Chontales, Nicaragua Mid-Term Report
The Chontales project is in full gear. Volunteers have been in their communities for three weeks, and they have demonstrated their invaluable and diverse skills through the work on Youth-to-Youth and Community Projects. The Volunteers have kept busy promoting children's rights, creative expression, youth leadership and health and environmental education through charlas, classes and participatory activities.
Local youth have been involved by AMIGOS Volunteers in project planning and implementation and have served as co-facilitors of many activities. This serves to complement both AMIGOS' and Plan's mission to strengthen youth leadership and capacity building. Plan is one of AMIGOS' partner agencies in Nicaragua. Volunteers, community members and Project Staff have also been exploring creative approaches to capacity building by using different communications media—e.g., painting, radio and print media—and well as alternative funding sources, including fundraising and grant writing for the promotion of youth leadership, children's rights and community development.
The Volunteers and youth counterparts will share their project progress in a participative Mid-Term evaluation, training session and “Youth Encuentro” in Juigalpa. Additionally, the Youth Encuentro will provide Volunteers and youth counterparts with an opportunity to share their Community Based Initiative (CBI) and plan for a strong ending to all their program during their last two weeks in community. CBIs are projects determined by host communities and Volunteers working together to access the community's needs.
Community members and Volunteers have begun the process of implementation of these community projects. Projects include include: book donations and construction and improvements to community and school libraries; community garden projects; youth-led environmental campaigns; improvements to schools—including potable water supply increases; renovations and improvements to community centers and community sports fields; and the formation of a youth-led community newspaper. Each project was designed based on the specific needs and interests of each community.
With two weeks left in community, volunteers and staff look forward to completion of CBIs, an AMIGOS Foundation Bevil grant project (renovation and re-opening of a community center), and seeing continued local youth participation in the various community initiatives that Volunteers and communities have begun. To quote the director of Plan-Nicaragua, who visited some AMIGOS towns and volunteers this past week, “all host families really seem happy to have the Volunteers there, and communities love the Volunteers. They are already been talking about how sad they will be when they leave.” In general, Volunteers have been instrumental with their contributions to a very successful, first-year project and collaboration with Plan-Nicaragua.
