Playing Favorites

Once in a while I'm asked if I have a "favorite" student in BECA.

Tough question.

Being the Martian that I am, it is really hard to break through that language (and cultural) barrier and really get to know what someone is like here in Nicaragua. I mean what he or she is really like. Neither do I think it is appropriate behaviour to get "too close."

Nevertheless, I can't help but be impressed by several students in our program..

If BECA ever gave an award for "Student of the Year," it would probably be Esther Carballo. Not only does Esther excel academically -- all marks consistently in the 90s -- but she is always there whenever we have activities. In fact, I don't think Esther has missed one community project all year.

Bottom line, Esther always shows up.

Therefore it really didn't come as a huge surprise when I paid her a house visit earlier this year. A picture on the wall got my attention.

She went to the trouble of framing a picture of two of her BECA sponsors, Kay and Henry.

Esther Carballo 10/16/2010

Need I say more? I won't say she's my favorite. But she's of one of the students I really admire.

I'm a Martian

How do I get along with the Nicaraguan students?

Well, let's see here.

Most are more than half my age. Given my pathetic Spanish, it's fair to say that they speak a different language. Let's not even talk about customs and cultural stuff.

All in all, I'm pretty much a Martian to them.

The last few months, I've spent quite a bit of time with some of them.

Why? Well, many are crazy about learning English and one group of four tourism students asked if I could help them out a bit.

When other students got wind of it, they also wanted to receive classes. Kinda tough to say no after you've gone along with the idea for others.

Before I knew it, I was giving 2 hour sessions, 4 times a week to about 18 students from various careers.

(Aside: I still am not fussy about this obsession they have with English. I don't know, it just kind of smacks of some form of imperialism. Nevertheless, that is fodder for another blog . . . )

This English gig occupies a lot of time. Probably way more time than I expected to dedicate to the endeavour when I started. (A teacher prepare? Have teachers always been doing that?)

Back to the original question. I think we get along pretty good and they write some nice things in their blogs about me.

But hold on, not so fast!  Don't forget that Nicaraguans are incredibly polite.

And I don't think they'd ever tell this Martian otherwise.

The "P" Word

The "P" word.

From what I can see, the "P" word is the impetus for a decent majority of the social projects in Nicaragua.

People come to Nicaragua from all over the world to fight it, to reduce it, to combat it, and some come to wipe out the "P" word altogether.

I'm talking about "P" as in Poverty.

We know that "poverty" sucks, but tell me . . . does anybody know exactly what it is?

A search in Google for "What is Poverty?" turns up over half a million results. Half a million! I can't even begin to imagine the resources of human capital dedicated over the years to defining the "P" word.

I used to spend time trying to figure it out. I figured that because the mission of BECA was "Combat Poverty with Education" then we better know what the heck it is.

BECA Students on a Dengue Prevention Campaign May 2010

I confess. After three years, I'm still trying to figure it out.

I am the founder of a non-profit organization dedicated to combating the "P" word in Nicaragua, but I can't tell you what it is. Huh? What's up with that?

Well, let's turn this around a little bit. I think I can tell you what the "P" word isn't.

It isn't very positive.
It isn't very pretty.
It isn't very pleasant.
AND . . . it definitely isn't very uplifting.

That much most of us can agree on.

So, I ask you, what is it doing front and center in BECA's mission statement?

BECA is all about giving opportunites. It is about giving people a break that they deserve. It is about opening doors.

I'm really sick and tired of the "P" word. And I absolutely CRINGE when I hear BECA students use it. (Does anyone else hear a voice crying out "I live in poverty, help me"?)

Time for an executive decision. It's time for the "P" word to hit the road. That means that over time, all references to the "P" word on the BECA website and in BECA communications will be removed.

No better place to start than with that BECA mission statement.

" The BECA mission is to create an educational opportunity for every Nicaraguan high school grad who is serious about continuing their schooling."

R(not)IP, "P" word.

How I Use My Kindle to Read Books

Last year, my friends, Suzanne and Brock, sent me a kindle.

To someone living and working remotely - by that I mean far from any English language bookstore - it has been an absolute godsend!

Not my hand!

I have a system when I read a scholarly book; that is, a book from which I want to take notes to refer to later.

Let me share this with you. Easy as 1-2-3.

1) While you read, highlight the important bits. Instructions from the Amazon website:

To highlight one or more lines:

1. Use the 5-way to position the cursor where you want to start highlighting.
2. Press the 5-way to anchor the cursor.
3. Move the 5-way to select the desired text. Use Next Page or Prev Pages to highlight text across multiple pages.
4. Press the 5-way at the place where you want the highlight to end.

2) After you are done reading and highlighting, turn the Kindle wireless on for 15 minutes. This will enable your highlighted passages to be automatically downloaded to your Kindle account online.

3) Go to your Kindle account online and sign in. A page like the one below should appear. Click on "Your Highlights."

 4) Using your mouse, highlight the passages from the book in question. Right click on a highlighted bit and choose "copy."

5) Paste the contents in your favorite word processor and delete the unnecessary gobbledygook. Geeks can use macros to speed this part up, however I kind of like manually reviewing my highlights and deleting superfluous passages at the same time.

6) Optional for tree huggers. Print out the saved document. With excellent books, I make a note in my calendar to review my "summaries" once a month or so.

That's all there is to it. Did I say "easy as 1-2-3"? Oops.

Meet the Cluckers

I swear. I really swear.

This will be my last post on chickens.

The thing is that I promised my loyal reader(s) in a previous blog post an update.

So, without further ado, may I present to you the Waltercita brood of 4 baby black chickens and 4 baby yellow chickens. I'm not sure if that means there are two fathers, but I absolutely refuse to judge her.

The Joys of the Simple Life

Never did I think I would get so much pleasure out of a chicken. (No smirking, please.)

But I'm not sure what to do now. Waltercita ain't moving. Don't you think those cute little guys might be hungry?

And how many more to come? We started this journey with eight eggs.

I know, I know . . . there is always wikipedia. But, part of the fun is learning as you go. 

I'm Gonna Have Grandchildren!

Well, sort of.

It's all that about chicken egg I drew your attention to in a previous blog entry.

Now there are eight of those eggs and "Waltercita" is hard at work keeping them all warm to make chickens come out.

Here's the best part. It is all coming down in my closet! I helped her a little bit with her nest -- you can see the towel in the pic -- and now it's a waiting game.

The really amazing thing -- as if you're not amazed enough already -- is that she only leaves the closet every couple of days to get a bite to eat and, well, to relieve herself. 

I'm pretty impressed by that last part. Quite the polite Waltercita, wouldn't you say?

"Waltercita"

I'm not sure when my grandkids will appear but you will be the first to know!

Why Am I Walter?

My name is Howard.

At least that is what I have used my entire life. Yeah, some people call me How or Howie, but let's not split hairs - they are offshoots.

So, now what's up with this Walter thing? Where did that come from?

Well it really wasn't my idea. The story goes something like this.

Originally, I arrived in Nicaragua to do volunteer work arranged through an organization called Foundation for Sustainable Development (FSD). We are talking about fall 2007.

I was exploring Microfinance at the time and they facilitated an internship with a small Microcredit in Masaya. (If you are really desperate for reading material, you can check out my adventures in Microfinance beginning here.)

Anyway, the person in charge here with FSD in Nicaragua was a lady called Maria de Jesus. I know, I know a lady named Jesus. And they call her BY HER WHOLE NAME! You'd think they'd shorten it to just "Maria" but no way.  Back to my original story . . .

So when I show up Maria de Jesus tells me that Howard just won't work in Nicaragua.

Huh?

I spent time in Ecuador. No Howard problems. I lived in Costa Rica for a couple of years. No Howard problems.

She insists that that Howard was way too difficult to pronounce and, besides, Nicaragua didn't have any Howards. Maria asked me what my second name was.

Walter.

Maria: "¡Perfecto! Desde ahora es Walter!" ["Perfect, from now on you will be Walter."]

Hmmm. Well, would you second guess a lady named Jesus? I didn't and figured that Walter wouldn't be so bad. After all, it's my Dad's name. And my Dad is one of my heroes. Kinda nice to be reminded of him several times a day, I thought.

So it didn't take me long to accept the idea. Don't forget that my initial plan was to stay in Nicaragua for only six months, so it would be hardly much of a sacrifice.

So I started my Nicaraguan life as a Walter.

The story doesn't end there. After three months here, I roomed with a family - the Chavarrias. In short order they took me to meet the neighbor next door.

The affable gentleman introduced himself "Mucho gusto conocerlo. Soy . . Walter.Y, es mi hijo. Se llama Walter también."

Two Howards living right next door!

Moral of the story. Never believe a lady named Jesus. <laughing>

"What Can I Do to Help?"

BECA gets quite a few e-mail messages from people we don't know.
 

I read every single one that comes in to us through our Contact Us page.

95% of the e-mails come from desperate people from Africa (mostly) and other parts of the developing world looking for sponsors. I reply to each and every one sadly informing them that BECA is only active in Nicaragua.

From time to time, another kind of e-mail comes through the door.

They go something like this:

Dear BECA,
I just stumbled upon the BECA.org website. Wow, you guys are doing something really fantastic. I'm really impressed. I think education is what developing countries really need. I once visited Nicaragua and I noticed . . . [blah blah blah] . . . What you are doing is very cool. What can I do to help? . . . 

Wait, it doesn't stop there. Here is the kicker.

"As a matter of principle, I don't give money."

Hmmmm.

Okay, fair enough. There are things this BECA fan can do and I am happy to oblige. He or she can:

• make a comment on a student blog
• sign up to get our newsletter
• join us on our Facebook page
• tell other people about BECA

Nevertheless, when I get e-mails like this, I can't help but scratch my head and wonder . . .

To what me-no-give-money principle are they referring? Does anyone know?

Hey, There's a Chicken Egg in My Closet

And just how did it get there???

BECA recently had a baby.

Could a baby chicken be next? Stay posted.

Punctuality and other Minor Irritations

Punctuality.

I remember when I learned about it. I was an early twenty-something whippersnapper showing up 17 minutes late for a meeting.

Yes, I remember the 17 minutes. I even remember the look of the clock on the wall. That would be 1:17 pm. Or should I say, that would be 1:17 pm when the dressing down began. Maybe 1:18 if we allow one minute for the peddling of my lame excuse (bad traffic, a classic right?).

It only lasted about 30 seconds -- the dressing down, that is -- but I've never forgotten it.

"No more late for me" I remember saying to myself.

So, here we go again. A little less than 30 years later. The punctuality pill rears its ugly head.

One difference. This time I'm on the other side of the fence.

Punctuality -- or should I say the lack thereof -- drives me bonkers here in Nicaragua.

During BECA's introductory 3 month computer course we stress the importance of being punctual. In fact, students risk losing their scholarship eligibility if they show up to class late too many times.

Most of them comply. Then they apply for their second scholarship, receive funding (if they are fortunate) and then . . . all hell breaks loose. Overnight, they just seem to care about it anymore. 

Ughhh.What's a person to do?

We've tried different tactics this year: rewards, punishments, cajoling, pep talks. Nothing seems to work very well.

It would help if the schools we partner with were like-minded. Unfortunately, they are often willing accomplices.

What the heck is the students' problem?

[pause]

[mucho deep breath]

They don't have a problem.

I do.

Tranquilo, Walter. [Take it easy]

P.S. How weird is that to find on the Internet an image of a clock displaying exactly 1:17 pm? I guess someone else has the same problem.

Here Comes the Competition

Big announcement the other day in combating poverty circles.

Kiva, the microfinance powerhouse, announced that they are beginning a pilot program of offering educational loans. As they say in their blog, "The pilot was born as a natural extension of Kiva's mission to connect people, through lending, to alleviate poverty."

If things go well, there is no doubt in my mind that they will extend the product to Nicaragua.

How do I feel about this? Will this make BECA obsolete?

Hmmm, it's a little early to say, but it appears that Kiva education loan recipients are all University students.

BECA came about because I saw a need. I came across some young people who managed to scrape through High School here in Nicaragua but then faced a dead end. They wanted to continue their education, but didn't have any money to pay for it.

Inspired by Kiva, my idea was to connect sponsors in other countries with these young people through the Internet. The loan model -- which I considered -- at that time didn't seem plausible to me. I figured that the last thing these young people needed was a loan, another encumbrance. What they were looking for was an opportunity.

So, ultimately, will the entrance of Kiva in the "marketplace" affect BECA's place here?

I don't know. In it's current incarnation, probably not. BECA gives technical career scholarships, not University scholarships. Second, the Kiva recipients appear to be a little bit better off economically.

Nevertheless, I would be happy to be wrong. I feel strongly that BECA serves a niche in Nicaragua that deserves service. If something -- like an organization like Kiva -- comes along that is more efficient, or better in any way, I would welcome it with open arms.

May I say I am proud of what BECA is doing but I am in no way married to it as an institutional entity.

Ultimately, what these young people deserve is a break.

With BECA or without it.

The Joy of Music (Nicaraguan-style)

Nothing like the sweet sound of traditional Nicaraguan music to stir the soul.

Only one tiny little problem.

My soul really isn't that interested in being stirred at 5:35am in the morning !#(*$#&#@!!

A Different Point of View

Once in a while, a volunteer "from a strange land" lands in Masaya. Most of the time, these aliens are University students from the United States, but they can come from other places as well.

They come for a three to six month period. My understanding is that more often than not their volunteer gig is associated with their program of studies back home.

Or they come to gather experience for their resume. Or, they come to do some "development" work.

It doesn't really matter why they come. But they come.

I see them in the streets sometimes.

(ASIDE: The funny thing is that usually not a peep is exchanged when we cross paths. Kinda weird. But back to the story . . . )

Anyway, I always wonder what they think of this place; you know, like what exactly is going on in their heads. After all, Nicaragua is very different from the U.S. or Canada or Germany or Holland. VERY different.

Difficult to know.

Until now.

I stumbled upon the blog of Chris Rhodenbaugh, where Chris documents his recent 2 1/2 month stay here in Masaya, Nicaragua. (He volunteered at one of the schools BECA works with. Sadly, I never met the guy.)

And talk about an insightful, dense read. Such detail!

I especially enjoyed what he has to say about his work on a couple of "sustainable" projects he spent his time on.

So, when time permits you, and for a change in gears from my brief, opinionated rants, I highly recommend his post Summary of My Work in Nicaragua.

For the alien point of view.

Number 11

Much fanfare about that Newsweek edition the other week. The one about the World's Best Countries.

A few people walking around a little incredulous that the U.S. came in 11th place. (Omigod!)

I don't pay much attention to these kinds of analyses.

I harken back to my statistics professor telling us the old adage about "Lies, damn lies, and . . . statistics."

And that was the professor talking! Ha!

However these survey things do inspire some lively discussions.

And talking about surveys, allow me to point you in a slightly different direction: The Happy Planet Index.

Number 11 looks pretty good after taking a look at what those Happy Planet people have to say. (Eeek!) They lump Gringolandia in the same happiness territory as Chad, Nigeria, and Madagascar. Yep, not so good.

Interestingly, Happy Planet gives some of the highest marks to Central American countries. Costa Rica finished first. (I lived there for a couple of years. Yeah, I guess they walked around smiling quite a bit. )

Moreoever, Nicaragua finished a helluva lot higher than the U.S. Go figure. (Funny quirk: Nicaragua came in at number 11!)

I'm not sure what to make of all of it. I did read a very interesting point of view here.

I'm not going to stick my toe into this debate.

But I'm very happy to tell you about it.

Stepping Back (a little bit)

A very subtle change on the website today. The "Official BECA Blog" link on the top menu no longer directs to my blog (this one).

Why? Well, I began to realize that BECA is beginning to take on a life of its own. Which isn't a bad thing.

But it does mean that a blog littered with my personal opinions and rants can no longer masquerade as "official" anything.

We'll try to post only relevant news items and announcements to the new Official BECA Blog.

And you'll have to return here for the dribble.

The Poverty Tour

Often I find myself thinking of ways to raise sponsorship funds for BECA locally, that is, in the Nicaraguan economy.

One method that I have seen used by non-profit organizations (NPOs) working here is the visiting "helping" brigades concept.

It works something like this. People in the "developing world" are willing to pay a premium to be a part of a volunteer group that travels for a short term period to work in poor communities in a country like Nicaragua. The NPO organizes the trips, administers the local do-good projects, and for their effort, pockets the profits. These profits are then funneled back into their own development activities.

Bridges to Community is an example of an NPO that employs this concept successfully here in Nicaragua.

The visitors are willing to pay a pretty decent dollar to come here and "help." To plant trees. To build houses. To play with children. To teach English.(especially popular!).

(Aside: Always seemed a wee bit odd to me that foreigners are coming here to plant trees in a country where the employment and under-employment rate is exorbitant . . . but I'll save that thought for another blog.)

Okay, so we have these people coming to help. And, frankly, quite often they aren't experts in their field. Often they are college students. Another big constituency is church goers. In my experience, more often than not, their Spanish is rudimentary.

Why do they come? Yes, they come to help. But I submit to you that one of the main reasons they come is to see poverty with their own eyes, "up close and personal". Not that there is anything wrong with that. But let's call a spade a spade.

Back to my original premise. Some NPOs tap into this demand and generate revenue for their organizations.

*Gross oversimplification alert*: People come. People pay a top dollar. People drink in the poverty, plant some trees and leave feeling better about themselves.

And perhaps they leave with a better understanding of poverty. All of this seems like a pretty good thing and a win-win situation.

I thought it was something BECA could stick its toe into. After all we have Hotel and Tourism students in the BECA program. Some of them even speak a little English.

What could be the possible downside (other than some serious mission drift)?

Can't think of one? Try reading this. (And in the spirit of fairness, see an opposing point of view here)

So what do you think? Exploitative or helpful/educational?

And why do I hear my Dad saying . . .  "Have you considered the matter from the other point of view?"

Gulp.

The Cynic

You may have heard of "The Giving Pledge."

It is the scheme of Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffet to prod the "wealthiest individuals and families in America to commit the majority of their wealth to philanthropy."

The idea is to get these wealthy people to make the commitment publicly and explain their rationale for doing so in a letter.

(Aside: All of the letters can be downloaded in one simple, big download and it makes for an excellent read.)

Quite the amazing concept, huh? Well, not so fast. Out come the cynics. For example, some readers of the Weekly Standard  attacked the pledge as “grandstanding”, a “publicity stunt”, or “the work of socialists”. The German publication Spiegel has also documented the strong objections of a group of German millionaires.

These objections to this transcendental act to inspire thoughtful giving REALLY boggle my mind. Nevertheless, it reminds me of someone I once knew.

Me.

I was a cynic when it came to these kinds of things.

• Foreign aid: "Why give money to African states? The money is ultimately wasted by corrupt leaders." 
• The United Way: "All the money goes to administration. Nothing gets through to the people who really need it."
• Flute scholarships in India: "How the hell is learning the flute going to get those people out of poverty?"
• Street beggars: "They just spend it on drugs."

Well, I don't think like that anymore.

These days, I NEVER criticize anybody who gives their time or their money or their expertise or their anything voluntarily to do what they think is giving others a helping hand.

Even if a project seems kinda wacky -- and I've seen my share -- what matters to me is that the "giver" thinks it's meaningful.

And that's good enough for me.

Help with a Hard Question

"Why are you doing that thing in Nicaragua, Walter?"

This is a question I am often asked. Especially by people visiting BECA.

I have a hard time with this question. I just don't know what to say. I usually end up rambling on about something unrelated. In other words, I evade the question.

It is for this reason that an interview by Charlie Rose of Sean Penn caught my attention.

The theme of the interview was Penn's volunteer work in Haiti. About half way through, Rose asked Penn why he was doing it.

"There is something in all of us I think that at once is searching for purpose, paying for sins, and recognizing our skill sets and I think that when those things merge and are complemented by the incredible character of people like the Haitian people."     Sean Penn, July 19th, 2010

Now why can't I think of something clever like that? "Paying for sins." Genius.

Caving In (a little bit)

Everyone here wants to study English. Everyone.

I have never been too crazy about the idea of qualifying scholarships to study English. How come?

I have a bunch of reasons.

1) BECA is about getting a job at the end. English is a fine complement, but it is not a technical career, per se.

2) Most English courses consist of two hours daily. At this rate, how long is it going to take to be literate? 5 years? 10 years? Ever?

3) Personal distaste. I just don't like the concept that a Gringo organization comes to a country that speaks Spanish and says . . . "Learn my revered language and get ahead." It has never sat well with me. I can't explain it any better than that.

However stubborn I may be, circumstances have changed to a degree.

The fact of the matter is that Call Centers represent one of the only growing industries in Nicaragua.These places desperately need English speakers and they pay pretty good. Moreover, we discovered an institute that delivers an intensive course in English at Ave Maria University. 7 hours a day, 5 days a week. They promise a TOEFL (English language competency exam) pass in eight months.

So, with my tail comfortably ensconced between my legs, BECA will pilot one student through the seven month course of English studies.

His name is Nosbal. And I have eight months to prepare my "crow" pie.

Here Come the Pulseras

From time to time, BECA gets visitors.

A couple of weeks ago, three U.S. University students -- Thomas, Margaret, and Chris -- showed up at our office.

They are part of . . .The Pulsera Project! I know, I know, it sounds like they are involved in some kind of wacky science experiment, but it is far from that.

Pulsera means "bracelet" in Spanish.

Many of you have seen these bracelets around. They are handmade woven bracelets. It so happens that Nicaraguans are expert pulsera makers.

The Pulsera Project group came up with a nifty idea. They buy pulseras from Nicaraguan artisans and disadvantaged youth. They buy them for a buck and then ship them off to the United States where University students and groups sell them for five bucks.

The profits are funnelled back to community projects here in Nicaragua. The real mission is to promote the importance of public service to young Americans and create awareness of international social causes.

Consider the following:
Gringo student sees pulsera >
           Gringo student asks about pulsera origin >
                     Gringo student learns more about Nicaragua >
                                Gringo student becomes involved selling pulseras to others.
Repeat.

The real keeners come to visit Nicaragua and see for themselves what is really going on. (Enter Chris, Thomas, Margaret and others.)

It's a simple concept. And that is why I like it so much.

Vacation Time Empathy

I'm in Canada for two weeks. (Happy 50th Anniversary Mom and Dad!)

While in Canada, I've been hearing a lot of this kind of stuff:

    "Wow, Walter* . . . what you are doing is fantastic . . . what a sacrifice you are making.I really admire you."
    or

    "I really have to hand it to you, Walter, for living in a place like that."
     or

    "I don't know how you do it. Don't you miss Canada? Don't you miss your friends?"

Okay, listen up people. I appreciate the kind words of encouragement and everything, but you make it sound like I'm living in some kind of concentration camp.

The fact of the matter is that it isn't that much of a sacrifice at all. Nicaragua is really quite an interesting place and my quality of life is actually pretty good. And . . . it doesn't snow . . . EVER.

Moreover, I'm having a lot of fun doing what I'm doing.

But here is the real kicker: it gives me a tremendous amount of joy doing something that I believe to be meaningful.
 
And I feel really lucky to be able to do it.

*Walter is the name I choose to use in Nicaragua. My family and friends call me by my first name, Howard. (To be explained in a blog entry coming soon.)

A Recap and a Dilemma

First, a quick refresher.

The BECA program consists of two stages: 1) Course One and 2) Intensive. Every BECA student has to pass the first stage (90 day computer course) to earn the opportunity to apply for the second stage (a technical scholarship, usually one to two years in length).

BECA had one Course One this year. 24 students started in April of which 23 finished in June. Of those 23 students, 19 earned the option to apply for a technicial career scholarship. It is our experience that between 50 and 60 percent of those eligible, apply for the second stage. That would mean of this group, 10 to 12 students will be looking for sponsors at the end of 2010.

All in all, not too shabby. 96% of the students finished Course One. That is the highest completion rate BECA has ever seen.

Personally, at this stage -- and with 9 BECA Course Ones under our belt -- I only have one concern. I'm not too happy with the place where we hold the class. The computers are often in bad shape, the software is dated, and the Internet connection is spotty and slow.

This brings us to an important BECA dilemma. I have always been dead set against setting up our own learning facility. I felt it was important as an organization to use the existing infrastructure in the community. However . . . at what cost? What do you do if the existing infrastructure cannot provide what you want? Or . . . is BECA being too demanding?

I don't have the answer yet. But let me tell you, this issue twists me right up.

In the meantime, I will bask briefly on that 96% figure and replay a few times the video recap for Course One 2010.

BECA DESERTION #3 . . . (and why I feel bad about it)

Another student, Ena Miranda, has left the BECA program. Why? She failed a course in her Laboratory Clinician career and then failed the make-up exam. In this neck of the woods, that means "you're out."

I feel kinda bad about Ena. You see, BECA asks all of the students to keep us informed of their studies. The students send us monthly e-mail reports. Also, we read their blogs to try to spot any signs of trouble.

In Ena's case, her monthly reports seemed normal. Her blog, however sparse, seemed normal.

We try to emphasize to all the BECA students to let us know if they are running into some kind of difficulty. And we try to visit them at school.

Try, shmy.

Well darn it, try is just not good enough and is not going to cut it. In Ena's case, we didn't pay her a personal visit at school.

Nicaraguans are proud people and don't like to admit when things aren't going their way. Well, come to think of it , who does?

Lesson learned. I'm really sorry, Ena. We were asleep at the wheel and missed it. And now I have to live with the fact that maybe there was something we could have done to help you out before.

If there is any consolation Ena has helped us improve the BECA program. From this point forward it will be BECA policy to visit every student at school every month. No exceptions.

Living the Life of Luxury in Nicaragua (Huh?)

Well, it isn't always luxurious living. But it sure feels like it every morning when I am greeted at my front door by Candida.

Candida brings a cart load of fresh fruit to my door every single morning (except Sunday). 

Mangos, bananas, pineapples, papayas, you name it.

. . . AND front door service to boot. 

¡Living la vida fruta in Nicaragua!

What Happens When a Student Quits

Yesnery Montoya is the second BECA student to call it quits this year.

In her official withdrawal form, Yesnery cited "personal problems" and asked us not to share any details with third parties. We will respect her wishes.


I thought I would take advantage of this turn of events to explain BECA procedure when we hear a student wants to quit:

1. BECA does everything it can to understand the student's decision -- meaning talking to the student, talking to their family, talking to their teachers, talking to the school, if necessary -- whatever it takes to see if we can help in some way.
2. If BECA determines that "it is out of our hands" we ask the student to sign an official withdrawal letter and hand in their BECA ID card and student manual.
3. BECA advises the sponsors of the withdrawal and redistributes the balance* of their scholarship to another student(s) currently in need of funding.

*Note: BECA keeps a running balance of every student's scholarship. At any given time, if a student drops out, we can apply the balance to someone else.

Yes, it seems that the money already spent is lost for good. But think of it this way. Thanks to the generosity of BECA sponsors, Yesnery was given a shot she otherwise wouldn't have had.

And BECA likes to think that this opportunity alone is worth something and is money well spent.

Thanks, Yesnery, for giving it your best shot.

Crimes and Punishment

Discipline.

I'm talking about penalizing "bad" student behaviour. It's a subject that comes up once in a while here at BECA.

Personally, I'm not a fan of it. I'm a firm believer in using rewards to incent as opposed to using punishment to dissuade.

Nevertheless, I guess there comes a time, when you have to put your foot down and say "enough is enough."

One of these times occurred this month (May). Four students decided to go off on their own, change their program of studies, and enroll in an extra English course - without informing BECA administration. That's a big no-no.

Incredulously, they somehow managed to convince the school administration to give them a 50% discount for the English course and scrape together the monthly $6 fees. Huh???

Where did that money come from? (A sympathetic grandfather, a government bonus, a sister . . . it turns out.)

But what to do? These are young adults, after all. It was quite a mess.

What made it more difficult was to the end they maintained their innocence and two of the participants actually blamed another student for not informing them that they were doing something wrong.

That is when I drew the line. "Come on you guys, let's accept some responsibility here."

In the end, we decided that they had to be disciplined. (They go to the bottom of the list to raise money for their careers for 2011, amongst other things.)

I applaud their desire to learn. I just figure that we have to maintain some order here and enforce some rules. Isn't the integrity of the BECA program at stake?

Or does the integrity of the program really matter??? I'm not sure.

Stay in touch, dear reader. Something tells me there will be more to this story.

(Hopefully not) to be continued.

10 Charming Oddities of My Day-to-Day Life in Masaya, Nicaragua

There are some things when you live in a different place that strike you as just damn odd. Masaya, Nicaragua is no exception.

However, I've noticed that with a little time -- I've been here now almost 3 years -- I've come to appreciate some of these "oddities."

Here is my list of "charming" oddities (in no particular order):

     1) "Thank you" means "no thank you" (more often than not).

     2) The hairstylist washes your hair AFTER they finish cutting it.

     3) There are stop signs at the intersections with traffic signals.

     4) You are a gringo even if you don't come from the United States.

     5) Nicaraguans drink instant coffee even though ground Nicaraguan coffee is excellent.

     6) The taxi driver will pick up more passengers while enroute to your destination (and will sometimes drop them off before you!)

     7) The taxi driver will take you with him to buy gas, without asking.

     8) It doesn't cost anything to receive cellular phone calls.

     9) EVERYONE has a cell phone. (See #8)

     10) Obituaries via loudspeaker. Huh? Yep, it's true. I couldn't believe my ears the first time. Here in Masaya the tradition is to announce the death of your loved ones via loudspeaker on a slowly moving vehicle.

Celebrate the differences!

Paying More

How would you feel if the gardening service (or, for you Canadians, snow-shovelling service) charged you $75 and charged the neighbor $50 . . . and your yard (errr, sidewalk) was bigger?

I don't think you would like it too much. Well that happens here to me in Nicaragua.

Not always.

Not everyday.

But it happens.

I call it paying "el precio gringo" (gringo price).

It used to really bother me and I'd get really worked up about it -- especially if it something as blatant as paying a higher fare on a bus when the person sitting right beside you is paying less.

You could say it is a fact of life for me here in Nicaragua. What's a person to do?

I break it down this way. When it comes to personal expenses I have learned to accept the idea. They probably have the idea that "gringos" have more money and can afford to pay more. Guess what? Generally speaking, they are right and I can't argue with the logic.

It gets a little more complicated when it comes to BECA. I still get annoyed when "they" want to charge the BECA Foundation more for stuff just because we are a North American organization. Now we are talking about the money of donors. Moreover, we are talking about money that goes to helping Nicaraguans! Geez.

Here is a summary of my "paying more" strategy:

BECA stuff: Fortunately, we have Antonio. I stay away from negociations in the hopes that they not realize a "gringo" is involved. Sometimes it makes a difference.
Walter stuff: Pay the "precio gringo." And smile.

The BECA Brigade

This "community service as a brigade" idea is working out pretty good so far for BECA. It works like this:

1. A community project is recommended -- either by a student or by BECA administration. 
2. Some planning is done by BECA coordinator Antonio Rodriguez.
3. Invitations are sent to the current crop of technical career students.
4. The day arrives and, voila, something like this happens:

Why are these People Smiling?

You might recognize these seven Nicaraguans. They are famous for us here at BECA.

Why, you ask? Well for one, they are the home page "face" of BECA

More important than that, however, is that they are the first. The first to apply for technical career scholarships through BECA. The first to be sponsored. The first to finish their technical career course of studies.

And NOW . . . the first to begin their three-month apprenticeships: Manuel, Sorania, Maribel, Elvis - Tourism; Kenia, Francis - Secretary; Claudia - Executive Chef.

We are extremely grateful to these "Magnificent Seven" for growing with us; for being patient with us as we tried new things; for helping us nurture the "second" batch of applicants; and for hanging in there and finishing their course of studies.

Now, as they get their first taste of the "real world" we can't help but feel extremely proud of them.

The goal of BECA is that our scholarship recipients ultimately get jobs. Now they are another step closer.

Jesús is Gone

He is bright. He is articulate. He has loads of personality.

Jesús is Jesús David Flores. He received a scholarship through BECA to study Accounting and started in February. After two months, Jesús has called it quits and has withdrawn from his studies.

Jesús is the first BECA student to withdraw from technical career studies this year.

Why? Jesús told us that he had to go to work to help out his Mom, who is going through a hard time.

We've mentioned before in this space that life in Nicaragua can be complicated and for many a post-secondary education is a big luxury. The issue is the opportunity cost of not contributing to the family household financially.

As a result, we realistically expect that Jesús won't be the last student to quit BECA this year.

All, however, is not lost. BECA will apply the balance of his scholarship to another student "in need." And, 47 other students remain active (for now).

Nevertheless, it sucks to see such a promising young person quit.

BECA wishes Jesús the very best. Thanks for giving it a shot.

BECA Course One - Version 2010

BECA Course One 2010 started this week with 24 (mostly) excited young people.

[Quick refresher: Course One is a three month proving ground for the BECA program. Every student who wants to receive a scholarship to study a technical career has to "show their stuff" in Course One.]

What is my first impression of this group? It is impossible for me to say. In the past I've been wrong about students so many times, I've quit counting (and stopped guessing).

I'm quite curious how this group will turn out though because we used only word-of-mouth to attract students. That is, pretty much all of the students were referred by a Course One graduate.

Stay tuned.

Salvador Cardenal ,QEPD

Two questions: 

1. Who is Salvador Cardenal? 
2. What does the "QEPD" after his name mean?

Salvador Cardenal was a Nicaraguan singer and songwriter, born in 1960. He often sang with his sister, Katia. They formed a group, Dúo Guardabarranco, 30 years ago.

He is very special to BECA because we use one of his songs, Dias del Amar, as the background music in our student profile videos. (See example here.)

I fell in love with the song the first moment I heard it, and it was always my intention to ask him one day if it was okay if we continued to use the song.

Sadly, Salvador Cardenal died earlier this month, after years of struggling with a rare blood disease.

I had the miraculous good fortune of seeing him perform three songs with his sister in February. I suspect it was his last public performance because he didn't look very well.

On that special Granada evening, the last song Katia and Salvador performed was Dias del Amar.

Salvador Cardenal, Que En Paz Descanse.
Salvador Cardenal, Rest in Peace.

How to Help BECA students (and not spend a dime)

Did you know that every active BECA student has a blog?

As part of their scholarship each student receives two hours per week of Internet time in a local cybercafe.
 
BECA helps them set up their blog so that they can write about their experiences and share them with their sponsor and with the world at large. Most of them write something two or three times a month.

You can see a directory of the BECA blogs here: www.beca.org/blogs.html.

Now here comes the helping part. MAKE A COMMENT! It's as simple as clicking on the word "Comments" just below each blog entry:

Scribble down a few words, even if it is in English. If you know Spanish, even better. Also, blog comments can be made anonymously, if you wish.

I know, I know . . . the blogs are in Spanish.

Please don't let that stop you!

There is a translate gadget on every student blog page (below). The translation is far from perfect, but more often than not you can get the general idea of what they are trying to say.






You have NO idea how excited the students get when they see that someone out there is actually paying attention.

A Bloody Interesting Day

On Saturday BECA students gathered to donate blood at the Red Cross here in Masaya.

(Pardon the yucky pun in the title . . . but it did get your attention, right?)

Out of 48 students, about 30 showed up. Most gave.

A couple of observations.

First, about five students were disqualified from donating because they didn't weigh enough. The minimum weight to donate is 100 pounds. These people are young adults. Tells you something, huh?

Second, it appears that the culture here is avowedly "anti-blood-giving." All of the students were strongly encouraged to bring along others to donate. None did!

Moreover, none of the students had ever donated before -- or even considered it, from what I could tell. Myths about blood-giving abound. Heard in the waiting room: "Giving blood will make me gain weight."

That made the day that much more special. Despite popular sentiment, BECA students showed up and gave back to their community.

Maybe next time, we'll see a friend or two.

Moving Out

Some days around here are very special for me.

Case in point, Sunday.

For three BECA students, Larry, Fanny and Frank (below),

Sunday, February 21st was moving day.

They received scholarships to study in the city of Granada.

Fortunately, the technical college INTECNA has student housing and that's where they will be staying.




I was fortunate enough to tag along on Sunday as they said goodbye to their families and headed up to Granada to set themselves up in their new "homes."

It might not be easy for them. From what I've seen Nicaraguan families, especially from the country, are very close-knit.

This move represents a HUGE adjustment for them and for their family members at home, too.

It was an honour to be with them on this special day.


Bravo!

BECA Gets Married

Well, sort of . . . 

To go along with our first baby back in August of last year, BECA is proud to announce our first marriage. Felicidades to one of our students Eliezer Alvarado who just got married.

If he looks really young, it is because he is.

18 years old.

But they get married a lot earlier around here.

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.