Dear family, friends, and anyone else who comes across this,
Warm greetings from Managua! Thanks for coming across this blog and following a little of my experiences from Nicaragua. I hope I will be able to keep you all updated from afar on what life will be like in Nicaragua for me as I begin a new adventure and stage of my life.
A little background for those of you who might not know what I’m doing here (don’t feel like you’re the only one though; I’m not sure I know yet either!): I am beginning a program called Jesuit Volunteer Corps in which I will be living and working in Managua, Nicaragua from December 2009 to December 2011. JVC is a volunteer placement organization that has volunteers working the U.S. as well as around the world. Volunteers live together in a community and share space and resources while striving to live out the four values of JVC: simple living, social justice, community and spirituality. If you want to know more, please feel free to ask me or check out the JVC website at http://www.jesuitvolunteers.org/.
In Nicaragua there are two houses where JVs will be staying. One is in Barrio La Luz in Managua, which is where I’ll be along with three other volunteers. The other house, which also has four volunteers, is in Ciudad Sandino outside of Managua. Placements for volunteers include teaching positions in local schools, working with the developmentally disabled, and working in community development projects. My position will be working with a Nicaraguan organization called Cantera. From what I’ve been able to find out so far, Cantera has a range of projects including working with women and gender issues, working with at-risk youth and working with rural farmers to improve agricultural techniques in the Nicaragua campo. Cantera has a website worth checking out (in both Spanish and English): http://www.canteranicaragua.org/. At the moment, I don’t know much about what exactly I’ll be doing, but from what I’ve heard so far it sounds like I’ll be working with youth in one of Managua’s rougher neighborhoods. Since many people in Nicaragua take late December of for vacation, I won’t actually start work until early January. Soon after that I hope to have a better idea of what my work will actually be, so look for updates down the road…
I hope to remain as in touch as possible, but with fairly limited access it won’t be as consistent as I’m used to. I ask for your patience in returning correspondence, but I would love to share with any of you who want to know more about life here in Managua. This is the best email to reach me at: srawsonnic09@gmail.com. Once again, thanks for reading and following along from afar. All the best,
Sean Rawson
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