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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1997-12-07-LWSCC-rpt.pdf LEXINGTON-WASPAM SISTER CITY COMMITTEE P.O. Box 283,Lexington,MA 02173 USA 7 December 1997 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. These Waspam area activities include our support of an elementary school teacher, our tuition fund, and the delivery of baseball equipment. The Lexingrim-Waspam Sister City Coranutte has undertaken to pay the salary . of an creme/tinry s%.nior tcadict, Ms. Lucrecia Pedro Patron, in the Sumu town of Awastingni, in the municipality of Waspam. She had been working as a volunteer prior to s 1994, where her qualities as a teacher were r observed and appreciated by committee ' n , member Ken Hale during a visit to „, - Awastingni in 1993 For Lucrecia to be advanced to the status of professional Luck , teacher, our committee agreed to fund 1A.tre ra'S partnmpation Err professional 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 Bilwi (formerly Puerto Cabezas), the principal urban center in the Northern Autonomous Atlantic Region (RAAN). Lucrecia is concluding her fourth year as a teacher with her salary provided by the Lexington-Waspam Sister City Committee,and she has now been through four MED courses (January 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997). Last year she received from us the standard salary ($975 per year)for a beginning teacher in Nicaragua plus $225 to cover school expenses. Since she has completed her fourth year of MED courses, Lucrecia is eligible for a position in the national education system. However, her getting a job is not an automatic matter and depends on MED funding. We and the Awastingni community believe it is important for us to continue providing her salary in 1998 until MED funding is resolved. When this does happen we will consult with community representatives concerning the most beneficial way to use the amount remaining. We have budgeted $1,200 for the continuation of this activity In January of 1995, we added another project at the request of the people of Awastingni. This project provides tuition support for the young people of the village to attend secondary school in Bilwi, While th4 tuition varies from school to school, all supported students receive the tuition required. This aspect of our project is taken very seriously by Awastingni, and representatives from the town take upon themselves the responsibility of ensuring that the funding is distributed properly and on time. Last year$400 provided the tuition for 19 students. Among these are three who are taking university level courses(at the two fledgling universities LEXINGTON-WASPAM SISTER CITY COMMITTEE P.O. Box 283,Lexington,MA 02173 USA in the RAAN), an exciting development and one which promises much for the future of Awastingni. In this project a little goes a very long way and we would like to increase the tuition fund to $600. The committee achieved something special in 1997 by way of Matt Foti who generously delivered baseball equipment(uniforms, bats, balls, gloves, and masks) donated by the Lexington community and businesses. Prior to this donation there was little or no baseball equipment in Awastingni. Since baseball is the national game of Nicaragua, this was greatly appreciated and is mentioned in Lucrecia's letter(attached). We need your help again in raising the money for the Awastingni project. The combined total for the teaching position and the school tuition fund is $1,800. Although the total amount involved for this project is not great, it is not insignificant, and it must be obtained if the project is to continue in 1998. You have been generous in the past, and we hope,therefore,that you will be able to help us again with a tax deductible donation. For whatever you can give, we thank you again according to the Sumu custom employed by Pastor Netario McClean of Awastingni when the initial 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, . tai School Children of Aw+stir gra Wally Lentz k r' Chairperson, at LWSCC ; Please send your tax-deductible contribution to: LWSCC PO. Box 283 Lexington, MA 02173 other $100 !$50 $25 Your name and address.