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Improving Nicaraguan lives by building new, community water systems, and improving sanitation.

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People Driven Development

People and Persistence: 15 years of Push

December 17, 2021 By Project Schoolhouse

Project Schoolhouse Team surveying the Bilampi Water Project

“Endurance must master every fortune.”   This is the advice that motivated Eneis to leave Sicily and cross the last tiny bit of water between him and Italy, the object of his long search.  I remember reading this passage in the Java Moon coffee shop years ago in Sheridan, Wyoming.   It became a mantra I would carry with me through the years since.   Perhaps it felt familiar because it echoed what I’ve witnessed throughout my life in that small town and in many people and places beyond there.  

I’ve been blessed with excellent role models.  My mother once commented about my father that he ‘had a lot of push.’   If you ever had the chance to stack sod with us in the snow in December on our small Wyoming farm, you’d know that she has just as much.  I recognize it in the communities where we work in Nicaragua as well. It’s a big part of why I’ve always felt so comfortable there.   That familiarity is an important factor in how we do our work.

It’s been fifteen years since Project Schoolhouse broke ground on our first school project in a very remote part of Nicaragua.  We’ve been persistent in the years since then and have steadily continued building schools and water systems in that region.  What’s notable is that we are doing it still today with the same Nicaraguan team we started with in 2007.  The most important part is the people and without them and their determination and dedication, the difficult work we do would be impossible.  

Directing a small nonprofit organization is draining and can exact a heavy financial, personal, and social cost. Ask anyone who has done it.  At the same time, it is a beautiful life experience that I always recognized brought far more fulfillment and value into my life than it took.  

In 2018, after 12 years of running Project Schoolhouse, I finally hit a wall and knew that something had to change.  In a moment of total clarity, while driving to San Antonio for a job installing desks in a university building, I realized that it was time to step down and hand the leadership of Project Schoolhouse over to long-time board member Selina Serna.   

In January of 2019, Selina took the reins of Project Schoolhouse as its new Executive Director and I became our Director of Operations.  While her impact has been extensive and important, what I most admire is her tenacity, persistence, and obvious passion for the project.  

This year, Selina and I received a humanitarian award from the Austin chapter of the United Nations for our work with Project Schoolhouse.  I think it really is a recognition of the endurance that so many people have exhibited throughout these years to keep this project going.  It takes endurance for Nicaraguan farmers to spend an entire year digging twenty miles of trench by hand to bring water to their families.   It takes endurance for our team on the ground to figure out, year after year, how to move hundreds of tons of materials into projects accessible only by foot and by horse.  And it is endurance that keeps our ever-growing team in the US working to raise the funds we need to pay for those projects.

I’m proud of this project and the people that make it go.  I’m proud of my part in it and grateful for the dedicated people that lead it now.   Project Schoolhouse is fifteen years old and is better positioned than ever to keep fulfilling our mission of delivering education and water projects to communities who are ready to step up and partner with us.

Gratefully,

Tab Barker

Filed Under: People Driven Development

Derlin’s Story

December 26, 2020 By Project Schoolhouse

Derlin Activates Community Spirit

Derlin Activates Community Spirit

Because of the local geography, the walk to school was often unpredictable and unsafe for half the children of San Antonio.  Parents took matters into their own hands and built a permanent pedestrian bridge across a river that was dividing the community in two. The bridge is a great source of pride, providing children a safe, reliable path to school, and the entire community consistent accessibility that sparked capital investment and growing economic opportunity.

What kind of memories do you have of being a kid and exploring the neighborhood? Was it going to your friend’s houses? Or being grown up enough to walk to school all by yourself? In the rural community of San Antonio, the children on the opposite side of the river from the school could see the school from their homes, but would walk an hour in the opposite direction to a different school because often times the river was too high to cross safely.

Meet Derlin. When the community was in discussions with Project Schoolhouse to collaborate on building a school, they decided it was important to make sure children on both sides would be able to have equal, safe, and convenient access to the school. When the residents voiced this need and asked Project Schoolhouse to collaborate on building a pedestrian bridge, Project Schoolhouse was happy to respond to the request.

Derlin is a local father who stepped in as a community organizer. His easy smile and approachable nature contribute to his ability to bring people together to pursue a common goal. While Project Schoolhouse paid for the materials, engineering plans, and skilled labor, the community volunteered all of the manual labor to bring this project to fruition.

The roughly 35 families of San Antonio volunteered 3 days a week to excavate and build a school and bridge. Derlin reflects, “It’s really worth dedicating this time to work. It doesn’t matter if we have to dedicate a year or more to work because it’s an effort that we as parents can do so that our children can achieve more opportunities, so that they can have their school, have water, so that they can feel safe and happy.” Derlin kept everyone energized and engaged throughout the project with his positive attitude and reminders of why the work is important.

The people of San Antonio truly demonstrated their capacity to organize and work collectively. With a Project Schoolhouse master builder directing them, the families volunteered countless hours to get the job done. They collected 5,000 boulders from the river and then excavated the riverbed using 5-gallon buckets. They dug pits, built pillars, and even learned how to weld! They did everything by hand…including lifting and placing the giant metal beams. It took 9 months of hard labor, but the 100-meter bridge that now exists enables all children a quick and safe walk to school.

The bridge has also contributed to a great deal of community pride in San Antonio. Because they built it with their own hands, the bridge has a special meaning. Having this key piece of infrastructure has also contributed to economic activity since it provides consistent, easy to access the community.  We see residents investing in their homes and farms thanks to the stability this infrastructure lends to the community. The bridge has united the community and set them up for growth and prosperity.  It is an example of why Project Schoolhouse takes great care to listen and respond to voiced need, the bedrock of how we work.  

Written by Heather Heiss

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Filed Under: Community Engagement, People Driven Development Tagged With: Stories

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