Recap and Reflection

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10 July 2013

Greetings,

I am now officially one week from the conclusion of my stay here in Managua, which I can earnestly say I am not looking forward to. The past two weeks have been full of more than a fair share of successes, challenges, decisions and learning experiences, which I hope to briefly recap and reflect upon. 

Last week, close to 75 percent of the scholars were able to complete the videos they are making for their sponsors. I spent three days with the scholars from Camilo Ortega and Demitrov, and traveled with Jass up to Tipitapa one day to work with the scholars who live there. The remaining few scholars will complete their videos this week. The scholars were thoughtful, sincere, and genuinely excited to share messages with their “Godparents” in the United States, and I look forward to publishing them and being able to share them with you in the coming weeks. Belen, Aura, Kevin and Manuel expressed interest in learning more English, and together we were able to work through flash cards and other phonetic exercises that were graciously donated by individuals at my church back home. The kids loved the activity, and showed great commitment and focus.

Unfortunately, Nicaragua has won the war on scheduling, and I have not been able to spend nearly as much time with the scholars as I would have hoped. Many of the scholars have busy schedules that do not allow them the time to commit to more than a half hour at any given point, which has been quite frustrating. Despite the frustrations, I find it to be a large testament to the relationship Visedal has facilitated between sponsors and scholars that the kids always found a way to make a video amongst their many other activities.

This weekend, I traveled through Leon and spent some time on a tranquil island on the pacific coast. The island has one hostel, thirty residents, no roads, and is only accessible by boating across the bay. For much of my stay I was the only American at the hostel of 20 guests, but was able to meet new friends from Canada, Austria, Brazil, Denmark, England, Bolivia, Australia, Nicaragua, Israel, Germany, Switzerland, Ireland, New Zealand, and at least a few more locales I am certainly forgetting. It was incredible having the opportunity to talk to individuals who come from all corners of the globe, with many languages, customs, histories and perspectives; yet, who all remarkably share the singular goal of finding happiness. Whether discussing what we were currently reading, the paths through life we seem to be on, and what we hoped to accomplish in the future, I can honestly say it was a truly life-changing experience. Sitting around a fire on a beach in Nicaragua, staring up at a sky so bright and clear you could see the Milky Way, and listening to a guy from an urban hub in Brazil lead songs with a girl from a small farm in Austria on their guitars, you realize that there is much more to life than the priorities we place on our lives at home.

The realization of this goal, finding happiness, is not uniform. A few examples I can think of; however, include a 27-year old man from Baltimore who essentially works two jobs to ensure 23 kids are no longer on the streets in Managua, Nicaragua; families and individuals across the United States who not only help provide tuition, clothing and meals, but also develop loving and supportive relationships with children they have never, and may never, meet; a great student at Bard college who traveled several hours by air to ensure a new friend would be able to live in a foreign city; dozens of members of a church who sacrificed a little of what they had for others; and so many more that are too numerous for a blog entry that is already entirely too long.

My personal journey has been complicated, and has involved many missteps and learning experiences. Regardless, at the end of the day, I can write without regret for my time in Nicaragua, my time with Visedal, and my time with all the strangers from each and every corner of the world who are now friends has forever changed my way of thinking for the better. I thank each of you for the overwhelming support, encouragement and love. While I am dreading leaving the country I am currently in, I am blessed to know there are so many of you waiting to welcome me back home.

Until next time,

Taylor

Orientation & Settling In

Greetings,

Between my orientation period led by Daniel Schutrum-Boward and the bi-annual Visedal trip, it has been a whirlwind week here in Managua. I am finally settled into my new home, the Backpacker’s Inn, and have decided to post a short update and some reflections for all those back home before starting my work with the scholars tomorrow afternoon.

My father, Matt, and I arrived in Managua late last Monday after battling storms and delays all down the east coast. On Tuesday, we set out so I could acquaint myself with the Huembes market (which included placing a food order for the food distribution activity to come later), saw some sights of political and cultural significance, and visited the Tipitapa crew (Everth, Belen, Aura and Silvia). While we were in Tipitapa, we were treated to a ride on Everth’s latest business venture, a bicycle-cart that he rents after school/studying to transport people to and from the market. It was great to see the pride he has in being able to earn money while providing a useful service to his neighbors (and of course keeping up with his grades). Towards the end the day, we had coffee with Jass Selva, a student in her last year at UNAN College in Managua. She is an incredible individual, and will be a great resource during the lessons the next two weeks with the scholars and as a mentor for the Visedal girls well beyond my brief stay.

Esmir, Justin, Daniel and Taylor (front) with Everth (back) and his newest business venture.

Wednesday included stops at the Backpacker’s Inn, Viva Spanish School (where I will be taking classes the next two weeks) and Tiscapa, which we had a great deal of fun zip lining down. Around noon we, including Jass, met a handful of the older scholars for lunch at McDonald’s to discuss goals, plans for after high school, and some of the steps that must be taken in order to pursue higher education. Following lunch, we all traveled up to UNAN, where Jass provided us a tour and answered the scholars' questions. It was an enlightening experience that highlighted the progress, and room for improvement on our end, in working with the scholars to isolate and work towards achieving goals.

Taylor, Esmir and Matt at the Masaya Volcano on Thursday.

Daniel did a great job during my orientation period, and by the time the trip members arrived Thursday night I felt completely prepared for my weeks here. I am very grateful for Daniel, not only for his help and guidance throughout the preparation process, but for the relationships he has developed with the scholars and all the work he does for Visedal.

The formal Visedal trip was another great experience, not only being able to resume friendships made with scholars in December, but also to gain insight from the perspectives and observations of all participants both new to international service and Visedal veterans. A few highlights from the trip worth mentioning include the goal-setting activity and food-distribution activity. The scholars took the goal setting activity very seriously, and it was inspiring to see how many of them not only had goals, but knew the steps they need to take to achieve them. I am excited that Visedal has decided to place an emphasis on goals, and cannot wait to see all that the scholars will accomplish in the coming years.

For the food distribution activity in Vera Cruz, Dylan, Daniel and I decided to give four of the older members, Winny, Aura, Jonathan and Carlos, sovereignty in determining how the project should be carried out. The leadership, poise, and maturity this group exemplified was phenomenal. They ensured each scholar had the opportunity to distribute food, and handled themselves well when we ran out of food. In one particular example that amazed me, Winny spotted an elderly woman and her granddaughter slowly moving toward our location, obviously well beyond the crowd and unlikely to receive food before it ran out. She gave a bag of food to Everth, who ran down to meet the woman and ensure she received a bag… it was awesome. I am hoping to meet with the scholars and Esmir on Friday to discuss what they thought were the strengths and weaknesses of our activity, the role of leadership in community service projects, and some of their goals or ideas moving forward. I hope to keep you posted as the scholars explore the role of service in their own lives and develop their interests in the topic.

So much for attempting to keep this short.

Until next time,

Taylor

Introducing Taylor, Our Summer Intern!

Hello everyone,

My name is Taylor Stephens and I will be serving as an intern for Visedal in Nicaragua this summer. I would like to use this first blog to share a little about myself and my background, and some of my goals for the summer.

Waiting for lunch with Nadiuska in December 2012.

I am currently a rising senior at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, where I am majoring in Government with a History minor. Around campus, I am actively involved with the admissions office through the tour guide program and with my social fraternity. Throughout my time at college, I have gained valuable experience in international service during trips to Haiti with a group of my peers and Nicaragua with Visedal. Last summer, I had the opportunity to intern in Washington D.C. for Civic Enterprises, a bipartisan consulting firm specializing in education and social mobility. I am also currently in the process of developing an honors thesis, to be completed during my senior year on the unintended market consequences of certain types of non-governmental aid organization intervention. While I strongly believe in the positive implications of the work of Visedal, I will use some of my free time in Nicaragua to explore instances in which other forms of aid intervention has stunted, or sometimes reversed, economic, and social development.

While working with the Visedal scholars on the winter trip, they indicated they would love to learn more about English, technology and community service during my internship this summer. During my stay, I am hoping to work on two projects that incorporate all three of these interests. The first project will allow the scholars to write, direct and edit videos they will make for their sponsors, which I believe will help allow for greater communication and collaboration between sponsors and scholars in the future. The second project will allow the older kids to learn more about community service and what makes a project successful.  The older scholars will then develop a project that can either be completed towards the end of my stay or on the winter trip this upcoming December. I look forward to serving as a resource as the scholars explore their interests within these two projects, and will keep all of you up to date as we progress.

I would also like to take time to thank all of the people and groups that have made this trip possible. First, I would like to thank my family for all of their love and support. I would like to thank the Charles Center at the College of William & Mary for encouraging me to intertwine my honors thesis with my desire to serve with Visedal, and Ben Boone for introducing me to Dylan and the work of Visedal. I would also like to thank all of our friends and family, and especially my church family at St. James Lutheran Church in Coopersburg for all of their support. Lastly, I would like to thank Daniel Schutrum-Boward and Esmir Calderon for serving as awesome resources as I prepare for my internship experience. I feel truly blessed to have the opportunity to travel to Nicaragua to work with these incredible kids, for an organization I believe is making sustainable long-term improvements in a community, all with the love and support of so many people.

Until next time,

Taylor

Taylor Stephens

intern.visedal@gmail.com