Chontales, Nicaragua
Briefing Report
During a fun and intensive briefing at La Quinta Hotel in Juigalpa, AMIGOS Volunteers worked with Project Staff, representatives from host organization Plan-Nicaragua and local youth-counterparts to learn about and plan for the implementation of their Youth-to-Youth Community Development project.
The Volunteers participated in some hands-on presentations with our host organization, heard from the president of Nicaragua's oldest cultural and intellectual group about the essence of Chontales—la chontalenidad—and everyone got a chance to know each other through team-building activities.
Brainstorming sessions highlighted the dynamic nature of the project, and AMIGOS discussed such diverse and exciting topics as community based-projects, children's rights, participatory health, environmental and media education and activities, and community organization in the Nicaraguan context.
Upon announcement of community assignments and partnerships, Volunteers were able to meet directly with their Plan representatives—facilitadores—who visit their community every week, and heard first hand about their host communities. Additionally, Volunteers were able to share time and ideas with local youth counterparts directly from their host communities. These counterparts actively support AMIGOS' projects and, along with Volunteers, promote the incorporation of more Nicaraguan youth as co-facilitators of the projects.
Volunteers, Project Staff, Plan, and community members are all excited about the collaborative, participatory project we're working on, and the enthusiasm and cooperative spirit of all involved were palpable as youth community representatives and Project Staff accompanied Volunteers to their communities the afternoon of June 23.
