Education for the Future: Rob Sanford's English Training

Rob with Enlace Project English School teachers: Luzvelia, Javier, & Juan.

During two weeks the month of August, Enlace Project friend Rob Sanford came to Nicaragua in order to train local English teachers. Working with El Sauce's Ministry of Education, Rob was able to provide assistance to public and private schools, including the Enlace Project English School staff. In addition to the three workshops that took place in the Enlace Project office, Rob made visits to some of the schools to watch the teachers in action and also taught Enlace Project’s advanced English class.

Rob had previously worked with Enlace Project on constructing a school in the community of Buena Vista. During the trip in February 2014, he had the opportunity to sit in on Enlace Project’s English classes and speak with the program directors to organize the workshop. Being an elementary and middle school teacher in the Honoeye Falls-Lima School District in upstate New York, Rob was able to share his knowledge of education and the English language, as well as his spirit and energy, with the teachers and students.

Rob explaining a concept to a local English teacher at the workshop.

Specifically, Rob’s workshop focused on classroom management, grammar instruction, and strategies for implementing reading and writing of English in the classroom. Bringing a variety of school materials, such as bilingual books, CDs, and more, he hoped to encourage students and teachers alike in their English studies. He notes in his blog that the school visits provided him with strategies that would help the teachers’ instruction and activities in class.

Rob, in turn, also learned a lot from visiting the classrooms. He comments, “Enlace [Project]’s program provides a unique opportunity for volunteers to connect with the people of Nicaragua in a way that both the volunteers and Nicaraguans can benefit from.”

He also had the chance to visit the school in the community of Buena Vista that he had worked on in February. There he introduced himself to the class, some of who were familiar faces from around the community, and talked to the teacher about how the new school was going. This opportunity helped Rob to see the true impact that fundraising and building schools can have for the children.

Rob with one of the classes in Buena Vista.

When reflecting on his experience after returning to the United States, Rob wrote to Enlace Project:

“This experience helped me to improve my own skills as a teacher, forced me to think about how I deliver my own instruction, provided me with a chance to improve my Spanish language skills, and allowed me to make connections with some amazing people!"

--Written by Sean Conner

For more information on our English program.

For more information on our school constructions.

Taking the Next Step toward Self-Sustainability in Ocotal

The women from Fuente de Pino with John and Beverly Serafini.

Two-thousand fourteen has been a big year for Ocotal, the mountain community outside of El Sauce’s center. In addition to joining theColonial and Volcanic tourism route, having a renovated road, and building cabins for guests to stay in, the cooperatives that are supporting development in the community have again exported their products to partners in the United States. With the help of Enlace Project’s Entrepreneurial Development Program (EDP), both Fuente de Pino and the Manuel Lopez Coffee Cooperative have brought additional income to their families, along with some new opportunities.

Construction on the road to Ocotal.

Fuente de Pino has been working to create a variety of hand-made products out of fallen pine needles that they find in their community. This year they have exported over 125 baskets to stores across upstate New York, and more to individual supporters, such as Rob Sanford and Colleen Dunham. The women that run the cooperative also made sales to students from the four summer study abroad trips and other volunteer trips. Currently, Enrique Corrales and Conrad Wright of EDP are working with the cooperative to establish a financial state, a savings account, and to pass through the legalization process.

The Manuel López Coffee Cooperative exported 9,000 pounds of coffee to the United States this year, despite a severe drought in the country. Java Joe, a well-known coffee roaster and distributer in Rochester, New York, is the main client. Additionally, the coffee is now sold on the campus of SUNY Geneseo (through Java Joe and Campus Auxiliary Services [CAS]), Union Place Coffee Roasters, and Utica Coffee Roasting Company. The cooperative is hoping that these and potentially other businesses will increase their purchase amount in the future.

Sacks of coffee ready to be exported to the US.

The Entrepreneurial Development Program has also come into contact with Serafyn Sachels, lead by John and Beverly Serafini, who hope to convert burlap coffee bags, used by the cooperatives to transport coffee, into fashionable bags to be sold in the United States. The couple visited El Sauce in July 2014 to meet the women of Fuente de Pino and show them how to make the bags. This could provide another source of income for the Ocotal community to continue its development in the coming year.

The Entrepreneurial Development Program (EDP) began in June 2014 in order to centralize the services that Enlace Project can provide to cooperatives and small businesses. Their hope is to ensure that the individuals that they work with can learn to be self-sustaining. Keep on the lookout for more updates!

--Written by Sean Conner, Enlace Project Intern

Familiar Faces: Juan Mairena (PLUS an announcement!!)

Juan Mairena, Enlace Project's Academic and Volunteer Travel Coordinator and English teacher, is heading to the United States on September 21^st to meet with many of our partners and friends. In preparation, he has decided to re-introduce himself and explain a little bit about what he does:

Juan with a group of students in Managua.

Hi mi name is Juan Mairena, and I am twenty seven years old. I am from Nicaragua and I was born in Managua, the capital of the country, but I have been living in El Sauce for about three and half years now. I work for Enlace Project, the vision of which is to inspire individual in the human development and the economic development in El Sauce.

Juan showing an oven to students from Geneseo's sustainability class

Currently my position is the Academic and Volunteer travel coordinator, so I am the guide in charge of setting up of the academic and volunteer trips that visit Nicaragua. The different trips that I work with are: Service Learning trips (during the summer and winter intersessions of SUNY Geneseo), Avon for Nicaragua (a group from Rochester, NY who work on school constructions), Humanities II (a SUNY Geneseo required course for all students), Comparative Sustainability (a new course in the Biology department of SUNY Geneseo), and a rural health program (students from Upstate Medical University).

I also teach English classes for Enlace Project. I love doing my job because I meet wonderful people, I learn more about my own culture and the different cultures that the students and volunteers have. In my free time I like to watch movies, to play soccer, to go out with my friends, to spend time in family, to play chess, and I am starting to work out.

Juan (far right) on his last trip to the USA.

During these three and half years working and living here in El Sauce, I could say that it has been one of the most wonderful experiences in my life because I have met such great people from different countries and I feel part of the Sauceño community. I have met amazing people from the States who, regardless of being students, professors and volunteers, are now friends and family and that is the best part of my job.

I am going to the United States to promote the different kinds of trips that we offer. I will be giving presentations about our trips and our organization at Geneseo from September 21^st till the 30^th and then I will be going to Syracuse to have some meetings at Upstate Medical University. In Geneseo, I will be around in different meetings and fairs, so if you know someone interested in coming to Nicaragua please let them know that they can meet me there during those days. I look forward to seeing many of you and spending some time in the U.S.A.!

For more information on Enlace Project's trips, click here.

For more information on Juan's trip to the United States, follow us on Facebook. Or contact us at info@enlaceproject.org.