The Rotary Club of Toronto-Leaside

Superemos Foundation and "Christine King" Multi-Service Cooperative

Report on Projects for July 2003

Prepared by Vengel Moreno and Stephen Seften

The projects saw several new developments in July. The most important was the decision to use reserves from the foundation to level off an old brickworks bought by the foundation last year which adjoins the project site by the River Estelí. We paid US$270 to hire a bulldozer for six hours. Everyone was pleased at the result. The site extends over about half an acre and gives us space to expand the green forested area we have created at the back of the school. It also means we can move the metal workshop away from the school and pre-school areas, while still leaving space for a couple of classroom modules, should that become feasible and appropriate in the future.

The main beneficiary of this work has been the pre-school, which will now have a much improved space for the children's refectory. The school too has benefited because the former space for the children's refectory is now free to use as a study area for students waiting for class. The workshop is able to function more freely on its new site, free of constraints on space caused by proximity to the education programs.

The legal advice program is now working full time with support from the social work program. The secondary education program has defined a schedule to improve the options available to our adult students. The cooperative shop has been operating successfully, selling basic items at low prices to project beneficiaries and program workers.

In this  second semester of 2004 we will be able to offer low income families in the Estelí area much- improved services, thanks to the continuing assistance, guidance and encouragement we receive from our supporters.

Leonel Rayo and Rogelio Gutiérrez at work

Environmental workshop

In July the workshop focused on moving its facilities
to the newly levelled adjacent site. The program
workers also carried out a number of small jobs and
developed their product range.

This now includes bookshelves, cupboards, ornamental
garden ware, tables and chairs as well as agricultural
equipment - such as the cycle pumps - and children's
playground equipment.

We hope the workshop will continue its progress towards self-sustainability into 2004.

Pre-school

Pre-school staff, supported by Fiona Graham, worked with children and staff preparing information and materials to send to project donors. Fiona also facilitated workshops to help the staff define their training needs for the semester and to plan development of the program's facilities. Average attendance this month was 31 out of an active register of  36.

23 parents attended the monthly parenting skills workshop, which was facilitated by psychologist Dr. Elena Corrales.

We were delighted to receive donated toys, clothes, books and shoes from colleagues of Fiona Graham at the European Commission, Brussels.  We also received a small but important donation of craft materials from the Ministry of Education's pre-school program.

We are all concerned that one of our staff members, Dolores Cruz, has had to take sick leave for treatment of a breast cancer. Our health program has been able to assist her with the cost of some of the treatment. We hope that Dolores will be back with us very soon.

Rest period in the pre-school

Gladys Ruiz and Vilma Vilchez in the pharmacy

Healthcare 

This month Dr Ivet Castillo saw 20 patients in the local penitentiary in support of the under-resourced prison medical service. All these patients received their prescribed medicine free from the program pharmacy. We are very grateful to the Nicaragua Medical Alliance of Chicago for the medicines they have donated for this work. We were able to donate over US$600 worth of medicine to the prison medical service in July. We also donated to the local Health Centre a box of disposable gloves they requested - an indication of the desperate state of the public health services in Nicaragua.

Gladys Ruiz, the program coordinator, gave two health workshops in the rural community of Santa Cruz, covering preventive healthcare for infants and adolescents. The program psychologist gave four sessions of assistance to program beneficiaries and staff, including the Parenting Skills workshop for the Pre-school. Dr Aura Estela Garmendia gave medical care to patients twice in July. She is able to assist our women patients with low cost papanicolau (cervical smear) tests. She saw 15 women patients in July.

Social Work

Santa Cruz craft skills students with
a selection of their work

• Two workshops for 13 women and 13 young male offenders in the local penitentiary: the first on sexuality and personal identity, and the second on how violence affects individuals
• Five workshops with women secondary school students on how to deal with unexpected events and situations in the family and on cycles of violence
• Four advanced sewing workshops for three women
• Twelve craft skills workshops in Santa Cruz and Estelí, with an average of eight participants learning crochet and embroidery skills
• Three home visits in support of the pre-school to help families resolve problems affecting the development of their children
• Maintenance of the garden and nursery, which supply plants to maintain an attractive environment and vegetables for the pre-school children's meals

Students in a science class

Women's Education program

The school director, Lic. Bertha Imelda Sanabria, was off work for the whole month following an operation, but we are glad to report that she is once more back at work. In her absence, the teachers worked collectively to cover the many administrative tasks pending. Much of the month was spent designing a schedule to offer more options to the adult students attending class at the school. Many of the students have felt dismayed at rule changes by the national Ministry staff in Managua that adversely affect their chances of finishing their Baccalaureate. The school has been able to offer those students who so desire the chance of switching to a less intensive but longer course of study. Some students have already taken up this choice. Others may decide to do so in 2004. The women-only night classes continue to offer free scholarships to over 40 women. We expect to increase this number with a new course starting at the end of August for women tobacco workers and pre-school educators wanting to complete their secondary education.

A multi-volume encyclopaedia donated by Catalina Sánchez Ballesteros of Brussels was added to the school library.

Training workshop led by Maria Felix Castillo 

Legal Aid

The legal aid program now works as a separate activity, having previously been run as part of the social work activities. The program is coordinated by Maria Félix Castillo. In July, program workers:

• followed up the case of prisoner Jaime Tercero who remains in gaol despite having served his sentence. He should be free in the next four to six weeks, depending on the speed with which local magistrates expedite the papers submitted by our program workers in July

• advised two women seeking to start divorce proceedings 

• recruited five final-year law students to afford them practical training

• held eight training workshops for program staff 

• held four visits to the local penitentiary to coordinate legal assistance for prisoners regarded as having  priority needs by the penitentiary administration

• set up the program's administrative routines, equipment and infrastructure 

Financial information will follow separately. We have been delayed in getting a complete report for the month of July because the end of year accounts fall due at this time. Presentation of that financial information involves a rigorous revision of the year's accounts under the supervision of the projects accountant Sr. Jose Lopez Hoppington. We expect to have the July accounts prepared by August 15th when we will send on the financial report for the month. We thank you for your understanding with regard to this delay.

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