them out or wait for someone to dole out money, rather took initiative. Through their constant struggle they have been able to accomplish marvelous tasks such as a soy food program in which nutritious and inexpensive food is made available to them. Another great program that Ana mentioned is their micro-lending program. One of the dancers commented on how those loans really help families in need and are the difference between economic stability and complete poverty. In her case, her mother was given a loan to purchase a vending cart which allowed her to sell fruit and other food on the street in order to make money for her family. Thus, these women do not wait for help but rather help themselves through contribution and problem solving and they have developed an excellent model that should be imitated.

The part of the class that really touched my soul was the reflections of our visitors. One of the dancers commented on how she was almost brought to tears by how much food is thrown out here at Dartmouth. She commented that people struggle in Nicaragua to get three meals a day and even recounted a story of her being hungry when she was a little child in school and not having anything to eat because the only food that was available in her household was given to her male brother. This really touched me because here we are in a developed country throwing away food or complaining about the quality of it, while little children in Nicaragua would do anything for a bowl of rice. I am definitely guilty of throwing away food or being gluttonous and her anecdote has given me something to ponder about when I am eating. In addition, what really shocked me was how the visitors responded after someone had asked if they would live in the U.S. They all adamantly responded that they would not. They explained that despite their poverty, they enjoy life and love each other. They don’t care about material things and are simply happy to be alive. Whereas in the U.S. people are obsessed with material possessions, but are filled with a gaping hole within them. Ana also recounted the story of a young boy who was so elated that he was going to have a substantial meal. This young boy ran to Ana to let her know the good news and even offered to share his measly piece of fish with her despite the fact that he was so hungry. All these stories just proved to me that happiness can exist in poverty. I learned so much from these guests and I hope to follow in their footsteps and not only help others, but also have the same love for life that they have.

Experiences as a Tourist

My family is from Ecuador and my abroad experiences consist of going to Ecuador to visit my family. My mom did a good job instilling her culture in me despite the fact that I was born here in the U.S. and consider myself an “American”. Thus, I speak the language, eat the food, listen to the music etc. When I go to Ecuador I don’t consider myself a tourist simply because I’m in the presence of my family partaking of the culture that I believe to be mine. However, after many trips I have realized that I am indeed a tourist.

I do not like to be considered a tourist because I want to feel like I belong in the culture that I have been raised with. Nonetheless, I would see the different treatment I would receive when I would visit Ecuador. I’m the “American” and automatically I receive better treatment. My family makes sure that I’m comfortable, have everything that I need, and content in my vacation. I am a guest to them, an outsider. I’m from America and automatically that entails privilege and better treatment which I definitely see as problematic. I’m put on a pedestal that I don’t deserve, I simply want to be one of the many, however I can never be. I haven’t lived in hunger. I haven’t had to drop out of school to work. I have a household with hot water and a steady source of income. I haven’t suffered the struggles that they have and thus, I can never be considered one of the many.

I have learned to embrace my differences. While I definitely do not want to be treated better than anyone else, I have embraced my “American” culture and have shared it with my family in Ecuador. In the same fashion, they have taught me about the intricacies of their culture that I do not know about. Instead of fighting the difference, I have grown to cherish them and learn from them.

Hence, I’m a tourist even in the country of my family. While being a tourist has negative connotations, there are many benefit of tourism. The most important is the culture exchange that occurs. Both tourist and native are exposed to things that they might have never otherwise been exposed to. They learn new things about a people different than them. Tourism also humbles people. When I got to Ecuador I realize all the blessing that I have and I am more appreciative of what I have. Nonetheless, I do not pity the underprivileged, rather I feel compelled to help them. Tourism can also bring about negative things such as exploitation, but in the end tourism helps economies and helps people learn about one another. I’m a tourist and I’m proud, but as a tourist I have a responsibility to learn and to teach.