Nicaragua: Citizenship in Action
Mayra Rodríguez, community leader in El Horno.
Mayra Rodríguez, a leader in her community of El Horno, stood before the crowded community hall. Gathered together were women and men, farmers and merchants, cooperative members and small business owners, members of community councils and local development committees. All had attended a course in community development and citizenship developed by Popol Vuh, Inter Pares’ long-time counterpart in the municipalities of Matagalpa and San Ramón. Inter Pares staff were visiting the day that the forty participants received their graduation certificates – a recognition of their accomplishments as individuals and communities.
Mayra told us about the local development committees, to which each of San Ramón’s communities elect a female and male leader. Working together, with the support of Popol Vuh, the committees liaised with the municipality to have municipal service teams visit five San Ramón communities and provide 600 medical consultations – no small feat for a remote area that has three medical clinics for a population of 31,000.
José Martínez, another community leader, affirmed the training he’d received from Popol Vuh was invaluable. “We’ve learned how to negotiate with the mayor’s office on an equal footing, showing them what the community needs, and how we’re going to implement it.” Another woman added, “We now know how to formulate projects, that it’s not something just for the technical experts – we are responsible, efficient, and we know what we need and what our capacities are.” Mayra gave an example: “They were going to close the community centre, but we negotiated with the mayor’s office not only to keep it open, but to help us establish a children’s community kitchen. And we’re now lobbying the education ministry to fund a school kitchen.”
In this rural area where most people live off their land, farm production is central to people’s lives and livelihoods. Mayra spoke about a community seed bank they’d created. “Women and men can receive seed credits for the sowing season, then pay it back and have corn and beans to sell or consume themselves.” Carla Cecilia, another graduate of the course, said that they were now working with Popol Vuh and the municipality to build metal community grain silos to safely store grain, and to strengthen their agricultural economy through crop diversificationand growing herbal medicines.
With Inter Pares' solidarity and support, Popul Vuh will continue to work with community organizations in Matagalpa to democratically hold their governments accountable to those whose needs they serve. By working together, communities are able to negotiate access to public resources, which their labour and taxes have helped to generate, for their local priorities and initiatives. As citizens, they are participating in the construction of their own futures.
| Reviewed June 9, 2008 |  |
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