|
Participants will also
hear from representatives of those who have been most personally
affected by the economic reality of the country -- factory workers,
rural agriculture workers, and street children.
Through formal and informal encounters with
Nicaraguans, reflection and brief home-stays, we hope that delegates
will arrive at a broader understanding of themselves and their
relationship to the global problem of poverty.
Delegations to Nicaragua are usually comprised of
anywhere from eight
to
25 delegates including
two
delegation coordinators,
and a typical delegation visit ranges from
nine to 14 days, including travel
days. Delegations longer than
ten days can include a free day
trip to the beach, cloud forest, or crater lake. The number of
delegates and length of any delegation are negotiable and should be
arranged in conjunction with Witness for Peace administrators in
Washington, DC and the WFP International Team in Nicaragua.
We encourage you to participate in a delegation to
Nicaragua to learn about how US policies and corporate practices
affect people in Nicaragua. Our delegations to Nicaragua put a human
face on US policy, giving delegates an opportunity to speak with
those people most affected by an unjust world economic system. Below
you can read about several different delegation theme options.
 Click
here
to see the current Nicaragua delegation schedule.
If you're
interested in a custom designed delegation for your university, high
school, church, synagogue, mosque or other group please contact
betsy@witnessforpeace.org
All delegations include:
-
Orientation to Witness for Peace and the
history of
Nicaragua
-
Socio-economic Contrast Tour of Managua
-
Meeting with economist/sociologist about the current
socioeconomic situation
-
A brief home-stay in an organized rural community
-
Meeting with US Embassy
officials about US policy in
Nicaragua
-
Final
wrap-up and Action Planning
session
Home Stays and Community Visits
All delegations include a home-stay of at least two nights with
Nicaraguan families in a community in the countryside. Longer
delegations have the option of including an additional urban home-stay
in the capital city of Managua.
The Nicaragua Team works with
delegation coordinators to choose the community best-suited for the
delegation, based on the requests of the delegation coordinators and
on-the-ground considerations.
Nicaragua Delegation Themes
Six months prior to the delegation, it is important to select a theme
and title for the delegation, which must be approved by the WFP
Nicaragua Team. The delegation coordinator and WFP DC Staff will use
the theme and title to advertise and recruit delegates. Below are
some suggestions for possible delegation themes, although depending on
the focus of the Nicaragua Team and the Nicaraguan political and
social climate, some themes may be timelier than others. Of course,
the Nicaragua
Team is always open to fresh delegation theme ideas!
Nicaragua from the Inside: The Impact of Globalization
It’s a small world—and getting smaller every day! This delegation
will learn about the basic components of globalization and how
Nicaragua is affected by them. Delegates will learn about the Central
American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) as a component of the current
neoliberal model and the harsh reality that exists for Nicaraguans
within that model. Delegates will meet with various individuals and
organizations to discuss the maquila sector and Free Trade
Zones, International Financial Institutions and the current
privatization struggles in Nicaragua as well as small agricultural
producers in rural Nicaragua who are struggling to continue on in an
increasingly globalized world.
Crisis in Your Coffee Cup
Coffee is one of Nicaragua’s main export crops and an essential part
of life for thousands of agricultural workers whose entire income
depends on its sale. This delegation will learn about the
complexities of the coffee industry and vulnerability of coffee
workers within the current neo-liberal model. Delegates will focus on
understanding the difference between food security and food insecurity
and the dilemmas faced by coffee producers. Delegates will also meet
with Nicaraguan agronomists about alternative farming models and the
current pressure put on farmers by CAFTA. Finally, delegates will glimpse the life of a
coffee worker during their stay in a coffee-producing community.
Worker’s Rights & Globalization in Nicaragua
Delegates
will examine the question, “how has today’s global economic framework
affected worker’s rights in Nicaragua?” For years Nicaragua has tried
to comply with the neoliberal prescription to provide cheap labor to
multinational corporations. Delegates will hear from workers how
Nicaragua’s participation in the global “race to the bottom” has
eroded their labor rights. Through visits with free trade zone
maquila managers, union leaders, and workers of various sectors,
delegates will also explore the complexities of the maquila
system, and their role as consumers. Groups will also explore
alternatives to current "development models" that seek to empower
workers and distribute profits more equitably.
The Impact of Globalization on Nicaragua’s Food Sovereignty
This delegation will strive to answer the question, “What is food
sovereignty and how can it be attained?”
Nicaragua’s biodiversity is an extremely valuable
cultural and ecological resource, but is also highly valued as an
economic resource by transnational companies. Delegates will learn
about the threats of corporate involvement in the agricultural sector
and how small and medium agricultural producers in Nicaragua are
defending native foods and resources.
Participants on this delegation will learn to
distinguish between food security, food insecurity and food
sovereignty and become aware of the current pressure put on farmers by CAFTA. Meetings and visits to agricultural organizations, communities and
farms will provide a broad sense of Nicaraguans’ struggle to achieve
food sovereignty. Delegates will visit organizations working in
agricultural policy and advocacy, and meet with representatives of
small and medium-sized farmers. In addition, delegates will learn
about alternative agriculture models that work to provide community
food security.
Health Care & Human Rights in Nicaragua
Delegates will explore the unjust neoliberal policies at work in
Nicaragua, while at the same time providing much-needed medical
services to communities affected by these same economic policies. The
delegation will include a medical brigade portion that would be hosted
by Accion Medica Cristiana (AMC), an organization that has cultivated
long-term relationships with the Nicaragua communities delegates would
visit. AMC will introduce delegates to these communities and explain
their struggle to encourage sustainable, community-based health care
development. Delegates will also spend a significant amount of time
exploring the roots of the neoliberal system that has made health
care
in Nicaragua a luxury rather than a reality.
Youth Encounter: Teen Delegation to Nicaragua
Teen delegates will have the opportunity
to experience the reality of Central American rural living, work on a
community project, live with a Nicaraguan family and receive training
in how to be a teenager striving for social change.
This delegation will focus on the economic reality in Nicaragua and
provide an introduction to the impact of the free trade and
International Monetary Fund policies on the Nicaraguan people. Delegates will also have the opportunity to meet with Nicaraguan youth
to explore shared interests and discuss the challenges faced by
teenagers in the US and Nicaragua. Delegates will engage with
community leaders, visit schools and health centers and celebrate with
a Christian base community.
Sowing Peace in a Time of Economic War: Ecumenical Delegation
to Nicaragua
In the harsh economic environment of Nicaragua, vibrant faith
communities work for justice, peace, and sustainable development. They provide leadership for impoverished Nicaraguans and develop
projects for community development. Delegates will engage a wide
range of faith groups and church representatives in discussion in
order to better understand the roots of the current economic crisis in
Nicaragua and the impact of US policies.
In addition, delegates will explore ways to facilitate links
and develop mutually supportive working relationships between US and
Nicaraguan churches, as well as learn how to increase the capacity of
US churches to carry out more effective advocacy and change unjust
US policies toward Nicaragua.
Free Trade and the Roots of Migration
A migration delegation to Nicaragua would explore the root causes of
migration in an attempt to answer the question, “Why are so many
Nicaraguans forced to seek work outside of their home country?” In
this process, delegates will learn
about policies that are driving people to increasingly dangerous
border crossings in search of a way to sustain the families they’ve
left behind. Delegates will travel to Nicaragua to experience the
effects of US policy first-hand and investigate how US policy has
contributed to migration. Delegates will learn from activists,
farmers, and civil society organizations about the effects of
migration on families, communities and on daily life, and hear about
emerging alternatives that seek to provide Nicaraguans with work and
Nicaragua with opportunities for its citizens.
Nicaragua Cultural Encounter: Examining Neoliberalism through
the Lens of Art & Culture
Delegates will engage with Nicaraguan artisans and learn about the
materials and time involved in the creation of their crafts while
exploring the current neoliberal economic system that often keeps
these artisans from earning a fair wage. The delegation will focus on
understanding how free trade and the neo-liberal model affect
individual artists in Nicaragua through meetings with artisan
cooperatives, talks with local musicians and cultural activities. In
addition, delegates will meet with labor organizations and maquila
sector workers in order to gain essential knowledge about the
difference between free and fair trade and the role of US citizens
in the struggle of Nicaraguan artists.
Women’s Lives & Globalization in Nicaragua
Delegates will explore how women are affected by globalization, and
the unjust economic relationships that exist in Nicaragua. In
addition, delegates will learn about the struggle for gender equality
within the current neoliberal system, and about the effects of CAFTA on women. Delegates
will have the opportunity to meet with many Nicaraguan women
representing different sectors of society, including workers, farmers,
cooperative leaders, feminist scholars and activists. The delegation
will explore urban Managua during meetings with factory workers in the
maquila sector, communities affected by privatization, and health
clinics, as well as the rural sector where delegates will learn more
about the implications of the current economic crisis, free trade
agreements and IMF-imposed structural adjustment programs for women. In addition, delegates will witness some of the alternative
development projects springing up in Nicaraguan communities that
attempt to follow a different development path than the one paved by
the dominant model.
Fair Trade
Delegation: Discover A Better Way to Buy Coffee, Produce & Art
The
struggle for economic justice inside and outside the free trade model
is happening all over the world. In Nicaragua, many viable
alternatives have taken shape, one being the promotion of fair
trade. Fair trade attempts to offer workers a fair and living wage
for their work. Learn about the co-operative fair trade system in
Nicaragua and the fair trade movement in the US. Delegates will
investigate the difference between free trade and fair trade through
contrasting visits with coffee producers working for a fair wage and
landless coffee workers struggling to survive, dialogues with
cooperative associates of the first-ever worker owned free trade zone
and with maquila workers struggling to form unions and demand worker
rights, as well as visits to other organizations that are seeking a
better way to do trade.
Breaking the Chain
of Debt in Nicaragua
Despite the recent cancellation of a percentage of Nicaragua’s foreign
debt, Nicaragua is still a heavily indebted country in which
International Financial Institutions continue to play a major role. Delegates will investigate the harsh conditions—such as budget cuts,
trade liberalization, and privatization—imposed by International
Financial Institutions as prerequisites for Nicaragua’s debt
forgiveness.
Through meetings with Nicaraguan government
representatives and civil society groups, delegates will explore the
impact of Nicaragua’s debt on society, learn about the sectors
sacrificed in order for Nicaragua to pay its enormous debt, and hear
about alternatives that would allow Nicaragua to escape its debt
crisis while still providing adequate opportunities for its citizens.
US Impact on
Nicaragua’s Internal Politics
For over a century, the United States has intervened in the internal
politics of Nicaragua, using military force and political meddling to
ensure that Nicaraguan administrations comply with US economic
interests. Delegates will explore how US financial and political
support for select Nicaraguan political leaders has led to the
privatization of electricity, communications and, potentially, the
potable water supply. In addition, delegates will learn how
US-backed leaders have led Nicaragua down a path of debt and
impoverishment resulting in devastating social costs. Meetings
with Nicaraguan government representatives and civil society groups
will shed light on the ramifications of continued US interference on
Nicaraguan sovereignty.
|
