In January of this year, SCSRN hosted nursing and opthamology students from Durham Tech Community College for the first time. It was a wonderful experience for both them and us! Professor Stephanie Dawson, MSN, agreed to share her impressions of the trip with us. I am thrilled to have this opportunity to chronicle my week… Read More →
A leap of faith – what it’s like sending your child on an ecotour to Nicaragua
Last year we received our first group of students from Greenfield School. It was a wonderful experience for both the students and for the SCSRN staff to host this school for the first time here in San Ramón! But as fun as it is for us on our side of the trip, we know there… Read More →
Creating Hope and Opportunity in Rural Nicaragua: A Look Back at 2017
Here are a few images of the work we’ve been doing this year in San Ramón. Thank you to all of you who helped make dreams come true for the people of this wonderful corner of Nicaragua – either through donations, going on an ecotour, or purchasing crafts or coffee. A very happy holiday season… Read More →
Working Together to End Teen Pregnancy in Rural Nicaragua
When people decide to work together, things happen. A perfect example of this is the Campaign to End Teen Pregnancy in San Ramón, a collaboration between ten different organizations, including ourselves. We’re pooling our resources to confront this serious health problem in San Ramón. And when I say it’s serious, I mean serious. So far… Read More →
Cleaner air and greener forests: SCSRN’s improved stoves project
If you live in the U.S., you probably start cooking by turning on your gas or electric stove. For the majority of Nicaraguans, it’s not so simple. First, you have to collect firewood. If you don’t have enough on your land, you have to look elsewhere, and that can get you in big trouble (if… Read More →
Nicaragua’s (and SCSRN’s) commitment to renewable energy
On September 21st of this year, Nicaragua signed the Paris Climate Agreement. Originally, Nicaragua had abstained out of principle: poor countries like Nicaragua were being asked to shoulder the burden of lowering carbon emissions (Nicaragua produces 0.03% of global carbon emissions, while countries like the U.S. produce twenty times as much). Also, Nicaraguan negotiators felt… Read More →
Two Chapel Hill Students take Cross-Cultural Understanding to Heart
In July of this year, two Chapel Hill students, Gillie Weeks and Lena Cohen, decided to take their Rural School Partnership a step further and visit their sister school, Río Negro, for a week. These amazing girls stepped out of their comfort zone and into the world of these rural Nicaraguan children. The result was… Read More →
Sharing across cultures: Reflections from Larry Gomez, San Ramón Tourism Coordinator
Apologies for the radio silence over the past few months; I have been on maternity leave, but it’s been business as usual for SCSRN in San Ramón! We’ve had at least one ecotour every month since January of this year, and one arriving next week. These ecotours are an important way we meet our goal… Read More →
April in rural Nicaragua
April in Nicaragua is hot and dry. In a blog post from October 2016 I referenced a poem by Nicaraguan poet Ernesto Cardenal called Hora Cero, in which the poet contrasts the dry and rainy seasons of Nicaragua. Here is the stanza where he describes the month of April: En abril, en Nicaragua, los campos… Read More →
First-time international traveler visits San Ramón, Nicaragua
Christopher Jones was a traveler on our UU and Friends Ecotour this year. It was his first trip outside the U.S., so we thought he could offer an interesting perspective on what it’s like to engage in an international cross-cultural exchange for the first time. Below are his reflections on his experience in San Ramón…. Read More →
Back to school
All over Nicaragua, students are getting back in the daily routine of waking up early to head to class. The Nicaraguan school year starts in February and ends in November, so students are finishing up what in the U.S. we would consider to be “Summer vacation.” The majority of the projects we support here at… Read More →
UNI student talks about her transformative experience in San Ramón
This month we invited Allison Bailey, a student from the University of Northern Iowa, to be a guest blogger on our page. Allison visited San Ramón in December 2016 while completing the UNI study abroad course “Socioeconomic Reality of Central America.” We asked her to share a little about her experience staying with a host… Read More →