We apologize for the radio silence over the past five months. It has been a particularly difficult time for Nicaragua. Since April of this year, Nicaragua has been embroiled in the worst civil unrest it has seen in the past 30 years. The last thing we want is for our silence to be interpreted as… Read More →
Celebrating 25 years of work, commitment and solidarity between San Ramón and North Carolina
2018 marks SCSRN’s 25th year of working alongside the people of San Ramón, Nicaragua. It is a time of reflection, celebration, and gratitude. Below is a video of our celebration in San Ramón this year. If you’ve been a part of this journey with us, or would like to know how you can become part… Read More →
What’s been going on in San Ramón, Nicaragua lately
As we close out our third quarter of the fiscal year, we’re feeling very proud of all that we’ve accomplished so far! Here are just a few highlights of some of the local initiatives we have funded this year: School constructions in El Horno, Sabana Grande, El Jicaro 1, and El Flores: This year we… Read More →
Learning about health care in Nicaragua
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 →