Location: Ciudad Sandino Setting: Urban Established: 1988 Staff:
5
Subject
Areas
Community Development: Community Empowerment, Social Work, Social
Responsibility
Youth and Education: Communication, Child and Adolescent Development,
Counseling, Development Interventions
Health: Relaxation Techniques and Spirituality, HIV/AIDS
Prevention, Natural Medicine
Human Rights: Legal Issues, Community Action, Conflict Negotiation,
Mediation
Environment: Environmental Education, Sanitation, Water Systems
Management
Women’s Empowerment: Gender Equity Strategies, Reproductive Rights
Organization
Objectives
CANTERA’s mission is to empower
individuals and to improve their quality of life within the community. It
offers free educational and extracurricular programs and acts as a networking
agency to address Ciudad Sandino’s socioeconomic needs. Its goals are to:
- Develop supplemental and extracurricular
education for children and youth in a safe and supportive atmosphere
- Promote reflection on and analysis of the
philosophy and practice of Paulo Freire’s popular education model
- Strengthen and support local people,
groups, and organizations (with an emphasis on gender equality) to improve
their economic, political, and social conditions
Program Information
1. Prescolar Education
Funded and partially developed with the help of the
Ministry of Education, CANTERA’s preschool serves children ages 4 to 5
(specifically, the 2nd and 3rd levels of Nicaraguan preschool). The preschool
has a volunteer parent committee that provides advice and assistance to the
program, and acts as a support network for the other parents.
Opportunities
- Assist
with childcare, games, outdoor play, arts and crafts, and meal times
- Organize
and facilitate meetings with the parent committee to update and to inform
them on CANTERA’s programs and current events as well as health and
development issues (e.g. physical and social development, nutrition,
vaccinations and disease prevention, literacy and learning acquisition)
- Conduct
outreach to involve other parents and community members in the committee
- Develop
new curriculum and activities for the school’s programs
Requirements
- Intermediate
to Advanced Spanish
- Interest
and creativity in developing popular education and peer education
techniques
- Experience
in education, health and development issues, and/or working with children
- Awareness
and an open mind when confronting Ciudad Sandino’s poverty
- Excellent
communication skills
2. Socio-Cultural Development
Arts, music, technology, and cultural traditions are rarely taught in
Opportunities
- Teach
(or assist in teaching) classes in theater, drawing, music, dance, and
handicrafts
- Coach
baseball, soccer, kickball, or karate
- Research
and survey students’ interests to develop new enrichment courses
- Organize
and create new enrichment courses that are based on youth interest,
including but not limited to:
- Mural
painting
- Breakdancing
- Capoeira
- Poetry
and spoken word
- Sports
Requirements
- Intermediate
to Advanced Spanish
- Interest
and creativity in developing popular education and peer education
techniques
- Experience
in education, coaching, and/or working with children and youth
- Excellent
communication skills
3. Youth Development
CANTERA’s Youth Program for adolescents and young adults (ages 14 to 28)
uses peer-led educational and developmental workshops as part of its “Each One
Teach One” empowerment philosophy. Many of the youth in this program have been
a part of CANTERA’s programs for years and are familiar with social justice and
popular education terminology and processes. The workshops offered include
youth political and legal rights, healthy relationships, domestic violence,
reproductive and sexual health, HIV/AIDS awareness, and teen pregnancy. CANTERA
would like to integrate economic development and employment assistance into
these workshops, as well as expand them so that they are available to more
schools and neighborhoods. In addition, there is always the need to promote
higher education and to assist high school students in obtaining the means and
funds to attend college and/or vocational schools.
Opportunities
- Organize
and support the peer educators in leading workshops on topics ranging from
family planning to local environmental pollution and cleanup
- Develop
an economic empowerment workshop series that gives youth and young adults
the resources and skills to find jobs, manage money, and start or maintain
family businesses
- Create
an educational empowerment workshop series for youth and young adults that
focuses on resources and ways to re-enter high school, access and obtain
scholarships, and apply to universities
- Market
CANTERA’s youth development program to expand its reach to more schools
and neighborhoods
Requirements
- Intermediate
to Advanced Spanish
- Interest
and creativity in developing popular education and peer education
techniques
- Interest
or experience in education, marketing, social justice, human rights,
health, empowerment, and/or working with youth and young adults
- Excellent
communication and organization skills
4. Community Workshops and
Outreach
CANTERA offers reflection and training courses and workshops on a wide
variety of topics: community organizing for social transformation; gender
equity, power, and nonviolence; spirituality and ecology; spirituality and
healing trauma; methodology for working with preschoolers, children,
adolescents, and their families; methodology of popular education; and cultural
and intercultural relations. Annual in-depth methodological training courses
typically last for 3-4 days and occur 3-4 times per year. The organization also
publishes a journal, “Memorias,”
which records the personal experiences of individuals who have participated in
these workshops. However, due to lack of funds, this publication has recently
fallen by the wayside.
Opportunities
- Assist
with the annual methodological training courses for NGO staff members,
community leaders, cooperatives members, associations, and local groups
- Develop
and organize new reflection and training workshops
- Research
and conduct surveys on community needs, assets, and public opinion to
provide input for future courses
- Evaluate
CANTERA’s programs, find areas of improvement, and compile a report
- Write
grants and correspond with national and international donors
- Update
CANTERA’s website, outreach, and publication materials, including Memorias
Requirements
- Intermediate
to Advanced Spanish
- Interest
or experience in education, marketing, fundraising, popular education,
human rights, health, empowerment, and/or related topics
- Excellent
communication and organization skills
- Knowledge
in graphic design and website design
5. Women’s Empowerment and Gender
Equity
CANTERA
has a strong commitment to promoting women’s rights and healthy relationships
between men and women. These issues are always incorporated into its workshops
and programs for all ages. Interns and volunteers can promote these ideals
through workshops and discussions with students about gender equity, gender
roles, and family violence.
Opportunities
- Assist
in facilitating and promoting CANTERA’s “Methodological Course on Popular Education with and between Women.”
Themes and topics include:
- Identity
and Gender Condition of Women
- Gender
and Power
- Affectivity,
Communication, and Sexuality
- Communication
and Intimacy (mixed-gender workshop)
- Assist
in facilitating and promoting CANTERA’s “Methodological Course on Popular
Education with and between Men.”
Themes and topics include:
- Identity,
Male Communication, and Power
- Gender,
Power, and Violence
- Affectivity
and Sexuality
- Communication
and Intimacy (mixed-gender workshop)
- Develop
and organize workshops and discussions with themes related to women’s
empowerment and gender equity
- Research
and evaluate CANTERA’s gender mainstreaming within all programs and
compile a report
Requirements
- Intermediate
to Advanced Spanish
- Interest
and creativity in developing popular education techniques
- Interest
or experience in education, women’s empowerment, gender equity, and/or
related topics
- Awareness
and an open mind when confronting Ciudad Sandino’s poverty
- Excellent
communication and organization skills
6. Health: Natural and
Alternative Medicine
CANTERA
sponsors ongoing training for health workers in alternative medicine and
promotes a national network of natural medicine centers. Interns and volunteers
are encouraged to develop projects that help to bridge the gap between
institutional medicine and traditional/folk medicine.
Opportunities
- Organize
an “exchange program” for doctors and nurses at Hospital Ciudad Sandino
and health professionals at natural medicine centers
- Assist
in promoting a holistic approach to “medicina
agradable” (comfortable medicine) that focuses on the use of
traditional (native) techniques and products that are based on the use of
earth, water, and herbs
- Support
the health education of health workers (mostly women) who use CANTERA’s
training and techniques to incorporate their knowledge with management and
administrative skills, interpersonal communication, and conflict
resolution
- Distribute
CANTERA’s low-cost supplies and subsidized resources to health workers
(e.g. half-price books, blood pressure and pulse monitors, acupuncture
needles, scientific charts, and models), which are difficult to obtain in
Nicaragua
- Document
and record traditional healing practices and products to create
educational print materials
Requirements
- Intermediate
to Advanced Spanish
- Interest
and creativity in developing popular education techniques
- Interest
or experience in education, health, natural and alternative medicine,
gender equity, and/or related topics
- Awareness
and an open mind when confronting Ciudad Sandino’s poverty
- Excellent
communication and organization skills
Program Supervisors (All Programs)
Sofia
Lacayo has been the director of CANTERA for over three years.
Aura Lila
Ulloa is the administrative assistant and assistant supervisor for FSD interns
and volunteers.
Note: Responsibilities offered to each participant will be proportionate to
their level of experience. Participants who are new to development work may
predominantly support and assist current project agendas, while those with much
applicable experience may be able to assume greater responsibility. Research
projects are strongly encouraged by this organization to support each program’s
objective because minimal resources are currently allocated for research.
Working Conditions
The
director has emphasized the following about interns and volunteers who wish to
work with CANTERA: “Ellos deben venir con
el entendimiento que trabaja con gente muy pobre … que se den cuenta que hay
casas que no tienen latrinas” (They must come with the understanding that
the work is with very poor people … they must realize that there are houses
that don’t have latrines). In general, interns and volunteers are advised to
have patience—projects may be slow to complete or may not be possible to
implement due to lack of funding and basic infrastructure. For example,
attempting to address a child’s poor school attendance may reveal that s/he
works most of the time during the day and can only go to class at night. In
addition, electricity failures and water outages often occur daily.
The
CANTERA office is brightly adorned with plants and murals, and has a large
courtyard area surrounded by a few administrative offices, a kitchen,
bathrooms, and classrooms. There is a music practice room as well as an
arts/handicrafts area, and an open practice space for the karate school.
CANTERA has its own internet connection and a small library with primarily
children’s books. The center is located close to the city administration and
mayor’s offices as well as other FSD affiliate organizations—
Organizational Background
Founded in
the aftermath of 1988’s Hurricane Mitch, CANTERA’s original aims were to
rebuild the community, promote communication and popular education with a
perspective sensitive to gender issues, and contribute to spiritual, ethical,
and equitable human development. Its projects included spiritual and
psychosocial post-trauma counseling for people who were relocated to settlement
areas; communal house building; training and assistance to farmers to promote
alternative farming methods and reforestation; and socio-cultural activities
for men, women, and children.
It now
focuses on creating a safe, welcoming, and creative environment for the
community, emphasizing programs on topics that include popular education,
self-empowerment, child and adolescent development, and community action. The
center is involved in the Committees of Municipal Development (grassroots
counterparts to city councils), and, from its inception, has promoted “the
active participation of citizens in the planning and execution of local
development that will benefit the most vulnerable sectors of the population”
(CANTERA brochure, March 2002).
About CANTERA’s Clients
Most of
the children, youth, and adult volunteers at CANTERA live in Zona 6 in Ciudad
Sandino. Some come from the outer neighborhood or from the nearby inner cities
of Bella Vista and Nueva Vida. Zona 6 is a low-income community; it struggles
with economic and social problems such as unemployment, teen pregnancy,
domestic violence, and a lack of infrastructure and basic necessities (e.g.
sanitation services, clean water, paved roads, electricity, and adequate
housing).
