We’re planning on hosting “Soles for souls” shoe drive over Winter and Spring quarters. We’ll bring the  shoes we raise down to Nicaragua to give to those in need!  Also, we’ll be holding a churro fundraiser later this month.

Next trip

We’re currently planning our next trip to take place in late June. Possible dates include 6/23-7/3.

Working with a community

We’re in contact with World Vision and other nonprofit organizations to see how best we can serve the community. We hope to start a lasting connection!

Research project

Epidemiology research group has been meeting rigorously to make a statement about the condition of healthcare in Nicaragua. We’re also developing a relationship with physicians in Nicaragua to collaborate.

Currently, UCSD PN members are working hard fundraising for the Water Filter Project that will take place this summer, 2012. Members are actively fundraising by selling water filter awareness t-shirts at farmer’s markets each weekend, and will be holding a Korean BBQ on UCSD campus in mid-February. The Water Filter Project will send a group of UCSD students to a rural area of Nicaragua where water filters will be installed in homes of Nicaraguan Families. Each water filter will provide 40 liters of drinking water daily for 10 years for a family in Nicaragua.

We are currently planning two events and applying again to the CGIU Conference. Because of the success of ourGlasses Drivelast spring (we collected 530 glasses!), we are in talks with the Weddington Society, the organization we collaborated with on theGlasses Drive, to have another collection drive this spring. Current ideas of items to collect include school supplies for the students or medical supplies for CENAO.

As mentioned in our last newsletter, we have a new collaboration with Bonbonerie Bakery inCincinnati,OH. Back in October, we received two suitcases full of baking supply donations and were able to send them down to the bakery inNicaragua. Now we are working on hosting a second benefit dinner with Bonbonerie.

We are very excited about the events we are planning here inOhio, but we are also looking forward to seeing the students of Rancho Grande again! As of right now, we have two trips planned this year:  a spring break trip and summer break trip. Each trip will focus on different goals we are trying to accomplish, and it will give more OSU students the opportunity to meet the kids and see the work we are doing first hand. More on this next issue!

Currently, Project Nicaragua is continuing research on Spina Bifida and the quality of life of families dealing with Spina Bifida. On going research surveys of the quality of life will be continued this winter break. This winter break Project Nicaragua will be sending 12 members to Managua to continue collecting data and surveys on Spina Bifida, introduce a wheelchair design, and donate medical supplies to El Hospital Antonio Lenin Fonseca. Project Nicaragua has been working with an engineering team at UCSD to design a durable and cost efficient wheelchair model to introduce to the hospital. Our goal is to provide more wheelchairs for the patients at the hospital. Project Nicaragua has been rewarded a Grant for Change grant to help fund the wheelchair project. The materials used to build the chair will come from loca hardware stores in Nicaragua.

With support from UCLA RENEW and others, UCLA Project Nicaragua donated over 200 varieties of medical supplies to El Hospital Antonio Lenin Fonseca. These items include catheter kits, soap dispensers, glucometers, and more. UCLA RENEW made this possible.

We continued our barriers to healthcare project in various clinical settings. At Hospital Infantil de Nicaragua “Manuel de Jesus Rivera” La Mascota mothers of children suffering from spina bífida shared their experiences. With these first-hand accounts, we hope to identify the barriers that families have in receiving healthcare.

On Thursday September 8th, UCLA PN and Dr. Juan Bosco discussed the scholarship project with the director, sub-director, and chair of community service of Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Nicaragua, Managua (UNAN). Project Nicaragua has since kept up the communication to implement scholarships that will assist underserved students achieve their goals of becoming physician leaders.

On Thursday September 15th, UCLA PN held a health fair in Nandaime providing free medical services. Over 80 persons benefitted received vision assessment with free reading glasses, blood pressure and blood glucose measurements, and on-site physician consultation.

We’d like to express our gratitude for all our friends and supporters for enriching and making our work possible.

The OSU team brought twelve laptops donated by NewPage Corporation, and taught English and computer classes at the newly-built school called Escuela Tierras Prometidas. By the end of the trip, the students were creating Word documents, presenting PowerPoints, and tracking sales of a mock business using Excel. In the evenings, the OSU team held English classes for the older students. The OSU team also helped open a new community bakery called Maná del Cielo—they taught the students how to keep track of sales, inventory, and re-ordering, and hired a local baker to teach them how to make delicious pastries. On opening day, Maná del Cielo earned over $44 (the average salary in Rancho Grande is approximately $1/day)!

Recently, the OSU chapter partnered with Bonbonerie bakery of Cincinnati, Ohio to help support Maná del Cielo. Additionally, they have been compiling profiles of the Nicaraguan students for an online sponsorship program, and coordinating a pen pal program for the Nicaraguan students. Finally, the OSU team has been planning their annual Euchre Tournament, which is being held to raise money for school supplies for Escuela Tierras Prometidas.

El equipo de OSU llevó doce computadoras portátiles donadas por la Corporación NewPage e impartió clases de Inglés y Computadoras en la escuela recién construida que se llama Escuela “Tierras Prometidas.”  Al final del viaje los estudiantes ya estaban creando documentos en Word, presentaciones en PowerPoint, y llevando cuentas de las ventas de un negocio ficticio en Excel.  Por las noches el equipo de OSU impartió clases de Inglés a los estudiantes mayores.  El equipo de OSU también ayudó a abrir una panadería de la comunidad llamada Maná del Cielo – les enseñaron a los estudiantes como mantener las cuentas de las ventas, inventario y ordenes de materias primas, y contrataron un panadero local para que les enseñara como hacer panes deliciosos.  En el día de la inauguración, Maná de Cielo ganó mas de $44 (el salario promedio en Rancho Grande es aproximadamente $1 por día).

Recientemente, el Capitulo de OSU se unió con Bonbonerie Bakery de Cincinnati, Ohio para ayudar a apoyar a Maná del Cielo.  Adicionalmente, el Capitulo de OSU ha estado recopilando los perfiles de los estudiantes Nicaragüenses para un programa de patrocinio en línea y coordinando un programa de correspondencia con los estudiantes Nicaragüenses.  Finalmente, el equipo de OSU ha estado planeando su torneo anual de Euchere, el cual se llevara a cabo para recaudar fondos para comprar útiles escolares para la Escuela “Tierras Prometidas.”