• Nicaragua 1977-1978 Sunday, June 11, 2006 - 1:33 pm [1]

Hi everyone, John and I returned to El Limon and Jalapa last year ( after 30 years). It was an emotional experience and everyone still remembered us! WE have recently seen Dana Eaton - lives in Ames Iowa, Bill and Dana Lee Glasscock in Hydro Okalahoma and recently spoke to Ricardo Cittar who is in San Francisco, California. We visited with Dave Lintner in Jalapa who is an owner of Jesus Mountain Coffee which they import to the US. It is so much fun to stay in contact with people. Wanda Ellingson and John Condie

By tom newcomb (147.56.62.145) on Monday, February 26, 2007 - 3:39 pm: Edit Post

Hi
Wanda, I took my youngest daughter last week to visit San Lucas. Somoto has a Walmart, the diet is changing. Everyone knows me, even people I can't remember.

By Robert M. Buscaglia on Friday, April 04, 2003 - 3:50 pm: Edit Post

Dear Nica RPCVs,

Hi. This is Rob Buscaglia, RPCV Chinandega, Nicaragua 93-95.

Since my COS with PC Nicaragua, I have continued development efforts there through an organization I founded called Ayudanica.

Ayudanica (roughly translated to mean “help Nicaragua”) is a Philadelphia-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit service-learning organization that works in direct partnership with local high school students and the people of Monte Rosa, Nicaragua to provide enhanced educational opportunities in that community.

Over the past five years, Ayudanica has worked with more than 75 local high school students and the people of Monte Rosa to develop a community learning center that benefits more than 3,500 people. The center includes a small library with over 750 books and other educational resources, a computer lab and a preschool. At the learning center in Monte Rosa, Ayudanica offers free educational programs for children, teens and adults in the areas of computer sciences, literacy, drawing, folkloric dance and knitting, as well as a very popular library story hour program for children.

The benefits to the community have been tremendous. Every year we see a greater number of children, teens and adults reading, visiting the library and becoming involved in the educational programs offered at the center. The learning center provides educational opportunities otherwise not available in a village with no high school, scarce employment opportunities, and a 40% combined primary and high school dropout rate. Through this partnership between the people of Philadelphia and Monte Rosa, Ayudanica hopes to expand the types of educational opportunities offered at the center and to be able to provide experience and training that can foster sustainable development and personal growth in Monte Rosa.

Ayudanica is now looking for partners here in the Philadelphia area and beyond, who can provide assistance and expertise in a number of areas. As a small, fledgling nonprofit with big ideas, Ayudancia is looking for people who are able to provide nonprofit and/or development work experience, technical skills useful to the project’s goals, material supplies that allow us to expand our educational programs and monetary donations to meet our ongoing expenses and future goals.

If you would like some more information about the project and how you can help, please contact me at ayudanica@erols.com or at 215-755-2045.

RPCVs have a lot to offer. I would love to here what you are all up to these day.

I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Sincerely,
Rob Buscaglia
RPCV, Nicaragua 93-95

By ralph ditto (cache01.iad.untd.com - 64.136.49.225) on Tuesday, January 24, 2006 - 5:33 am: Edit Post

my name is ralph ditto i manufacuture modelairplanes and wish to give a gift of my product to you .know more than 50 kits with d dvd yours truly mr . ditto