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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1990-10-LWSSC-news.pdf Naksa An irregular bulletin of the Lexington-Waspam Sister City Committee Octaher 1990 Vol I, No.2 SAWMILL PROJECT NEARS COMPLETION We are very close- to shipping the portable sawmill to Waspam. Our sawmill expert, Matthew Foti, will be making a journey to Waspam to help with assembly and training as necessary We've received some financial assistance from Oxfam North America. In Nicaragua, CEPAD, an ecumenical Protestant development organization which works closely with Oxfam, will be helping us arrange transportation for the sawmill to Waspam from Managua. Our funds still fall about $4,000 short of the projected sawmill budget If we are fortunate, Oxfam will help us to make up most of the difference HOWEVER, any additional contributions are greatly appreciated (You've got our address.) YARD SALE NETS $1200 Our Yard Sale was a great success thanks to the hard work of Marjorie Middleton and her untiring crew The day began at 8.15am with Richard Games beating back the crowd and when the sale actually began at 10 OOam we raked in $500 in the first 45 mins! Thanks to all those who contributed such treasures and to all of you who bought them: TRIP TO WAS PAM We are still working on setting up a trip to visit Waspam this coming April The trip will be run by the Center for Global Education which arranges for transportation, lodging, meetings with a range of groups and individuals, and translation services. Members of our group who have been on the Center's past trips have recommended them as excellent and a great opportunity to gain insight on Nicaraguan society and politics Please contact Marcia Butman at 861-6154 if you are interested while there are still spaces available. The cost will be about $1500. CALENDAR REMINDER Monthly meetings are held on the FIRST THURSDAY of each month at 33 Peacock Farm Rd. , Lexington. This means (calendars and pens ready?) that we will meet Nov 1, Dec 6, Jan.3, 1991, Feb.7, Mar 7, Apr 4, May 2, and June 6. GENERAL MONTHLY MEETING--Thursday, Nov 1, for all interested people at 8pm, Mathilda Holzman's home at 33 Peacock Farm Rd. , Lexington. Please come: NOAM CHOMSKY--reknowned linguist, poltical analyst and Lexington resident will be talking on 'The 'New' World Order" at Follen Church, 8pm. Don't miss it--his ! lectures are always insightful and thought-provoking. We are asking for a donation --of $5. WASPAM SCHOOL PROJECT For the last two years, members of the Sister City Committee--with support from the Lexington Public School's Social Studies Coordinator, John Papandonis, and from Bowman Elementary School teachers—have been visiting classes at Bowman School to talk with children about life in Waspam. We are hoping to expand the program this year to more grades, and hopefully to other elementary schools The Spanish teachers at Lexington High School have also been very supportive and several of their classes translated a storybook that will be used in Bowman classes. This year we've also formed a School Advisory Board to give us support and advice on our program's content and teaching methods. The program is designed to help children come to grips with the realities of life in a revolutionary third world country In the presentation, one of us role-plays as an eleven-year-old girl, Maria Elena, who was born in Waspam, had to leave when she was three years old, and returned home to thick jungle and destruction four years later As a seven-year-old, Maria Elena is now in the process of helping her town rebuild. With slides taken by members of the Sister City Committee who have visited Waspam, Maria Elena tells her story The children have many questions for Maria Elena--Where do you wash your dishes? What happened to your family in the fighting? If you have no electricity how do you know when it's time for school to end everyday? Where do you go to the bathroom? If the pigs and chickens are just running around, how do know which ones are yours? How do you fix your outboard motors? What does the Moravian religion believe in? Isn't the river water kind of dirty to wash clothes in? Do you brush your teeth? Answering such questions benefits our children in many ways Global Understanding Understanding what life is like for children in Waspam helps widen the perspective of our children who have no idea that the rest of the world doesn't live like we do in Lexington. For instance, we showed a picture of the clinic in Waspam to a 2nd grade class and asked if they knew what a clinic was. They were stumped. Eventually, they came up with the idea that it was a place you went to get better at skiing or tennis. In the future, we hope to explore this issue in greater depth, thinking also about why some countries are rich and some are poor Encouraging_ the Urge to Help Change The Sister City Committee is actively involved in helping Waspam rebuild. We show slides of 300 lbs. of baseball equipment collected in Lexington being presented to the elementary school teachers in Waspam by two Sister City Committee members. Children hear about the Committee's campaign to raise money to buy a sawmill for the town so that cutting a board will take two minutes rather than two hours Perhaps our involvement will encourage children to think of ways that they can help improve the world. For example, teachers in several classes are hoping to have the children make books, translated into Spanish by high school Spanish classes, to send to the school in Waspam which has a need for primers Eliminating the Stereotypes of Poor People A Sister City relationship benefits both cities Can we retrieve something missing from our lives by pursuing our relationship with the people of Waspam? Seeing the reality of life in Waspam gives us a new perspective, and helps us consider what is really important to us. The Lexington children thought about what they would bring with them if, they had to leave Lexington in a hurry, as Maria Elena had left Waspam. They also wondered what games they might play if they didn't have Nintendo, computers, or Toys-R-Us. The people of Waspam, rebuilding their town from scratch facing overwhelming obstacles, can be an inspiration to us in affluent Lexington. Privileged to know people of such a different culture and class, we will gain a greater understanding of, and compassion for, another corner of our world For more information about the school project, call Marcia Butman at 861-6154.