For the
Accompaniment Team of Kairos and the five communities friends of
Kairos, 2013 was full of adventures!!!
We
started the year with our usual visits to the communities: El Corozo,
Los Ampiés, Teustepe, El Ojoche and the Christian Base Community of
“San Pablo Apostol”, to hear about their end of the year 2012
news and to share the beginning of a New Year 2013.
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| Mujeres costureras "Alas de Águilas" |
As well in
January, with the visit of Sharon Jones and the members of the
“Spirit Winds” delegation, we were able to accompany the
seamstresses from “Eagles' Wings”, adding on a new group to our
family.
In
February, a delegation from Rotary District 5960 along with the
Kairos team invited and encouraged the community of El Corozo to
become partners in the Initiative. This is an Initiative that invites
one to dream, invent and take on community development processes with
a collective, sustainable and transforming vision. Now the community
of El Corozo is an Initiative Partner. What a joy!!!
Since
then, the Partners from El Corozo have been working in a process to
identify their collective dreams and analyze their community through
the SWOT method. Currently they have a 3-year Strategic Plan and an
Operative Plan for 2014! Their four focus areas are: The Road,
Potable Water, Education and Community Health.
The
community of Teustepe once again hosted their Sister Church of
Guardian Angels in April. They dreamed, reflected, and acted together
to make decisions and advances in 2013. Both communities gave us
their solidarity and love by participating with us to give the Kairos
Center a “new look” as we painted and brought beauty to the
Center.
This year,
Teustepe has carried out several fund raising activities for their
dream of a Community Center. This included a Talent Show with the
participation of the Kairos team, community members, and musical and
dance groups from Managua and Ciudad Sandino. We also shared in their
Spiritual Retreat in November facilitating a process that focused on
strengthening our faith and taking time with our selves and one
another. They ended the year with a 99% return of their Community
Revolving Fund!! They have handed out Loan #14!
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| Velada en la comunidad de Teustepe |
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| Retiro con la comunidad de Teustepe |
Rains
started in May and more intensely in October, but the children in Los
Ampies and the Accompaniment Team sang, read, ran around, enjoyed and
learned during the whole year 2013. There are now 30 children that
share their time, hopes, experiences, challenges and joys with us. We
are feel proud to be part of this Great Opportunity!!
Oh!! and
also in May, we had the opportunity to accompany the members of
APIEAT (Holistic Promoters Educating with Love and Tenderness
Association) from Jalapa, in a workshop for a week around the
following themes: Community Art Therapy to help us find ourselves and
contribute to assertive communication; they also did an analysis of
their 2013 reality through a SWOT and came up with strategies to move
forward.
Our
friends, the Women Potters of El Ojoche, fulfilled their dream of
getting a potter's wheel to design new pottery pieces. They began by
learning how to use it and improve their pieces with the wheel. We
are grateful to Potters For Peace for their essential support to the
potters of El Ojoche in this whole process.
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| Kermes de la comunidad Eclesial de Base San Pablo Apóstol |
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| Retiro con la comunidad Eclesial de Base San Pablo Apóstol |
The Kairos
team and the Women Potters of El Ojoche participated in the December
8th Purisima with CBC San Pablo Apostol. The women from El Ojoche
arrived in Managua that day to prepare for the National Encounter of
Communities, which was to take place the next day.
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| Comunidad de Teustepe |
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| Encuentro Nacional de Comunidades |
COMMUNITIES
¡Accompanying one another!
Dreaming…setting goals and objectives…
building plans…working,
resting…learning…changing…celebrating!
We accompany communities and groups from the South and the North (most especially from Nicaragua and the United States) on their journey. It is they, the people from the communities who are the protaganists of their history, the writers of their past, present and future. So, where are we heading? Well, towards their dreams, their goals, their objectives, and responding to their needs according to the people themselves.
We seek to provide opportunities that give potential to their capacity and possibilities to achieve their dreams, reach their goals and satisfy their needs.
Where do we go? Where we are invited!
When and with what frequency to we go? When the community decides, negotiating dates and times that work for the community or Group and the team from the AKF School.
In Nicaragua in 2011, we accompanied 5 historic communities and two new. We visit the historic communities (where we have worked for several years) a minimum of once a month. In addition to the visits we facilitate workshops and encounters that respond to their interests and goals, including encounters between communities of other regions and organized groups that are friends with the AKF School. The encounters allow an interchange of experiences and knowledge that encourage, strengthen, and train all whom participate.
The year ends in Nicaragua with an encounter between all of the communities, where they share their evaluations of their year and their dreams for the coming year with one another. The presentations are informative and creative, once again providing the opportunity to learn, animate and strengthen!
The encounter transforms into a celebration with explosive joy as everyone comes together under the same roof sharing in spectacular fellowship.
In the afternoon the communities share their gift with one another, and out come songs and dances, skits, poems, artesanry, and more!
In December of 2011 we achieved bringing the communities to the Centro Kairós for two days, beginning with a community “potluck” dinner! What a banquet!!!
We hope you enjoy the flavor of the year with the Nicaraguan communities through the presentation that follows where they are sharing their achievements and joys, and their dreams for 2012.
Communities
Ah, and one more thing…Los Ampiés y El Corozo accomplished filling two buses to come and participate in the closing encounter at the end of the year to celebrate with everyone from the Kairós Family!
Communities
New Communities
In 2012 we had the opportunity to get to know four new communities in the Municipality of Masatepe, Department of Masaya through participating in a community assessment program.
In spending time with the people of this region the possibility of accompaning two new communities, Los Ampies and El Corozo, openned for the year 2011. The visits to these two communities had a rythm that averaged 8 visits per month to achieve:
- getting to know their reality,
- building relationships of trust and friendship,
- getting to know the children, youth, women, and men,
- and discovering their dreams and needs.
We concluded the year convocando an encounter with Los Ampies, El Corozo and representatives from the Historic Communities of Nicaragua as well as delegates from both Historic and New communities and groups from the United States.
With joy we share a glimpse of 2011 with Los Ampiés and El Corozo!
We conclude with the encounter between Historic and New communities that included:
- Los Ampies y El Corozo, Nicaragua
- Rotarians from Masaya, Nicaragua
- Rotarians from District 5960, Minnesota and Wisconsin
- Guardian Angels, Minnesota
- Dulce Nombre de Jesús y El Ojoche, Somotillo, Nicaragua
- Teustepe, Nicaragua
- 14th of September, Managua, Nicaragua.
The community of Teustepe gifted their sister - brother community of Guardian Angels in Minnesota with this slideshow, sent with their delegates who traveled to MN in September, 2011.
