PGL in-country Annual Report June 2017- May 2018

Steve Lewis started as Country Director in June 2017, taking over from Carlos and Yessica. Carlos and

Steve worked together during a three-week period, for a smooth transition. Steve’s wife, Kath

Owston, works as PGL Associate in a volunteer capacity, mainly supporting education projects.

Achievements this year:

Support to Programme partners 1. CIMAC, the Leon Environmental Centre - PGL provided $3000 this year

PGL have funded a new education-outreach worker this year, Martha Loaisiga. We were also on the

recruitment panel. Various groups have visited the CIMAC centre, including students from Leon

schools, overseas visitor delegations and tourists. They focus on learning about the environment, the

different fauna found in Nicaragua, and workshops on recycling. The PGL staff have been assisting

CIMAC in building their ability and capacity to write reports for future donors.

2. XUCHIALT Community Arts School - PGL provided $5000 this year

PGL have continued to support the arts project in Sutiaba to deliver classes to children and adults in

dance, guitar, and the arts. We provided most of the core-funding for rent, materials, scholarships

etc. Various workshops have been given and received by visiting PGL delegations and visitors, in

August, January, February and March. Steve has supported the management team in the smooth

transition of leadership, which was a legal requirement under Nicaraguan law.

3. Las Tias, support to vulnerable families - PGL provided $3000 this year

Support given to Las Tias helps to fund a psychologist to work with children who have suffered

abuse. Approximately 70 children and young people benefit from homework support classes,

carpentry and sewing classes, hairdressing and barber training. Each attendee receives a free meal at

midday. Young people have a centre to go to, where they are valued and supported, and are not on

the streets. PGL has supported Las Tias this year with various visits by staff and the summer fellows,

and by providing English homework classes for 6 weeks by the PGL professional fellow.

4. Talolinga, a remote rural community. PGL provided this year $3000 for student support,

$500 for a veterinary project, and $500 for a revolving bean project.

We have ready $10,000 to contribute to a community water project

PGL has continued to support three agricultural students to gain a degree from university in Esteli.

Javier has now graduated from his five-year training, a great accomplishment. Edward and Marvin

are in their fourth year. PGL have visited the community on and off throughout the year on

monitoring visits. We also took the Summer Fellows and both college delegations, who worked with

the children in the school and learned about life in an isolated Nicaraguan village.

Work was initiated and carried out with the local mayor’s office to explore the possibility of

supplying a new piped water source for Talolinga. Several meetings took place resulting in the

provision of a drilling machine which, with good fortune, found a decent water source. The next

stage of the project, to install a pipe, pump and piping, is pending.

Marvin and Edward are working in the veterinary clinic, they vaccinate the animals, and provide

remedies. There has been a gradual increase in membership in the revolving bean project.

5. Professional fellow teaching English

PGL had our first professional fellow join us in October and November to teach English classes in two

distinct programmes. David Lewis taught classes to adults who work with NGOs, giving classes in the

Xuchialt building, and he taught English homework classes to teenagers at Las Tias. We have funds

available for a stipend for a Professional Fellow in 2018 – if you know someone who would like to

come down here, who has skills to share and speaks Spanish, please see the website and get in

touch.

6. Support to Special Education

Kath is a Teacher of the Deaf by profession so has used her skills to help support pupils with special

educational needs in Jinotega, Esteli and Leon during the year. A relationship is being formed with

the Special School Angela Morales in Sutiaba. Through PGL an American-trained Speech and

Language Therapist volunteered at the school for three months earlier this year.

Supporting Cross-Cultural exchange and Solidarity 7. Summer fellows

In June and July 2017 three summer fellows came from Gettysburg college. Unfortunately, one

student had to return home after only a week, due to a death in the family. Marina and Julia spent

two months supporting the above PGL projects and teaching English in public school classes. They

immersed themselves in the culture of Nicaragua and took their enthusiasm back to Gettysburg at

the end of the summer.

8. Three delegations from Gettysburg (One community Arts delegation & two College Delegs)

PGL hosted an arts delegation of adults in August, with Gina Robertson. Several sessions were spent

with Xuchialt and the group also travelled to Laguna de Apoyo and Granada. In January a college

delegation of students spent 10 days learning about sustainability and the environment, firstly living

with host families in Leon and then travelling to Condega to study coffee production and visit a

women’s centre. The March college delegation focussed on Education and literacy, visiting 7

different educational facilities, learning about the Nicaraguan education system and giving classes,

including teaching a session in Talolinga. All the delegations visited Xuchialt and CIMAC and gave or

received workshops.

9. The PGL Facebook page and other media

The PGL Facebook page has been very lively this year with updates every few days. We have also

written some articles for the Gettysburg Times and other outlets. Usually written in both English &

Spanish we see these communication efforts as a way of building the Cross-cultural Exchange

between our two towns.

PGL Office and team Steve recruited a full-time Nicaraguan assistant to the post of Project Co-Ordinator, Francisco Diaz,

who started work in September and has had a successful 8 months working with PGL to date. It has

been very good to have his local knowledge, youth and enthusiasm on the team. We also appointed

a Nicaraguan Legal Representative, Mercedes Alvarez, (unpaid position necessary for local legal

dealings). This is the first time (I think) we have Nicaraguan people in these two positions. Orlando

continues to support the office and the PGL partners in his role as community support officer.

The pick-up truck limps along. It is now 18 years old but can still make it to the top of the hill in

Talolinga.

Setbacks The recent political violence since April has changed the country radically. Until March this seemed

like a peaceful friendly country with low level of political engagement. Economic growth was high

and tourism was booming. However, since April around 100 people, many of them students, have

been killed in protests against the government. The government has been accused of severe human

rights abuses by Amnesty International and the Organisation of American States.

This violence is affecting all our partners and all our work. Visitors in CIMAC are very low; attendance

at Xuchialt is low; we cannot travel around the country; we can barely communicate with Talolinga.

Our summer fellows were not able to come this year. Most people are sad and in a state of shock

about what is happening, and work is carried out much more slowly than previously.

On the other hand, partners are happy that PGL remains in the country and has not left. We are

accompanying the people in this difficult period and will look for ways to renovate our work.

And lastly, PGL was unable to find sufficient local people to form a summer delegation this year. This

is a concern because if we don’t have summer fellows who come, or a community delegation this

year, then we don’t build up new future activists motivated to support PGL in the future.

Goals for 2018/2019 • Delegation of Xuchialt Arts School up to Gettysburg in September (visas permitting)

• Xuchialt Art Exhibition in Waldo’s, and Salsa in the Square

• College delegation January 2019

• College choir delegation March 2019

• Finish the Talolinga water project – get water to every household

• Have at least one Professional Fellow (ie a longer-term volunteer from the USA to help here)

• Find new ways to provide service to Nicaraguan people if the violence continues