In this Winter, 2003/’04
edition of ¡Abrazos! de Mulukukú
you will find,
A letter from Dorothy
End Of Year Appeal
Historic Solidarity Trip To Mulukukú – Want
to Come Along?
Photo Gallery
¡Abrazos!
Archived
[The photo below has been reduced in size. You
may view it full size by simply clicking on it.]
Dear Friends,
Warmest greetings to
each of you, our partners in our combined efforts
|
|
|
Photo courtesy of
Dr. Serena Yang
|
to accompany and serve the campesinas, campesinos and children of
Mulukukú. I write from the offices of the American Jewish
World Service (AJWS) in New York City. I have been on a speaking/fundraising
tour on the East Coast since mid-September, hosted by enthusiastic supporters,
and we are making valuable connections for future collaboration.
I can say with gratitude that our funding
for the clinic, thanks to all of you, is keeping up with our budget. Our
budget, of course, is a drop in the bucket next to the great poverty and
illness pervasive in Nicaragua; but we expect to be able to employ our
staff, continue our programs, and keep on doing our best with what we have.
If we find ourselves with more, we will use it to serve more people in
the countryside around Mulukukú.
In city after U.S. city, I have reported on our
work and had long conversations with people deciphering world events and
considering future volunteer work, or other ways to contribute to the work
in Mulukukú.
Everywhere I have visited on this tour, people
are deeply distressed at the war in Iraq and the talk of war in other places.
Of course, you opened your hearts long ago when you recognized the effects
of war on Nicaragua’s poor. I hope you will take this deep knowledge and
share it with your distressed friends and neighbors who may be paralyzed
with fear. You know that putting a human face on tragedy, getting to work,
and supporting those working in the field is truly empowering.
FROM MULUKUKÚ
The surgical unit has arrived! About
150 Mulukukú residents (and about another 100 children), along with
our staff, managed to remove the 45 ft. metal container from a truck and
place it on the prepared cement/stone bed. The unit is a fully equipped
operating room where, with volunteer surgeons, we will be able to respond
to the needs for low-risk surgical procedures such as tubal ligations for
women. Next summer we hope to host a group of ophthalmologists.
People who have no money are finding it impossible to secure elective surgeries
in public hospitals here. Our deepest gratitude to those who made
this gift possible: Bette Cowan and the First Presbyterian Church
of Galveston, Texas, Christian Alliance of Pearland, Texas, Medical Bridges
and the Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church in Houston.
MOBIL CLINICS
Our health and domestic violence workers visited
the distant community of Corozo, and served 503 patients in three days.
Corozo is reached by four hours of driving, eight hours of walking, and
a boat ride. There have been many recent deaths of women and young
children in this isolated community.
Another clinic was held at the edge of the
Bosawas Reserve five hours to the north and east of Mulukukú.
Four
hundred and fifty people were forcibly displaced from the protected
forest there, since they had illegally invaded the preserve, built
homes, and planted corn and beans in an effort to survive. They are
landless campesinos, miserably sick with malnutrition, malaria, parasites,
and serious respiratory diseases. Several small children had recently
died. All the displaced people were served in three days of clinics.
DOMESTIC VIOLENCEPROGRAM
A third legal office and Women’s Commissary
(National Police violence prevention program) was opened in Siuna early
in September, and will serve women and children in the mining communities
of Siuna, Bonanza and Rosita. The office is staffed by a woman attorney
and a paralegal worker. A unit of the Women’s Commissary has also been
put in place staffed by a member of our cooperative. Domestic violence
is so pervasive that prevention and protection are key components of a
balanced health program, and we are pleased to have encouraged these developments.
TOUR REPORT
Grethel Sequiera, my co-worker in Mulukukú,
joined me in Boston at North Eastern Law School to consider volunteer law
students for our domestic violence program. It’s not all work: Denise Zwahlen
treated Grethel and me to a Mercedes Sosa concert!
Another special treat was a meeting at the
Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR) with the new Director, Pat Clark, to
discuss ideas for a Healing Justice Program for men who do violence to
children and women. Members of FOR have been my guides and teachers
for the past 25 years, as I have tried to live and work following the principles
of non-violence.
Many thanks to our friend and frequent volunteer,
Christy Cook, who organized this tour. So many people, beyond those I can
name here, vitalize the effort to build a bridge of solidarity and health
to Mulukukú.
In closing, let me say that there is a madness
at work in the world as civil and human rights are violated and fear drives
the National Security State. To answer the madness, let’s look into
our hearts and draw out our best beliefs, instincts and imaginations to
create a new humanity based on justice, kindness and caring for all people,
all creatures, and this precious earth.
Abrazos from your friends in Mulukukú,
Ninth Annual End-of-Year Appeal – 2003
For the Women's Clinic in Mulukukú, Nicaragua, and Dorothy
Granada
You saved the day! When clinic funding dropped
precipitously last year, you reached deep into your pockets. Thanks to
your caring and generosity, the clinic is back on its feet. We are so grateful
for this support and so happy to bring you this news. The clinic’s future
is in all our hands. Please continue with us.
This year, our theme is gratitude. Gratitude
to all of you for helping to weather last year’s financial crisis. Gratitude
that the Nicaraguan government had a change of heart toward Dorothy and
the clinic (thanks to huge protests and a change of presidents!). As you
may remember, in late 2000 and early 2001, fearing the power of grassroots
women, then-President Arnoldo Alemán shut down the clinic and tried
to deport Dorothy. However, thanks to huge international support and the
protests of thousands of Nicaraguans, Dorothy instead became a symbol
of the rights to health and dignity of the humblest and poorest of Nicaraguans.
The clinic now has full legal recognition
from the Ministry of Health and is a model of health care for poor women.
This year, Dorothy has received two important
awards. In May, the National Assembly of Nicaragua honored her for her
work on behalf of women’s health. And in the U.S. the Doctors for Global
Health recognized Dorothy for her phenomenal contributions to health in
rural Nicaragua.
What do these accomplishments mean?
The first award, of course, indicates that
Dorothy and the clinic have clear and strong support from the Nicaraguan
government to continue their work. The Assembly has taken a strong step,
just two years later, to erase the actions of Alemán. Also
important is the new stature of the clinic and Dorothy in Nicaraguan society.
No longer is Dorothy just another long-term volunteer working to help a
group of poor people. She has become beloved throughout Nicaragua, and
she has a national voice as a tireless advocate for health and human rights.
When she speaks, people in the government and people on the streets listen.
She has influence! And the women of Mulukukú
— so famous in Nicaragua for their determination — have earned increased
stature by their unfailing work. When Alemán padlocked the clinic,
they didn't take a break. They gathered up supplies and went to the hills,
and served remote communities that have no health care.
This small project that you choose to invest in has proven to be history-making.
Your support has twice the power — you give life and health to thousands
— and you give voice to your own values, which resonate throughout Nicaragua.
Here at home in Santa Cruz
At the Women’s Empowerment Network,
we have a lot to be grateful for too. New members have joined our group
to keep up the work of fundraising, special events, tour planning and other
support for Dorothy and the clinic.
Please don’t assume that we can afford for
you to send less, now that we are out of financial crisis! Stability in
funding is a form of health for health clinics! We do need you, and we
thank you. We treasure all our friends and contributors in what feels like
an unusually personal cross-state, cross-country effort.
WEN Working Group, 2003-2004:
Janie Yett, Jill Winegardner, David Sweet, Emily
Lewis, Ellie Foster, Greg Thrush, and Aviva Longinotti
Please send your tax deductible donations (Tax ID 77-0566997)
payable to:
Women’s Empowerment Network
309 Cedar Street, #547
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
You may continue to help us through the convenience of your credit or debit
card through our secure PayPal system. Just click on the button below:
Leaving a legacy: Many of you may be interested in sustaining
the clinic for the long haul. We plan to provide more information early
next year regarding leaving a charitable gift in your will or living trust,
among other options. –Jill Winegardner, Board Secretary
Historic Solidarity Trip to Mulukukú
– Want to Come Along?
We are considering March 2004 as a time when
some of us from Santa Cruz will travel to Nicaragua to meet our counterparts
in Mulukukú and to see something of Managua as well. Dorothy has
urged us to do this for some time. She says that the women in Mulukukú
want us to see their work and listen to their ideas. If you are interested
in coming with us, apply by December 1, by contacting: Jill
Winegardner.
Plans are still preliminary. We expect a 10-day
trip, meetings with some officials in Managua, travel to Mulukukú
(one day each way), visits with clinic staff and others in the area. Most
of the Santa Cruz participants speak Spanish, but Spanish is not a requirement.
A preliminary cost estimate is $1500 or so. This will be an unusual opportunity
to visit women whom we have known — but not known — for a decade, to dialogue
about why we have all made choices to work for something larger than ourselves.
This small project, that you choose to invest
in, has proven to be history-making. Your support has twice the power —
you give life and health to thousands — and you give voice to your own
values, which resonate throughout Nicaragua.
For those of you would like to receive
the newsletter in the mail, please write to us at:
wempowermentn@yahoo.com
You can also alert your email-loving friends to
check out the website.
|
|
Several colorful murals now adorn the walls of the
clinic in Mulukukú. These murals, painted by Nicaraguan college
students this year, were funded by an anonymous donor from the states who
wants the clinic's influence to continue through upcoming generations.
|
Stay strong! Keep the faith. And PEACE,
The WEN board,
Janie, Jill
& Kaki, Women’s
Empowerment
Network,
Santa Cruz, California
Women’s Empowerment Network
309 Cedar Street, #547
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
¡Abrazos! de Mulukukú Archived:
| Summer, 2003 |
 |
| Spring, 2003 |
|
| Summer, 2002 |
|
| Fall, 2002 |
|
