X-Ray 10: Mud mud glorious mud

X-Ray 10: Sacha, Matt, Nelson, Jaap, Emily, Emilie, Amy, Stella, Ella, George, Ben, Dom, Sally, Natasha, Dav and Lilly

X-Ray 10 have been achieving great things on project in La Arenilla and have fully integrated into community life. On Friday 8 they celebrated International Women's Day and had an incredible afternoon where they decorated the community centre with crepe paper and balloons and all of the community attended a coffee morning with cakes made by all of the families. The Don's, not the women as usual, made the coffee for everyone and David, the community leader and host family of our PMs Sally, Dav and Sacha, read a passage from the bible and then gave a heartfelt speech about gender equality and his hopes and aspirations for his daughters, the next generations and for all of those women in the village. La Arenilla had never celebrated IWD before but will now annually host it in honour of Raleigh and the women of their community who work tirelessly to support their families.

X-Ray 10 on their project in Miraflor

All great projects start with foundations; how else were the pyramids and skyscrapers of our generation made. While Xray 10 may be several weeks late in laying the physical foundations of houses and suchlike, we have been building the foundations for a structure that no wind or earth can ever assail; friendship, eternal and true.

By helping build houses and other  buildings for the community, it is the specific hope of Xray 10 that we may one day be remembered by the people of Miraflor as but one cog in the machine that bettered their lives. Through collecting old man’s beard (con creepy crawlies), gathering and producing mud (of which 30% is used to dirty our t-shirts, play mudball or experiment with new ‘looks’) and building houses (which makes most of us feel like kids again) we have completed several extra layers on the majority of the new houses, which is great.

Matt, today's blogger with his newly designed mud shirt.

Holly from roadtrip and Emilie making adobe bricks, made from natural sustainable materials they are a mixture of old man's beard and mud.

But all this would be for nought without becoming firm friends with the locals; from simple sentences and oft comical hand signalling (me encanta los chicas en Englyse being one) to learning about their lives, families and hopes for the future. It is by doing such things that Raleigh has flourished into such an organisation.

Sacha testing the shower

As part of Women’s Day, we have also been interviewing the local women (and a few men, besides) as to their role in the community, their education and their hopes for their children. So far, all have been incredibly positive, and while some women have received little education, the majority having received equal education to their husbands, while their children have been becoming increasingly educated, thus opening more opportunities. One such example came from Don Alejandro’s wife, Maximelia, whose eldest daughter has finished college and works in a bank. Such examples reflect on how far Nicaragua has come in recent years.

The houses are coming on really well - X-Ray 10 have made incredible progress.

Today's blog was written by X-Ray 10's Matt Heathcote

Women's Day Spotlight: Women, X-Ray 7 & Water

It is International Women's Day and we are celebrating women here on Expedition 13A. Today we will publish a series of Women's Day centred blogs from our teams who are spread far and wide across Costa Rica and Nicaragua and are celebrating in their own way. We also though you would be interested to read Marie Staunton's article in the Huffington Post. Marie is the Chair of Raleigh International and is currently visiting Raleigh ICS and Raleigh International's projects in Nicaragua and wrote this article about our project partner's the Cooperative Juan Francisco Paz Silva - click here to read >

PM's Emma, Paul and Cali with their host family Norberto, Sylvia and their children - they will be a beneficiary of X-Ray 7's work.

Furthermore X-Ray 7 and their Comms Officer Josh Arbon have conveyed their feelings about the affect that the new access to clean and safe water that will be provided by their gravity fed water system will have on their community of Matapalo, Achuapa, Nicaragua:

To fully appreciate the impact of our project here in Matapalo we conducted interviews in villages that have benefited from previous Raleigh teams. In particular we focused on the women within the household to tie in with World Women’s Day which we have been discussing over the past week. The results of this have been both uplifting and shocking simultaneously. The projects made huge improvements to the women’s lives, however, these drastic changes highlighted three existing issues which faced the women who haven’t beneffited from the scheme.

The Cooperative Juan Francisco Paz Silva is helping to achieve social justice, equality and basic public services for it's members. The community of Matapalo are a part of this cooperative.

In one case the mother of one family would have to take a 15 minute journey with 20 litres of water five times in the morning and then five times at night. This took a serious portion of her day and left her with serious neck problems. In the four years since Raleigh installed a safe water source in her home medical problems have subsided and she has had far more time to cultivate her vegetable patch and enjoys a markedly improved quality of life.

Senada Lopez is a beneficiary of a previous Raleigh water project in Matapalo. The current project will provide all remaining families in the area with a clean and safe water source.

She also believes that this project, and others like it, has helped to empower women in the local area and given them a louder voice on the community stage. This view is reciprocated throughout the women of the community. Another interviewee noted how 20 years ago women in the village had no rights or opportunities whereas with the implementation of projects such as the one we are currently undertaking women have more opportunity and are pushing for gender equality.

Sylvia, the PM homestay mother in her kitchen

This is why our work here in Matapalo is extremely important and poignantly timed. With World Women’s Day today we can greater appreciate the impact of our work. When asked about World Women’s Day those interviewed said they felt proud and thought the day was important for women such as themselves and particularly those in a worse situation.

This is a value which is also held by us in X-Ray 7 and we can see first-hand the differences made by Raleigh to the very homes who have been extremely welcoming to us.

Spotlight: Why do Raleigh's water projects benefit Women 

Norberto and his wife Sylvia are beneficiaries of the new gravity fed water system in Matapalo

Women are disproportionately affected by lack of access to safe drinking water. Women primarily manage water resources on a local level. In other words women, particularly in developing countries, are tasked with cooking, cleaning, and providing drinking water for the family. This can mean that where water isn’t readily available, women can spend up to 3 hours per day collecting water for their family.

The new feed in Matapalo will supply 30 of the community with safe and clean water

At the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development 2005-2015 was named the ‘Water for Life’ international decade for action. This called for women’s participation in water-related development issues.

Women’s lives improved due to:

-        Reduced time, health, and care-giving burdens from improved water services give women more time for productive endeavours

-        Convenient access to water and sanitation facilities increase privacy and  reduce risk to women and girls of sexual harassment/assault while gathering water

-        Community-based organizations for water management can improve social capital of women by giving them leadership and networking opportunities and building solidarity among them.

A study in 88 communities in 15 countries found that water projects are more sustainable and effective when designed with the full participation of women than those that are not.

Happy Women's Day to all of our blog readers and our volunteers family and friends.

Raleigh & Sustainable Development: What does it actually mean?

“Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” – Brundtland Report, 1987

X-Ray 10 working on building sustainable housing in Arenilla, Nicaragua

For Raleigh International sustainable development is about our work in partnership with local people. Supporting their efforts to improve their standard of living. Bringing in low cost technologies such as biogas ovens, gravity fed water systems and composting toilets. Enabling communities to access basic services such as water, sanitation, education and energy. Using resources that are renewable. And working with local governments and organisations to improve conservation efforts in protected areas.

Raleigh’s philosophy is based on a commitment to work together to improve people's lives without destroying their environment. Working to this philosophy in everything. Raleigh demand the same from all teams of volunteers who help make this work happen. All of the projects provide a lasting sustainable benefit.

X-Ray 8 are building a school in partnership with UCA San Ramon in Siares, San Ramon, Nicaragua

The permanent in-country staff and operations team have spent months and years within Costa Rica and Nicaragua developing relationships. Julian, Country Director, Pedro, Country Programme Manager, Simon, Country Expedition Manager and Keiner, Host-Country Venturer Coordinator ensure Raleigh Costa Rica and Nicaraguas work is sustainable and ongoing. They develop relationships with communities, local NGOs and government departments. They recruit and train our local young people as part of the team. They listen to what is needed so that we they can plan and provide projects that are successful. For this generation and the next.

X-Ray 4,5 & 6 are working on environment projects in Costa Rica in partnership with MINAE & SINAC

This work wouldn't be possible without the work and funding of Raleigh’s volunteers and supporters, whose commitment is vital to continuing Raleigh's incredible and valuable work in sustainable development.

The 'Explorers' have arrived

Today is a great day at Raleigh Fieldbase, all of our teams are on their way home, we successfully celebrated World Social Justice Day (hopefully you have seen our video click here to view if you havn't had time yet >) but today we also welcomed 14 new volunteer Venturers to Expedition 13A. They have had a big couple of days with training, trekking and learning all about Raleigh and their upcoming projects. So here they are:

Alice (PM), Stella, Chow, Izzy, Amy, Hebie, Anthony, Freddie, John, Amelia, Gabby (PM), Eva, Ella, Jess, Kate and Akalia

It's changeover so lots of updates to come of our returning Volunteers and all of their exploits.
Pura Vida!

20.02.13 UN World Day of Social Justice Dia de las Naciones Unidas de Justicia Social

On 26 November 2007, the United Nations General Assembly declared that 20 February will be celebrated annually as the World Day of Social Justice. 

En el 26 noviembre 2007, la Asamblea General de las Naciones Unidas declaro que el 20 febrero sera celebrado anualmente como el Dia Mundial de Justicia Social.

Raleigh Costa Rica & Nicaragua's Volunteers on Expedition 13A are individuals who are dedicating themselves to working with people from around the world, inspiring, developing and challenging themselves; working in partnership, learning to build in a sustainable way within communities and to conserve the environment. 

Los voluntarios de la Expedicion 13A de Raleigh Costa Rica & Nicaragua son individuos quienes estan dedicandose a trabajar con personas del todo el mundo, motivandose, desarollandose y desafiandose a si misno. Tambien trabajan en colaboracion, aprendiendo a construir en una manera sostenible dentro de las comunidades, y a conservar el medioambiente.

As part of their first phase every Volunteer Manager and Venturer was asked: What is Social Justice and what does it mean to you? This is what we believe:

Como parte de la primera fase, se preguntaron a cada voluntario: Que es Justica Social, y que significa para usted? Eso es lo que creemos:

Find out more about World Day of Social Justice >

If the world were a village of 100 people

With Social Justice Day fast approaching on the 20th February, we thought you might find the below images incredibly interesting. They consider if the world was actually just a village of 100 people and use statistics to illustrate how many of those within the village would, for instance be educated in higher education, have access to safe and clean water or the languages they would speak.

We put together a range of activities to facilitate discussions and understanding of the problems we are facing globally with the focus being the upcoming social justice day. What do you think of the statistics? Do any of them shock you? How do you feel about social justice? What are you doing to raise awareness of social justice issues where you are?:

*We cannot verify the absolute facts of everything above but believe they are valuable illustration of social justice statistics. Images are from http://www.coolpicturegallery.net/2010/04/if-only-100-people-lived-on-earth.html

Social Justice: Spotlight on CATIE, Working for Sustainable Development through Agricultural Reseach and Learning

Raleigh Costa Rica and Nicaragua's Fieldbase is located in Turrialba, Costa Rica - it is on the site of the Centre for Tropical Agricultural Research and Teaching or, as it is better known, CATIE (Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza).

Main building at CATIE

CATIE is a regional center of excellence, working to help rural communities in Latin America and the Caribbean achieve higher levels of sustainable development through integrated management of agricultural and natural resources.  By a combination of cutting-edge scientific research, education and technical cooperation, CATIE works hand-in-hand with families, local organizations, national governments and international partners to influence decision-making and to encourage sustainable development. The aim is to maintain a balance between increased productivity of food and export crops.  Ensuring the sustainability of production systems while promoting a fair distribution of the benefits is also key.

Crop research at CATIE

CATIE’s aims fit very well with Raleigh’s mission of helping young people to learn how to build sustainable communities and conserve the environment. Food security is a vital issue to communities such as our Nicaraguan projects in San Ramon, Siares and Arenilla all located in Nicaragua and Conte Burika in Costa Rica.

More than 100 CATIE research and sustainable development initiatives are taking place in 17 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, including work on the roya disease crippling coffee production that we blogged about on 31 January.  CATIE estimates that over the last decade, at least 100,000 people have directly benefitted from its projects. 75% of those projects are directed toward low-income families and grass-roots level organizations, including women’s

groups and indigenous populations.

CATIE also hosts an improtant tropical botanical garden

UN Day of Social Justice, 20th February

'Social Justice means complete and genuine equality of all people.' Paul George, Executive Director Peninsula Peace and Justice Centre.

The 20th February is UN Day of Social Justice. Social Justice is a broad and complex issue but as Ban Ki Moon, Secretary General of the United Nations expressed: 'Social Justice is an underlying principle for peaceful and prosperous coexistence within and among nations. We uphold the principles of social justice when we promote gender equality or the rights of indigenous peoples and migrants. We advance social justice when we remove barriers that people face because of gender, age, race, ethnicity, religion, culture or disability.'

We have challenged Raleigh International's Venturers and Volunteer Managers on Expedition 13A to really think about the issues facing us globally and how the work they are undertaking on their projects across Community, Environmental and Adventure phases are helping to positively impact the world we live in. We have asked them to consider how the communities are working towards greater social justice? How has inequality of work rights, in-access to basic public services, issues of race, gender, religion or culture faced them or those they know? How can we all make a difference? What world do we want in 20 years time and how can we help achieve those goals individually and as a group? We will be updating you on their activities and thoughts on social justice with blogs from the Alpha Groups on social justice issues.

Social Justice: Spotlight on Nicaraguan Sugar Cane Workers

Currently in Nicaragua inequalities in social justice, unfair trade, in-access to basic public services such as a health centre and inadequate worker rights have created a situation of terrible inequality and injustice:

The blog readers challenge: Plan a social justice action and tell us about it 

Over the first phase of our projects from today until 20th February our teams will be thinking about social justice issues and we are challenging you to plan a social justice action: What will you be doing to promote the UN Day of Social Justice? Are you going to be promoting it at work or school? Will you begin buying Fairtrade or promoting Fairtrade? Help us shine a light on inequalities faced globally and at home? 

Find out about the UN Day of Social Justice > 

Expedition 13A: Our Incredible Community and Environmental Projects

Over the coming weeks we will be discussing in detail all of the projects Raleigh Costa Rica and Nicaragua will be undertaking during expedition 13A; with information on why those specific projects are chosen and what we are hoping the outcomes will be. However for now we thought you would like to see a quick overview of everything we are doing and who from our incredible team of Project Managers have been allocated to which projects. 

Environmental Projects

Raleigh environmental projects aim to fulfil the UN Millenium Development Goal 7a; reducing loss of biodiversity. Hoping to ensure environmental sustainability through education of local society, protection and preserving natural habitats and resources and also important species of plants and animals.

Alpha 4: Carara National Park, Costa Rica

Holly, Marisa, Lou and Emma

Objectives: Maintaining and creating new trails in the park, increasing tourist numbers and ensuring income for the park and local economy.

Project Managers: Louise, Emma, Marisa and Holly

Project Partners: SINAC

Summary: Literally translated Carara means 'the park of the crocodiles', a beautiful National Park in the South of Costa Rica teaming with diverse species of animals. At the moment the park is suffering from illegal logging and also issues with their trails which flood easily. Raleigh will be helping to create a new trail in a less likely to flood area to try and increase tourist numbers. This increased income will mean more money to fund rangers which will hinder the illegal logging, ensure maintenance of the area and benefit protection of this incredible area for future generations.

Alpha 5: RNVS San Lucas Wildlife Refuge, Costa Rica

Sally, Paul, Kate and Claire

Objectives: Environemental Protection Project - creating new trail, development of visitor centre.

Project Managers: Sally, Paul and Kate

Project Partners: SINAC

Summary: Once a prison, this island is now a wildlife refuge. High in biodiversity, the island suffers from poachers who arrive on a beach which at the moment is inaccessible for Rangers. Raleigh will be creating a trail which traverses the island, between two beaches, ensuring the rangers have easier access in order to patrol the refuge. Similar to Carara the project encompasses helping to develop visitor facilities, tourist monies ensure rangers income and maintenance of the parks.

Alpha 6: Cabo Blanco, Costa Rica

Zoe and Clive

Objectives: Environmental Sustainability Project - working alongside park rangers to maintain park infrastructure

Project Managers: Dr.Zoe and Clive

Summary: Cabo Blanco was set up in order to protect an area of rainforest which was under threat from illegal logging. This area of biodiversity has countless species of animals along it's stunning beaches and within the rainforest. Raleigh will be maintaining the trail network, painting parts of the ranger station and removing unwanted waste from beaches.

Community Projects
Basic Human Rights of education, access to safe clean water sources and disaster relief. 

Alpha 7: Matapalo/ Monte Frio, Achuapa, Nicaragua

Lena and Antonio

Objectives: UN Millenium Development Goal to improve the health of the community through education in water sanitation and installation of a gravity water feed.

Project Managers: Antonio and Dr.Lena

Project Partner: Multi-stakeholder partnership with the local community, Cooperativa Juan Francisco Paz Silva and Raleigh

Summary: Installing a gravity water feed to deliver clean and safe running water to 40 families close to the town of Achuapa, this area is one of the poorest and most remote areas of Nicaragua. Currently the local community use water from the local river which often dries up in the summer and comes from polluted water sources. 21% of the Nicaraguan population do not have access to a safe water source.

Alpha 8: Siares, San Ramon, Nicaragua

Denise, Dav and Marie

Objectives: UN Millenium Development Goal 2: Universal Primary Education, Alpha 8 will be building a pre-school, installing two latrines and a water standpipe.

Project Managers: Dr.Dav, Denise and Marie

Project Partners: A new Raleigh partner UCA San Ramon, an association of small coffee farming cooperatives and families living within the San Ramon area.

Summary: Recent statistics show that 22% of the population in Nicaragua are illiterate. These problems are most felt in rural areas such as San Ramon where half of the population in Nicaragua live. In Siares there is a primary school however the younger pre-school children are educated in the same room as the elder children, a lot of disruption occurs and parents have removed their children entirely due to this. Improved education facilities and the creation of a pre-school will hopefully help achieve universal education in this area.  Participation by the local community is integral and the team will be working on achieving this helping everyone to achieve the basic human right of education and the right to play for the area of Siares. 

Alpha 9: Conte Burika - La Carona

Helena, Shane and Katharine

Objectives: Health Improvement Project, building a health post. This project hopes to improve the overall health of the community in treating conditions from respiratory issues to malnutrition.

Project Managers: Dr.Katharine, Shane and Helena

Project Partners: Conte Burika Community

Summary: Situated in the remote Burika Peninsula, this much needed medical centre will be built in Alto Rio Claro in Conte Burika Indigenous Territory. The Ngobe (or Guaymi) Indigenous people who live there currently, are subsistence farmers who maintain the cultural traditions of their ancestors and the project aims to improve the health of the community. Currently, visiting doctors (who walk 5 hours along a beach to reach the community) provide medical care for the local people at impromptu clinics based in the local school or community centre which makes providing adequate care very difficult. 

Alpha 10: La Arenilla, Miraflor, Nicaragua

Angie, Victoria and Sacha

Objectives: creating sustainable housing using natural materials which ensures the local community can repair their properties themselves.

Project Managers: Sacha, Angie and Victoria

Project Partners: El Foro Miraflor - agricultural cooperatives whose members farm on the Miraflor Nature Reserve.

Summary: The Miraflor Reserve is 206sqkms of beautiful mountainous terrain with various different ecosystems such as tropical savannah, dry tropical forest and mountain cloud forest. This project will be undertaking building of sustainable housing, using natural materials local to the area and in partnership with the local community builders. 

The Raleigh Project Framework: Ensuring Sustainability

Raleigh International are privileged to run projects throughout Costa Rica and Nicaragua; working alongside communities and local people in beautiful areas which are often incredibly remote. Ensuring sustainability is incredibly important for Raleigh and to achieve this, the charity work within a framework of objectives and outcomes specific to every project. 

Raleigh CR&N have worked in many communities, completing incredible projects which have benefited many people throughout the two countries. Volunteers will continuing this work during Expedition 13A, undertaking a number of projects including building a pre-school, a health post and helping create new trails in a national park. However the infrastructure or hardware is not the ultimate aim –the project framework ensures the best outcomes for every person the project touches.

Working closely with the community

When people think Raleigh they may well think digging, building or installing infrastructure but that is only one part of the story, there are additional activities and outcomes that Raleigh and the communities we work with hope to achieve. Here’s how we frame sustainable projects:

Peer to peer education: trying to support and mobilize the communities’ younger demographic for instance, engaging them in the project and helping to achieve the project aims which could include working with the communities’ youth groups.

Action Research: all of the communities want to understand the issues they are confronting better. With the information gathered by Raleigh’s project teams they’re better able to understand and achieve the best results. So if related to a water project, where are all the houses?  What is the situation we are facing with regards to water? How much water do we need? All these questions need to be thought about if the projects are going to be successful and enduring.

By undertaking baseline surveys, learning about the communities i.e. the population, the situation surrounding health and basic sanitation and their attitudes towards the environment we can begin to understand their main objectives and we can work with them more effectively. Alongside this there is community mapping: where do people live, what resources they have? Also research into the community’s history; what has happened in the past, what were their ancestors like, are certain practices actually traditions based on their heritage?

We are undertaking a preschool build in San Ramon, Searez, but how are children educated now in the community? Our project teams will be researching this and other issues

Through this information project teams are better informed to undertake a specific project and can maximize the returns with the community.

Awareness Raising: in terms of a water project, understanding that a healthy forest surrounding the water tanks is going to be to the benefit of the long-term sustainability of the water project. Activities like an ‘Action Day’ where all members of the community are included and promotion of reforestation would be explained. Lack of education and how that will impact their children moving forward, all groups during their project will do this.

Resource Development: manuals and instructions created by the project teams which explain exactly to manage the infrastructure, create a strategy for the year i.e. in these months you need to clean the tanks or when building inspections should occur on these dates. Or it will be a manual for the permanent Raleigh country staff so they know what issues may crop up and how to fix x, y and z.

Training: supporting communities and partners by helping them set up committees to ensure management of the projects so that once the Raleigh Teams have left the specific communities the project won’t fall apart. It is an important part of the work Raleigh do and ensuring the sustainability of it’s projects.

The infrastructure is important, but the framework ensures the best outcome for all

The issues Raleigh face with their project partners and communities they work with are complex and difficult to help solve, but by understanding and following this framework it goes some way to ensuring the sustainability of the projects Raleigh International undertake and hopefully benefitting every stakeholder.