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LEXINGTON-WASPAM SISTER CITY COMMITTEE
P.O. Box 283, Lexington,MA 02173 USA
1 December 1995
Dear Friends:
We are writing to tell you about the activities of the Lexington-Waspam Sister
City Committee during the past year and to ask for your continued support for these
projects in the coming year.
As we mentioned in our last letter to you,the Lexington-Waspam Sister City
Committee undertook to pay the salary of an elementary school teacher,Ms. Lucrecia
Pedro Patron,in the Sumu town of Awastingni,in the municipality of Waspam. She had
been working as a volunteer prior to 1994,where her qualities as a teacher were
observed and appreciated by committee member Ken Hale during a visit to Awastingni
in 1993. The community of Awastingni was eager for her to receive a salary She is now
concluding her second year as a teacher with the salary provided by the Lexington-
Waspam Sister City Committee. During 1995 she received the standard salary for a
beginning teacher in Nicaragua—to wit$975.00—augmented by another$325.00 that
was used for supplies and travel expenses.
Lucrecia continued the additional training that is required before she can be
advanced to the status of a professional teacher. The committee has agreed to fund
Lucrecia's participation in professionalization courses set up by the Ministry of
Education (MED) during the annual break in the school year,the cost being primarily
that of room and board in Puerto Cabezas. Lucrecia has now been through two MED
courses (January 1994, 1995). In contrast with 1994, she received support from the MED
for her food during the between-semesters professionalization course. The Committee
paid $77 for her room.
In January of 1995, Ken Hale was in the North Atlantic Autonomous Region of
Nicaragua doing research in linguistics and was able to pay a visit to Awastingni. After
arriving in Awastingni on Sunday 22 January,Ken met with members of the
community,including Lucrecia,to discuss matters. The people were disappointed that
we couldn't accede to their 1994 request that we support a second elementary school
teacher As Awastingni is without its own secondary school,the community asked
whether we could contribute to the support of Awastingni students getting their
secondary education in Puerto Cabezas.
Ken asked them if they could do something creative concerning secondary
education support with, say,$400 per year They discussed this for a long time, and
finally one of the mothers came up with a wonderful plan, enthusiastically approved of
by everyone. The idea was this—they would use the$400 to rent a house in Puerto
Cabezas for the Awastingni secondary students to live in while attending school. Adult
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community members would take turns living in the house and taking care of it and the
students. It was also suggested that part of the expenses of the Awastingni adult care-
taker could be obtained by using the$325.00 that was intended for supplies and travel
expenses. Everyone agreed that this was the best use of that extra fund.
We have heard from our contacts in Nicaragua that our teacher is doing well and
that the house project began as soon as it was clear that they would have enough money
for the year. Ken will be returning to the North Atlantic Autonomous Region of
Nicaragua in January of 1996,and we plan to send enough money to fund our teacher
for another year and to fund the house project(including rental and oversight by an
Awastingni adult). The total needed for this is $1,700. Miscellaneous expenses beyond
that amount include a possible salary increase for Lucrecia to match that of her
colleagues,possible expenses in connection with her professionalization courses, and
possible additional expenses involving the house project. Although the total amount
involved here is not great,it is not insignificant,and it must be obtained if these projects
are to continue. We hope,therefore,that you will be able to help us again with a
generous donation.
For whatever you can give,we thank you again according to the Sumu custom
employed by Pastor Netario McClean of Awastingni when the discussions of the
arrangement regarding Lucrecia's salary were concluded:
Tingki arungka kalanin ki: tingki, tingki, tingki, tingki.
That is to say "One must give thanks four times: thanks, thanks,thanks,thanks."
Sincerely,
Wally Leutz
Chairperson
LWSCC
Please send your tax-deductible contribution to:
LWSCC
P.O. Box 283
Lexington,MA 02173
_$100 _$50 _$25 _other
Your name and address:
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