Santa Rosa Fund Newsletter Issue 29

SANTA ROSA FUND NEWSLETTER Issue 29, June 2007 Registered Charity No. 1028085

Ambassadorial visit to the Santa Rosa School

Ambassador Tom Kennedy being entertained at an ‘acto’ performed by pupils of the Santa Rosa School

SRF Newsletter June 2007, p.1

British Ambassador’s visit to the Santa Rosa School Supporters of the Santa Rosa Fund who have been privileged enough to visit the Santa Rosa School in Managua – and they now number well into double figures - will recognise in these photographs the warmth of the welcome given to Ambassador Tom Kennedy on 9th February this year. Here Ambassador Tom Kennedy is shown talking to pupils in the Ben Dalton Memorial Library and below with Virginia Gómez de Guillen, headteacher of the school.

Bruce Callow from the embassy wrote to us that “the Ambassador said that it was a very special experience for him and he was impressed with the school and glad that the embassy could be of help to support the good work [the Santa Rosa Fund] are doing.”

On the next page we reproduce extracts from the letter that we received from Gill Holmes who attended the school on our behalf for the duration of the Ambassador‟s visit.

SRF Newsletter June 2007, p.2

Dear Santa Rosa Fund, As you know the British Ambassador Tom Kennedy was in Nicaragua last week and visited the school. He arrived at 8:30 am accompanied by a photographer and first of all saw the computer lab where he recognised the equipment donated by the Embassy (because they still have their logos), and the Ben Dalton Memorial Library where groups of pupils were busy studying at the tables. Next we were invited to sit on the stage under the huge spreading guanacaste tree for the „acto‟ which was, as always, profoundly moving. The Ambassador, this being his first visit to the school, was quite unprepared for the warmth and care shown in celebrating the support received from the Embassy. First we listened to a welcome from a third grade girl which was followed by the folk dancing group trained by Modesto, the sixth grade teacher. The group consisted of four beautifully attired girls who performed charmingly as always and two bashful boys, grinning with pride and embarrassment. I was just congratulating myself on managing to get through the dancing without the usual „lump in the throat‟ when a group of sixth graders came on to sing the „Canción de la Alegría‟ or „Song to Joy‟ and I was completely lost, reduced to fiddling with my camera so they wouldn‟t notice I‟d gone all teary. The „acto‟ finished with a presentation of gifts to the Ambassador (oxen and cart carved in wood and other ornaments); we were then taken on a tour of the school, visiting every classroom from pre-school to sixth grade and exchanging words of English with the pupils. There was just time for juice and pastries in the library before the Ambassador went on his way, after telling Virginia and her staff how touched he was and thanking them all from the bottom of his heart for their welcome. I think it all went very well and has made a lasting impression on Tom Kennedy. All the best, Gill

Volunteers to provide computer training for staff at the Santa Rosa School The Santa Rosa Fund has organised a group of volunteers from Britain to provide training for staff on a one-to-one basis. This is in addition to paying for staff at the Santa Rosa School to follow courses in computing so that they can make full use of the machines provided by the British Embassy (Costa Rica). From the 29th June this year for one month a group of five volunteers from Britain will visit the Santa Rosa School in Managua. The volunteers are Alistair Williams (19, currently on a gap year before starting his studies in Law at St. John‟s College, Cambridge), James Watson (22, currently between his 3 rd and 4th year of a degree in Human Sciences at Sussex University in Brighton), Doug Specht (22, just finished a three year course in Geography and Education Studies at the College of St. Mark and St. John, Plymouth), Rick Blower and Martin Mowforth – the last two being trustees of the Santa Rosa Fund and whose ages are too great to count and to give here. The next newsletter (November 2007) will include their reports of the work.

SRF Newsletter June 2007, p.3

New projects funded by the Santa Rosa Fund in the Cosigüina Peninsula Following on from the last issue of the SRF Newsletter and its descriptions of a number of new educational projects in the Cosigüina Peninsula of Nicaragua, the trustees of the Santa Rosa Fund took decisions at their AGM in January this year to support the following projects and initiatives. We support these projects through our partner organisation in the region, the Berriz order of nuns (Misioneras Mercedarias de Berriz) who are based in El Viejo, the administrative town of the municipality.    

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Cosigüina Youth Centre - $400 (US dollars) for the purchase of more educational materials for the year 2007. Cosigüina Primary School - $400 for the purchase of educational materials for the year 2007. José Urtecho School – in the comarca (parish) of Venezuela – not to be confused with the country - $400 for the purchase of educational materials for the year 2007. Los Pozitos School - $400 for the purchase of educational materials for the year 2007. This decision has since been overtaken by events as the nuns in El Viejo (through whom our donations to the Los Pozitos School have always been channelled) have informed us that the Los Pozitos School is not functioning this year. We are hopeful that the problems in Los Pozitos will be resolved soon and that in future years we will be able to continue our support for the excellent work that was carried out there by Melvin the teacher, the committee of parents who ran the school and the nuns who helped the community so much in so many ways. The El Viejo Recreation Centre Street Children Project – $400 to cover costs of this street childrens‟ project administered by the nuns but essentially run by the young people of El Viejo who run the El Viejo Recreation Centre.

Additionally, through the Berriz nuns we support various initiatives in Villa España, a settlement just outside the town of El Viejo that was first set up for the region‟s homeless victims of Hurricane Mitch in 1998. Details of these are given below.   

Germán Pomares Pre-School - $100 (US dollars) for the purchase of educational materials in 2007 (additional to the $180 delivered to the nuns for this same purpose in January this year). Rosario Mayorga Primary School – $500 for the purchase of educational materials (additional to the $200 delivered to the nuns for this same purpose in January this year). Villa España Community Library - $500 for the purchase of materials at the library established in the Rosario Mayorga School for the community of Villa España (additional to the $200 delivered to the nuns for this same purpose in January this year).

The Berriz Sisters of El Viejo have sent us a number of brief descriptions of some of the above projects. We include two of these reports below and will try to include the others in later newsletters. All of the reports they have sent us will be put onto our website www.guidestar.org.uk (Enter „Santa Rosa Fund‟ in the search engine.)

SRF Newsletter June 2007, p.4

José Coronel Urtecho School, Comarca Venezuela The rural district of Venezuela is located in the non-urban area of the El Viejo municipality. The community has a primary school that has 111 pupils on roll, ranging from pre-school classes and 1st grade to 6th grade pupils. The pupils in attendance at the school also come from communities other than Venezuela, such as Palestina, Libornia, San Andrés, El Zapotal and Santo Domingo. There are four teachers at the school who are responsible for the eight groups. Due to the poverty affecting the whole of Nicaragua, and in particular the rural areas, the school has very scarce resources. So the aid given by the Santa Rosa Fund has provided school materials of use not only to the pupils but also to the teachers. The support which the Santa Rosa Fund is giving to the school will help the children to study despite the poverty that their families experience. We are grateful to the Santa Rosa Fund for your solidarity with us in building a more just and equitable society. Sister Rosario Castañeda January 2007

Villa España Community Library The library is located in Villa España which is just over 1 km to the north-west of El Viejo. It has a population of a little more than 100 families. The community has a primary school with pupils from 1 st to 5th grades, which this year is increasing in size to include 6th grade primary pupils. The school also houses a community preschool. Next to the school is the library which is looked after and organised by Señora Patricia Jarquín who lives in the community. In 2006 a total of 4,516 children made use of the library during the ten months of the school year. Apart from Villa España, children who visit the library also come from the communities of Colonia Emigdia Catín, Los Kilómetros, El Pastoral and Colonia Unidad. The library also caters for secondary school pupils and supports the teachers at the school with books. We are grateful for the support of the Santa Rosa Fund. God bless you all for your work and your support.

Sister Lilliam (left) and Patricia Jarquin

Sister Lilliam Miranda January 2007

SRF Newsletter June 2007, p.5

Introducing Marcia Isabel Ordeñana Rivera, Deputy Headteacher at the Santa Rosa School

Marcia was born on 5th June 1968 in Managua, so she is now 39 years old. Until Virginia‟s recent resignation – see page 8 Stop Press – Marcia was deputy head of the primary section of the school, but she is now serving as the Acting Headteacher of the school until the Ministry of Education appoints a new headteacher. Marcia has 16 years of experience as a primary teacher and in the year 2000 she was chosen as the best primary teacher in the department [county] of Managua. She is currently one of the four teachers at the school who are near to finishing their six month course of computer training, the cost of which has been paid for by the Santa Rosa Fund. Marcia is married and has two sons, Néstor (16) and Martín (9), and one daughter, Eymi (4). She lives in Managua, in the Barrio San Cristóbal which is about 8 km from the school in the Barrio Santa Rosa. She is a huge bundle of energy around the school, and like her predecessor Elizabeth Toledo she is never too busy to give a warm and genuine welcome to visitors to the school.

The new Nicaraguan government and the new Minister of Education Our readers will be aware that in January this year the government of Daniel Ortega and the Sandinista Front (FSLN) took power in Nicaragua. This came in the wake of 17 years of governments that followed a set of neoliberal economic policies, promoted and demanded by the international financial institutions (IFIs) and the G8 governments. In developing nations, especially in Latin America, the value and appropriateness of these policies are now widely and consistently denounced as being responsible for the increasing poverty levels, the high drop-out rates from education, the appalling numbers of street children in Latin American cities, the high level of social exclusion, and widespread misery in evidence on the streets and in the fields of these countries. The make-up and policies of the new government are not entirely a reaction to these policies. It is a government of mixtures and strange contradictions and although hopes for what it might achieve were very high before last November‟s election, they seem to have been tempered a little after the takeover of power. The new Minister of Education, Miguel de Castillo Urbina, had been Minister of Education in the revolutionary Sandinista government of the 1980s. Before taking over government, de Castillo announced plans to eradicate illiteracy in Nicaragua during the next term of office. He also promised to abolish the school fees that parents had to contribute for various materials and purposes, which were responsible for so many children being kept out of school. He has in fact done this already, which is laudable despite the rather chaotic funding problems which have arisen from this measure – it has meant that the number of pupils on roll has risen dramatically, and the number of teachers should therefore also grow. Intentions may be admirable, and in particular it is good to see that the IMF and World Bank (the two major IFIs) can no longer dictate that teachers should not receive a salary increase or that parents should pay a monthly fee for their child‟s tuition, but already some teachers (from a limited number of trade unions) have gone out on strike for higher pay increases. So we cannot assume that the situation is going to improve so that the Santa Rosa Fund‟s efforts are no longer required. If only. We shall watch this space.

SRF Newsletter June 2007, p.6

Fund-raising news reports Quiz Night On Friday 2nd February, the Fund held yet another successful Quiz Night run by Malcolm Medhurst and his team of runners and markers – Judy Medhurst, Katie Medhurst, Elaine and Ray Bentley – an amazing effort from all of them as usual. A total of 20 teams were entered on this occasion and rules about the size of team were a little lax – there were up to seven people in a couple of teams. Not that anyone worried and not that it helped anyone to win. The winners were the four members of the Menshevites team – otherwise known as the Bookstop team. As usual, competition for the wooden spoon was strong and the eventual winners of this coveted position were the North and South team, who shall remain unidentified. Other team names included „Just the Three of Us‟, „Gay Adoption Agency‟, „Just Good Friends‟, „Quick Getaway‟ and „Corridor Kids‟. The last one named was a reference to the fact that the event was bursting at the seams – The Corridor Kids had to sit out in the corridor. The Fund raised a total of £338 on the evening through a raffle, entry fees and the sale of its new range of Nicaraguan jewellery. Many thanks to all who attended.

Tapas Night Café Liaison was the venue for a Santa Rosa Fund first on Saturday 31 st March. The café was packed with supporters who were able to mingle and enjoy the tapas. The evening was enjoyed by all, especially the winners of the bottle of champagne! A total of £172:50 was raised for the Fund. Thanks to the friendly staff, to Rosie Legg for organising the event and to all who attended, making the event a big success.

With a little help from your friends …. Janet McNamara, a long time supporter of the Santa Rosa Fund, reached a youthful 70 on the 24 th April this year. Very generously she asked that all her friends make a donation to the Fund rather than give her presents, and by doing so she raised at least £240 for the Fund. This is equivalent to a year‟s supply of educational materials for two small rural schools in Nicaragua that are supported by the Santa Rosa Fund.

Thank you and Happy Birthday Janet

Acoustic Café In May Tavistock‟s monthly musical evening was held for the benefit of The Santa Rosa Fund and raised over £200 of funds after costs. Once again, we are extremely grateful to Jeff Sleeman for his organisation of the event as well as to all the musicians who played there. Thanks also to all the helpers, especially those who slaved in the kitchen – Fran, Lorna, Gill and Pat. SRF Newsletter June 2007, p.7

--- Stop Press ---

Headteacher Virginia Gómez De Guillén resigns Just before this newsletter was sent to the printers, we heard the news from Nicaragua that Virginia had decided to resign her post as headteacher at the Santa Rosa School due to ill health. Virginia has had heart problems over the last few years, yet continued to work as hard as ever. When she was not the instigator of the Santa Rosa Fund‟s actions, Virginia was the linchpin in everything that the Santa Rosa Fund has managed to do at the Santa Rosa School over the years of our existence. We have known no other headteacher there since the work of the Fund began in 1988. We intend to give a full appreciation of Virginia and her work in the next edition of the Santa Rosa Fund newsletter. In the meantime we wish her well for her richly-deserved retirement. Until the Ministry of Education (now referred to as MINED) appoints another headteacher, probably in about three months time, Marcia Ordeñana who is featured on page 6 of this newsletter, will serve as Acting Headteacher. We are sure that Marcia will have the full cooperation of the staff and parents at the school as well as our assistance if she should require it.

ENCLOSURE With this newsletter, you will find a set of the Fund‟s accounts for the year 2006. Please feel free to ask our treasurer, Pat Mayston (contact details below), any questions you may have about these. You will see that our newsletter printing and postage costs are increasing somewhat compared with previous years, but this reflects our increasing supporter base. We now send out the newsletters to 250 addresses, and we thank many of our existing supporters for extending our supporter base by telling friends and relatives about the work we do. Should any supporters require copies of our leaflets to help them with further publicity of the Fund, please do not hesitate to ask us. Prospective supporters can also be referred to our section of the Charity Commission website – www.guidestar.org.uk – then enter „Santa Rosa Fund‟ in the search box.

SANTA ROSA FUND CONTACTS Chair:

Pete Mayston, Rose Cottage, Tuckermarsh, Bere Alston, Yelverton, Devon PL20 7HB Tel. 01822 840297 Email: [email protected] Secretary: Lorna & Martin Legg, Rock Cottage, Morwell Cross, Gulworthy, Tavistock, Devon PL19 8JH, Tel. 01822 833934 Email: [email protected] Treasurer: Pat Mayston – as for Pete (above) Twinning links representative: Rick Blower, Cloberry Cottage, Brentor, Tavistock, Devon PL19 0NG Tel. 01822 810600 Email: [email protected] Membership secretary: Martin Mowforth, 51 West St., Tavistock, Devon PL19 8JZ Tel. 01822 617504 Email: [email protected]

PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER SRF Newsletter June 2007, p.8