What PML Does in León

Nestled within the indigenous community of Subtiava, a barrio of León, is an artist’s workshop called Taller Xuchialt. Initiated with the support of Project Minnesota, Taller Xuchialt is the working space and refuge for around ten artists, all exceptionally talented and well versed in a number of disciplines, including native dance, guitar, painting, drawing, and the list goes on and on.

The artists, however, do not just use the workshop to pursue their own creations. Rather, they use the space to teach up-and-coming artists the tricks of the trade. In fact, every weekend, members of the taller instruct a total of forty kids. Divided into three sections, two on Saturday and one on Sunday, the members of Taller Xuchialt, some of them studying art themselves at the university level, use their weekends to invigorate the young artistic community. On Saturdays, topics include perspective, shading, and watercolour, among others. On Sunday, classes are devoted to folkloric dance.

In mid-December 2005, PML and the town of El Chagüe embarked on an ambitious project by breaking ground for the construction of an expansion to their current primary-school facilities. The completion of the project was realized in late February and the town of El Chagüe celebrated its inauguration on March 13th. The inauguration marked not only the beginning of a new era for education in the community, but also the first in a series of projects designed and brought to fruition by the directiva in El Chagüe, with the help of Project Minnesota in León.

El Chague, A Rural Community

In the Spring of 2003, Project Minnesota Gettysburg/León (PMGL) selected the rural community of El Chague as a community which will receive the bulk of PMGL's human, material and economic resources over the next few years. Our partnership with them has been growing over the past year and a half.

After extensive community visits throughout the rural areas, El Chague was carefully selected based on two criteria: greatest need and demonstrated prior existence of a well-organized and accepted group of new leaders. Our selection process included coordination with the Mayor's office to avoid choosing communities already served by other non-governmental organizations.

Community preschools exist in León for four- and five-year-old children whose parents cannot afford to send them to a formal preschool. In an effort to create a solid foundation for the children of León, PML offers approximately six training sessions per year to the city's 150 pre-school teachers.

Half of the capacitations are conducted by a psychologist, picked by PML, and the other half are directed by representatives from the Ministry of Education and cover a wide range of material. Recent themes have included Infant Psychology, Human Relations, and Classroom Prep, among others.

The Maternal Infant Center (CMI) is located in the municipality of Santa Rosa del Peñon and houses the Children's Cafeteria. Both entities work to alleviate the problems that result from malnutrition and health problems for women and children in the area. Although these are serious issues for all of Nicaragua, the situation is particularly critical in the Northern area where Santa Rosa is located.

Currently, the institution is managed entirely by volunteers in the community and is headed up by a community board that oversees the work of the parents, midwives, and community volunteers. The Maternal Infant Center works closely with the local Health Center to determine which cases the MCI will accept as referrals from the Health Center. Health Center staff also coordinates with the volunteers at the MCI to provide follow-up to the patients who stay there.

PML along with PGL supports the network of midwives in the municipality of Santa Rosa del Peñón by providing trainings and material support. As the potential of the Maternal Infant Health Center is realized, the midwives are finding mutual support in the Center. It serves not only as a hub for their assemblies and trainings, but the Center can also count on the midwives for support to the women who stay in the CMI. Midwives accompany the pregnant women from their village when they need to be attended by the CMI. Midwives also benefit the CMI and their communities by providing informative talks about such topics as family planning, prenatal care, STDs, personal hygiene, and other valuable health topics.