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.