Group: Darnell, Rafael, and Estephanie 

I enjoyed this group’s unconventional approach in addressing international development in Nicaragua. Each presenter addressed distinct projects undertaken by global corporations, and in doing so, provided a more comprehensive perspective of the dynamics in the country. I thought that the presentation overall was very flavorful, especially in wide range of moods were elicited in the audience.

I was particularly intrigued by the presentation on Sugar Plantations, World Bank, and Chronic Kidney Disease. At first, I thought that Darnell might have been overly ambitious in attacking such diverse topics. Intuitively, sugar canes and the World Bank do not have much overlap, let alone World Bank and chronic kidney disease. But in the context of Nicaragua, the things go together like tweedle dee and tweedle dum. Sugarcanes contribute tremendously to Nicaragua’s export and plantations dot the northwestern coast bordering the Pacific Ocean. Many of these plantations are funded by loaned from World Bank, and rapid growth in the industry has helped to bolster the economy through the creation of new jobs. In what seem to be a healthy relationship, Darnell made a sobering observation. In Chichigalpas, home to Ingenio San Antonio, the largest sugar plantation in all of Nicaragua, men have been dying off by the dozens. The victims were workers on the sugarcane, and all had been reported to suffer from an unconventional form of kidney disease before death. Male deaths were so common that Chichigalpas became know as The Island of Widows. Naturally, such a grand scale phenomenon warranted further investigation, which ultimately revealed that the plantations funded by the World Bank were illegally subjecting their workers to horrible conditions that may very well have played a large role in the development of the kidney disease. Darnell’s discussion of this topic was at once enlightening and disheartening.

In contrast, the rest of the presentation addressed topics that more hopeful and optimistic. Rafael talked about the national implementation of Education for Success Project, which has empowered many of the lower class citizens through various forms of teaching. I was warmed by his example of Macrina, a 17-year-old girl who was able to stay in school thanks to EFS. Estephanie discussed some of the approaches of Nicaragua Democratic Institute in dealing with development in Nicaragua and found that there will be a greater focus the issues of gender dynamics and education inequality between classes. Both of these sections were very informative, and Rafael and Estephanie did a nice job deliver the overarching themes to us.