Giving Back

An important principle in play at BECA is giving back.

BECA relies upon the generosity of sponsors from all over the world to give back and help send Nicaraguans to school. Without this "giving back" BECA would be dead in the water.

But what about the students? After all they receive 100% scholarships (tranportation included!), right?

The students show their appreciation in two ways.

First, they have the option of working in their community on a social project of their choosing.

Some work in health clinics. Some help out at schools. Others volunteer at their church. Still others clean parks in their community.

We suggest a minimum of three hours a week. Some work less. Some work more.

For 2010 we have a second way in which the students can give back. We are setting up group activities in the community.

Our first group social "project" took place this Saturday (February 6th, 2010). We went to visit the Masaya Seniors' Residence. Out of 52 eligible students, more than 40 showed up to spend a couple of hours with the elders of their community.

I was very, very proud of these young people and judging by the number of smiles, it was far from a  one-way street as they had the privilege of drinking in the wisdom and gentle spirit of their community's "ancianos."

Take a peek at the video. It's only 88 seconds. And it might make you smile too.

The Secret Reasons We Give

Along with the graphic images and gut-wrenching stories that accompany the massive disaster we simply refer to as "Haiti" come a fair number of analyses on giving, generosity, and philanthropy.

One article caught my eye.

The issue: what is the real reason people give money to charity? Some suggestions by the author:

• guilt
• the desire to boost our social status
• the need to feel good about ourselves

It made me ask myself why I am really doing what I am doing here in Nicaragua. Tough question -- COPOUT ALERT! -- I really need more time to think about it.

Nevertheless, what immediately sprung to my mind was the effort here in Nicaragua to raise funds for the Haitian relief effort. Here we have citizens in what some people consider to be the second-poorest country in the Western Hemisphere (Nicaragua) helping the poorest (Haiti).

Analyze that!

Muchas Gracias(es)

My Best BECA Day (so far)

January 8th, 2010: the day of the BECA orientation meeting for the students who received technical career scholarships this year.

55 students received scholarships and 55 were expected to be there.

How many students would show up to claim their scholarship? I figured 45. Life is complicated around here so I thought 10 might go by the wayside, for whatever reason.

52 excited young Nicaraguans showed up.



I cannot express to you the joy I felt congratulating each of the 52 students, one by one, and telling them: "Usted merece la beca" ("You deserve the scholarship").

I knew beforehand that Friday, January 8, 2010 would be a day that I would never forget for the rest of my life.

I wasn't wrong.

5 Things I've Learned in 2009

It is that time of year again. The time of year when I take time to reflect on the year gone by and the twelve months to come. The time of year when I put time aside and dedicate myself to some serious introspecting.

Well actually that's a bunch of crap. I usually just keep on going without giving pause to anything past, present, or future.

However, I find myself in a different zone this year.

Did I learn anything in 2009?

Here it goes . . . starting with the simple stuff.

1) More Spanish.  Yeah, I know, not a real shocker here, but it is important to me. Understanding more of what people are saying here helps a lot with BECA and with my quality of life here in Nicaragua. I am still a LONG way from calling myself fluent. I'm not sure if I ever will be. But I do understand more now.


2) There is nothing wrong with doing "nothing." My neighbors often pull out their plastic chairs, sit in front of their homes and . . . well, just sit there, sometimes for hours. Sometimes they sit in the company of others, but it is not unusual to see someone sitting by themselves. I used to think: "do they not have something they can do?"

These people find tranquility in the moment and enjoy the peace and quiet company of their family and friends. What a fool I have been for judging these people.

3) If you want to get something done, don't expect someone else to do it for you. When I arrived here, I had this master plan to contact all of the other non-profit organizations (NPOs) working here for tips, advice, shortcuts, etc.  Why recreate the wheel, right? And so I did so. And then I waited. And waited. And waited some more. Nothing. It wasn't going to happen and still hasn't happened.

For some reason, my impression is that these NPOs just do their own thing. That's fine, but I promise you that if someone contacts me for some "advice" in the future, I'll do my darndest to give them my two bits worth.

4) Expats (i.e. Americans, Canadians, and Europeans living in Nicaragua) are not the least bit interested in BECA. This one was a little bit of a shock to me. I thought that these people would be inclined to show some interest in giving back to the land where they live. After all, most are enjoying a reasonably good standard of living for a very reasonable cost. I'm not saying that all of them are like that. Most I've met though. This brings me to point number five . . .

5) Most people really don't care about BECA. This is the big one and a watershed lesson for me in 2009.  The fact of the matter is that people are busy with their own lives, wherever they may live.  In the beginning, I took it personally when someone -- especially a friend or a family member -- didn't show much interest in my passion for BECA. I considered it a personal affront.

No more. Hey, people have got their own stuff going on. They have kids, families, and lifestyles. They are busy.

So most people don't give a hoot about BECA.

And that's completely okay by me.