Education and Awareness Initiatives
Education and awareness are vital tools used by the project implementers. The education programs are not only limited to the Nicaraguan communities and their children, but also reach out to the youth of Canada. Just as the project offers water awareness to the Nicaraguan peoples, the education of the Canadian student groups offers them the awareness of the work that needs to be done around the world. Besides preschool education, Project Nicaragua also engages in public forms which serve to inform and teach Nicaraguan and Canadians people.
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Community Preschools
The first Project Nicaragua school was opened in March of 2005 and has since grown to support 26 community preschool teachers in the rural areas surrounding San Juan del Sur. The project supports the wage of the preschool teachers who also receive a small stipend from the Ministry of Education. Community preschools are preschools that do not have the required minimum of 20 students to qualify for increased government support and so rely heavily on the support from Project Nicaragua.
Fruit fiestas are held by project volunteers bringing school supplies, fruit, cookies, and juice in an effort to bring together the parents, the children, the teacher and Project Nicaragua volunteers. There is always fun to be had when the piñata appears and the kids have an opportunity to play for the candy. The Mobile Library based in San Juan del Sur makes trips to the preschools to enrich the schools with reading material and games. Additionally, Project Nicaragua hosted a Preschool teacher convention in January 2009 to promote education and disseminate educational information.
Working closely with the Ministry of Education’s campaign to “leave no child behind” the Community Preschool teachers have a large responsibility to help educate the rural youth. In an effort to support this initiative, the project is continually looking for groups, individuals or organizations that would like to help sponsor a preschool.
Awareness
From awareness campaigns to radio interviews, the message is conveyed that Nicaragua needs your help. The first step in creating social change is through awareness and it is with this commitment and belief that the project has awareness and education campaigns. In fact, the project team feels that it is our responsibility to pass this information to individuals to make it real and to demonstrate that it is quite simple to “be the change that you want to see in the world.”
Water Awareness Campaign 2005
In 2005 a water awareness campaign was held at the University of Calgary. The highlight of the day was the water memorial where a flower was dropped every 8 seconds to symbolize a water related death in the world. Awareness booths were set up by the Center for Affordable Water and Sanitation Technology (CAWST), The City of Calgary Waterworks, Engineers without Borders, Water and Aids, Rotaract and Good for You Water Corp, a local bottle water vendor. There were various forms of media covering the event, from the campus newspapers, to radio networks, to Global news that contributed to the distance that the awareness traveled. Overall, over 75 000 people were affected by the Water Awareness Campaign.
Filter Workshop
Fidel Pavon, the bio-sand filter technician went to El Salvador in 2007 to learn new bio-sand water techniques and tocollaborate with other Central American filter technicians on the improvements and obstacles faced by the project. The week long workshop was facilitated by the Centre for Affordable Water and Sanitation Technology (CAWST) and there were 12 participants from all over the region. It helped create a network of support as well as allowing for valuable discussion on the improvement, maintenance and longevity of the filters.
Student Groups
Annual university of Calgary student groups volunteer their reading week in the middle of February to visit to Nicaragua to experience first hand the situation in Nicaragua. The students donate more than just a week of their time; they contribute to making someone’s life a little better through intercultural exchange, dialogue and hard work. Appreciation of the quality of our Canadian lives and the stark realization in seeing how happy someone can be that does without are some of the testimony that came out of the group. more...
Public Speaking Engagements
If you or your organization/company is interested in having a representative from the project speak about the project, the challenges and the amazing possibilities please contact us.