It wasn't quite that dramatic, but the first of many face-to-face encounters of Nica HOPE co-founders was nonetheless a productive meeting and an important symbol of our commitment to one another and the future of the organization. Deanna hosted Ben and I (with the help of some friends – thanks again Wade and Rod), and we began on Friday afternoon by reaffirming our shared vision for the development of Nica HOPE. We reviewed past accomplishments, including the project proposal, organization formation, and the creation of www.nicahope.org. We also addressed the status of pending tasks, such as bylaw creation, tax-exemption application, fundraising stratagems, and in-country development. The three-hour session was a much-needed leap in the right direction.
On Saturday morning we began another productive day by officially establishing ourselves as bank account signatories. Then for lunch we met with Eric Lungren, a good friend of Deanna's who worked two years with Safe Passage (www.safepassage.org), a successful non-profit founded eight years ago in the Guatemala City dump. Eric played a vital role in the development of the fledgling organization and the formation of a new vocational training program. We watched the documentary “Recycled Life,” which exposes the lamentable living conditions of the Guatemala City dump residents, their joys and pains, and the relief efforts of humanitarian organizations. Specifically highlighted is Safe Passage and the successes of its recently-deceased founder Hanley Denning. We highly recommend the film (which received a Grammy nomination this past year) to those of you interested in learning more about the lives of those living amongst a country's waste and the positive change that can be made by just a few motivated individuals. Thanks, Eric, for the guidance – past, present, and (hopefully) future.
Late Saturday night came the snow and when we woke (late) Sunday morning it was piled in fluffy heaps atop roofs and cars and sidewalks and anything or anyone stationary. Movement was all but restricted, which canceled the D.C. tour but gave us plenty time to reassess the weekend and prepare for the near-future. By Monday morning Deanna was studying away for graduate midterms, Ben was leaving for Chicago to continue working on the website, networking, and fundraising, and I was heading south to a capital city far, far removed from our own.
Thanks everyone for the support and please check back regularly for the new blogs (with pictures) that we'll be cranking out once or twice a week.
Jordan Hooper
Managua, Nicaragua
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