From: Daniel Heiner in Nicaragua (Monday, October 20, 2003)
To: Rev. Roger Puhr roger@first-umc.org
To: Armando Delacruz DeLACRUZ@Biology.MsState.Edu
To: Rev. Johann Neethling - SkamokawaUMC@aol.com
For all my Church supporters, Web pagers, e-mailers, and chatters in the First World I have shocking news!
I understand that a nascent Internet revolution has been going on for some time in the states so what I am going to tell you is a shock – so please sit down and hold on –
Nobody in my community has Internet access nor do we have phones!
It still is a very weird time here in Nicaragua because you will find a cyber-cafe and there would be computers and staff but no electrical power, or computers and power but no telephone lines are down, or the phone line is working but the phone company has pulled the card for transferring data through the phone lines, or everything you needed but no one to plug things in and make them all work together – Or everything works but your downloading speed is 10 minutes a message and 20 minutes to open a web page.
Welcome to the third world realities…. My realities.
And greetings. And thanks for the messages!
I want to thank everyone who has written me the last couple of weeks. I am trying to answer your questions with this message:
Working here as Forester with the church takes me to rural and forested regions throughout Nicaragua… I love the countryside and its people.
But Nicaragua is a very poor country, it has been through a war like what Iraq suffered, and its has tried to heal itself after the war – to which many of us have worked with the different church, governmental and non-governmental institutions – working in reconciliation, community development, institutional building of church and community, the ecology and community, the ecology and church – all catch words we use to put a happier face on the hard realities of coming to term with a wounded nation.
And wounded nations have sour moods.
The mood here is not hard to understand (as in Iraq). We are still suffering from the affects of wars and hurricanes, the economy is going nowhere, people are hungrier, and democratic ideals are still not clearly understood. In other words the country still remains beleaguered with way to many problems and not enough solutions.
All these new conflicts have giving Nicaraguans a sharpened sense of personal vulnerability and of course lacking is the old wartime feelings of unity in adversity.
It has been a long road to reconciliation here in Nicaragua – expect the same in Iraq.
On to less “souring” and “moody” issues…..
Where are some the places I work in Nicaragua?
If you have a map of Nicaragua, find the river that separates Costa Rica from Nicaragua (the Río San Juan). Follow the river east from Lake Nicaragua, till you find a town called Castillo or El Castillo. Our town, Sábalos is close to El Castillo
The only way to get here is by boat down the big river – San Juan (Saint John River). From the capital of Managua, it is a full day of driving and boating till you arrive in the evening. Since we are so isolated, there are always problems of electricity and telephone communications. For the most part we are without. Like with my old days in the US Forest Service, the Nicaraguan Forest service has provided us with buck houses. We generally work 22 days on and have 10 days off.
The area is very beautiful, especially if you enjoy the jungle. This zone is one of the last regions of the world were there is still virgin jungle, alive with monkeys and all the other creatures that inhabit the forests.
In this region we have finished working with the communities and pastors on sustainable community development and reconciliation. Families from both warring sides have settled in the area and it was been a struggle to bring peace to the region.
We also meet with Methodist pastors in Costa Rica and have been planning joint projects in the future if we can find the funding.
I am back in Managua with a team looking at a Methodist proposal.
Our United Methodist goals are the following – called SARDI:
Sustainable Agricultural and Rural Development Initiative (SARDI)
Criteria for Sustainability in Agricultural and Rural Development
The following are some of the major characteristics that researchers found in successful projects that sustained themselves over 20-30 years. These are preliminary criteria for sustainable agricultural / rural development for SARDI of the United Methodist Church.
Development as a learning process requires ...
change and growth,
individual and social learning,
mutual, long-term commitment.
Sustainable agricultural and rural development involves
learning by experimenting, testing
embracing error,
moving on to more promising solutions.
Without embracing this principle,
no need to begin.
Broad participation:
all levels of activity require effective participation
by all whose interests are affected:
- grassroots with farmers and community groups
- regional technical advisory group
- global Cross-functional Management Team
Women’s participation is central
Women's unique responsibilities in
agricultural production and processing
influencing the well-being of the household
require that they fully participate in
all aspects of development; from
- setting priorities to
- implementing and evaluating programs / projects.
Genuine partnerships
agreements in which all parties
understand, accept and respect their
mutual, even if unequal, obligations.
Assisted self-reliance
builds local capacities to
identify and mobilize local resources
and manage external resources with accountability.
Networking
building relationships - networks, alliances, partnerships -
to leverage resources by
sharing information, experience, technology,
facilities, funds and activities.
Ecological approach to agricultural and rural development
searches for and embraces practices which are
increasingly productive and
protective of both human and
other natural communities of life.
Methodist version: sustainable stewardship
Add value to production
move beyond primary production to
capture the benefits of
processing, storage and marketing functions.
Leadership development
indigenous leaders at all levels
is essential for long-term sustainable development.
*Promote justice and equity
increase access to resources, opportunity for all;
build up a sense of inclusion and community*
I will send up more information this week, and I would very much like to explore the idea of Web page.
Armando – I am working a lot with the crews here in Geographic Information systems and GPS. We are using ArcView 3.2a – but would like to upgrade to 3.3 and version 1.1 of Image Analysis. Do you know anyone at the University that could help me?
I have one 19-year-old daughter in the states – she is having a very hard time – so please put her on your prayer list. My 8 year old son is doing great here in Nicaragua.
I have photos and an article done on our work here by our Pastor/photo-journalist - Rev. Paul Jeffery.
More later in the week,
Thank you all for writing,
Daniel Heiner