the burlington/ (bilwi) puerto cabezas sister city program · 2020. 10. 22. · burlington/ puerto...
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The Burlington/ (Bilwi) Puerto Cabezas Sister City Program
15 Beech Street, Burlington, VT 05404 www.uvm.edu/sistercity
2020ANNUALREPORTTOTHECITYOFBURLINGTONBoardMembers:
MichaelBergeron,PeterClavelle,TinaEscaja,DanHiggins,AdeleHohertz-Serpan,DavidHutchinson,JaneKramer,PatriciaO’Kane,MeghanO’Rourke
MISSIONTheBurlington/PuertoCabezasSisterCityProgramwasestablishedbytheBurlingtonCityCouncilin1984tosupportinteractionbetweenresidentsofBurlingtonandresidentsofPuertoCabezas,amunicipalityontheCaribbeanCoastofNicaragua.Whilestrategieshavechangedovertheyears,thesistercityfocuscontinuestobethecreationofpartnershipsbetweenlike-mindedgroupsandindividualsinVermontandNicaragua.2020wasthesecondyearthattherewerenodelegationstravelingfromBurlingtontoBilwi.COVID-19hasmeantthatourinteractionswithourHermanamientopartnersinBilwihavebeenvirtual,relyingonemailandZOOMconferencecalls.WeaskedforwaysBurlingtonmighthelpwiththesituationinBilwiandweresuggestedtwoprojects,bothinvolvingtheIrmaCajinaSchoolthatBurlingtonhaspartneredwithformanyyears.Firstwasarequestforenablingtheschooltoestablishaconnectionformunicipalelectricity.Lightingwillenabletheschooltoholdnightclasses,aswellasofferincreasedsafetyduringthedarkhours.Weagreedtocoverthecostsofsuppliesandlabortobringelectricityintotheschool.Thesecondrequestweagreedtowasforbuildingportablesinksandrunningwaterwherestudentscouldwashtheirhandsduringthepandemic.TeachersandhealthworkerswillusetheareatodemonstratesanitationandgoodCOVIDpracticestostudentsandfamilygroupsintheneighborhood.
AspartoftheexchangeweaskedthatavideobemadethatwecouldshowinBurlingtonintroducingtheschool,teachers,andstudents.Oneofthevideographerswehaveworked
withinBilwihasvolunteeredtohelpwiththevideo.MeghanO’RourkeiscommunicatingalsowithayoungwomanintheMujeresCreativasgroupwithwhomshehopesChannel17canestablisharegularexchangeofvideosdocumentinglifeinBilwi.InFebruarytheSisterCityProgrammadeadonationtoBurlington’sGlobalRootsFilmFestivalinsupportofafilmshowinghowNicaraguahasbeenportrayedbymediaintheUnitedStates.ThefestivalhadtobecancelledbecauseofCOVID-19,butthefilmswillbeshownonlineinOctoberaspartoftheVermontInternationalFilmFestival.WealsomadeadonationtoPartnersinHealthofMaine,anorganizationstartedbyDr.Bachinthe1970s,whichcontinuestosenddoctorsandequipmentandhasamajorimpactonthehealthsituationinBilwi.Finally,weareopentoanyideasforintroducingBurlingtontotheirsistercityinBilwi.TheBurlington/PuertoCabezaspartnershipoffersVermontersauniqueopportunityforexploringglobalissuesthroughtheperspectivesofalong-termsistercityrelationship.Whateversomeone’sinterest-arts,music,urbandevelopment,women’sissues,media,orcommunitygardening-wecanarrangecontactswithappropriatecounterparts.Duringthisperiod,withtravelprohibited,thatmaybethroughphotography,video,orzoom-ing.WecurrentlyhaveanexhibitofphotographsbyDanHigginsofBilwipoetsandtheirwritingthatwe’dliketouseasacatalystforaninteractionofBilwiandBurlingtonpoets.TheSisterCityProgramisalwayslookingtoexpandtheboardandseekmemberswithnewinterests.MeetingsbeforethepandemictookplaceatboardmemberJaneKramer’shouse,15BeechStreet,inBurlington.Wecanbecontactedthroughourwebsite:www.uvm.edu/sisterciyReportsubmitted:DanHiggins,ChairoftheBoardSeptember,2020