Once we are in Tadazna, Nicaragua, we will interview several of the community members to learn more about them personally, Tadazna, and Nicaragua as a whole. These interviews will be added to a collection from past years and previous trips to Nicaragua. In order to practice how to conduct these interviews, we were asked to interview people who have been to Nicaragua on service trips with Dartmouth in the past. I interviewed Rafael A. Nunez Jr. (to read more about the actual interview I conducted see the 'Oral History Project' page).
Through this interview, I was able to learn more about the approach that Bridges to Community has on service trips. Bridges to Community aims to help impoverished people, but they do so in a way that ensures that the communities they aid do not become dependent on them. One way they accomplish this is by limiting the amount of time that they are directly involved with a community. However, in that time they target some of the most crucial problems that this community has such as lack of access to clean water. While working on their projects they also hire local workers to get the job done so that not only are they helping the local economy, but they also provide them with the experience and knowledge to expand or repair the problem once Bridges to Community is no longer there. I think this is what service organizations should strive to do.
This interview also got me more excited to go on this trip and to conduct interviews with the community members once we are there. Rafael stressed how amazing the people are and being able to sit down and hear there stories is something that I look forward to doing. Furthermore, allowing community members to tell their own story and how they see the community is something that I think is extremely important. This is because I think it is easy to hear stories of Latin America and impoverished places and hold these as examples of what a place is like simply because you think it fits into this mold that has been put into your head. Allowing these people to tell their stories makes it possible to hear a rawer and more authentic version of their story.