2008 Granada/Rivas Project Briefing

June 16, 2008 (click photo for enlargement)

The 2008 Granada/Rivas project is off to a great start!  Before the arrival of the Volunteers, Project Staff held regional workshops and invited two youth counterparts and a teacher and nurse from each community to attend.  There, they learned more about the mission of AMIGOS and shared ideas about how to best collaborate with Volunteers on youth leadership projects within their communities. Ice breakers and other games were enjoyed during the workshops, and community members expressed their excitement about the arrival of the Volunteers and their eagerness to begin working with them throughout the summer.

The Project Staff was so excited to welcome the Volunteers in Managua Wednesday evening.  After climbing onto the bus, the Volunteers headed off to “Casa de Retiros, El Tepeyac”, a briefing site nestled under the Mombacho volcano right outside of the city of Granada.  The Volunteers were excited to see monkeys jumping through the trees and even witnessed their first thunderstorm in Nicaragua!     

Staff worked hard to prepare a comprehensive in-country training for Volunteers, addressing Nicaraguan history, culture, and politics as well project specific information. Our partnering agencies, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education were able to present important health issues in Nicaragua such as malaria, dengue fever, water sanitation, and health issues pertaining to Nicaraguan adolescents.  A Peace Corps guest speaker also visited the volunteers and discussed what it was like to be a foreigner in Nicaragua. Volunteers learned about the youth they will be collaborating with and planned activities for their first week in community.   After learning about their AMIGOS partnerships and community placements, Volunteers spent an afternoon getting to know each other, their routes, Project Supervisors, and communities.  

After a good night’s sleep, on Saturday morning the Ministry of Health from Granada and Rivas picked up Volunteers and transported them to their respective communities where they were introduced to their host families and local youth. Every partnership arrived in community with a giant bag of art and school supplies to help them jump right into their classes.  Many communities have already been planning their community-based initiatives and Project Staff and Volunteers are looking forward to seeing the project proposals soon! The Volunteers are off to a great start settling into their new homes for the summer, and Project Supervisors are excited to be out on their first week of route. It won’t be long before the Volunteers reunite again in regions on June 26 for a workshop full of fun with their youth counterparts.