Mauricio was born in Mana-gua in 1954. He attended prima-ry and secondary school in the city, but at 16 he had to leave school and start working full time - first in automobile maintenance and later in maintenance of industrial equip-ment at a maquiladora. He came to Sí a la Vida in its early days as a maintenance and construction worker. He was promoted very quickly to the position of educador for the kids, since he showed a genuine kindness toward them from the very start and an ability to work with them. He was good at help-ing the kids with their school work, sharing in their games, and telling them stories. He was also able to maintain discipline in a positive and constructive way. Now, 20 years later, he is still at the project in Managua,

doing all of the above and more. He is responsible for physical maintenance of the facility and of the vehicle, and driving the vehicle on family visits, etc. He also teaches the kids how to make pulseras, and is in charge of buying pulseras from the kids and from the reintegrados (graduates) who come to the project once a month for a day of reunion and support. And he still spends three nights a week at the project as a night guard. As a member of the staff at Sí a la Vida, he has attended trainings on how to help kids with substance abuse problems and how to resolve conflicts in non-violent ways. Mauricio lives with his wife, Jazmina Gutiérrez, and daugh-ter Yanelski. Thank-you, Mauricio for all that you do!

The Story of David Gonzalez

Volunteer at Sí a la Vida - See Page 2 for details!

Amigos de Sí a la Vida P. O. Box 30191

Seattle, WA 98103-0191

Return Service Requested

Fall 2016 News from the Nicaragua Children’s Project

NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE PAID SEATTLE, WASHINGTON Permit No. 863

Mauricio teaching Sí a la Vida kids how to make pulseras.

Many times over the past we have asked him to leave the program for the day be-cause he was overwhelmed by the environment and re-sorted to picking fights or being verbally inappropriate. He has struggled to stay on task, and to empathize and work with others. Several months ago, we changed our approach with him. After discussions with his mother, we decided that David is welcome to come to the project three of the five days each week. De-pending on his behavior and attitude, he can increase his participation. During those three days, we spend a lot of one-on-one time with him, listening to his concerns and affirming him as much as possible. We work hard to instill some of our core val-ues: respect, empathy, a positive attitude toward learning, and a sense of community. We also have involved his mother who is now attending counseling sessions with our psycholo-gist. Happily, there have been big changes (cont. page 2)

David is a 10-year-old who has participated at Sí a la Vida on Ometepe Island for the past year. He lives with his mother and 3-year-old sister in two tiny rooms, one for the beds and one for cooking and eating. With such cramped quarters, the family spends much of the time out of the house. David was principally raised by his grandmother until she died when he was 6 years old. Her loss affect-ed him deeply. His mother works from 7 am to 8 pm, six days a week. Although there is a person employed to care for David and his sister, he spends a lot of time in the street when not at school or at Casa Sí a la Vida. David’s mother asked for him to be involved with Sí a la Vida. She was, in part, looking for day care, but her biggest concern was his be-havior. David has had a dif-ficult time at school. He is bright, but has a negative

Staff Corner: José Mauricio Ocampo David with Sí a la Vida psychologist, Melein Blandon

view of himself and the peo-ple around him. This makes it difficult for him to follow instructions, socialize with others, and be successful at school. He is often rude and abusive toward his peers and defiant toward adults. As a result, he is often isolated and alone. The adults in his life have shown little interest in him, and he has had few healthy relationships. He does have a gentle and generous side which sur-faces when he feels safe and unpressured by expectations and negative peer interac-tions. Recently at an event at Sí a la Vida he volun-teered his boom box and proudly ran the music.

Bryan Estiven Guzmán is a 7-year-old boy who attends our day program in Managua. He lives in a small house in a dan-gerous part of the Villa Austria neighborhood with four broth-ers, his mother, his grandmoth-er and an uncle. The adults are out of the house most of the day, since they work as street vendors, leaving Bryan unsu-pervised. When they are at home, there is frequent family violence. His mother is an alco-holic. The economic situation for this family is very precari-ous, and meals are irregular. Sí a la Vida has been able give Bryan some clothes, a pair of shoes and school materials. He also benefits from our healthy snack program since he often arrives at the project hun-gry. Bryan has shown little moti-vation at school and gets very poor grades. He gets no support or direction from his family in doing his schoolwork. He is already spending much of his free time on the streets, and the dangerous streets near his home

The Story of David Gonzalez (continued from page 1)

in David’s behavior. Now he often completes his tasks, whether they are art projects, school lessons or recreational activities. He still has days when he struggles to main-tain his equilibrium -- when that happens, he is sent home. He knows he is wel-come to come back the next day if he behaves appropri-ately. David hates being sent home, and blames his con-flicts and difficulties on oth-ers, but he always returns the next day. David is just one of the many children and adoles-cents we serve at Sí a la Vida. They are all “at risk” and

Bryan Estiven Guzmán: a Boy in Managua

United States Amigos de Sí a la Vida Rick Allstetter PO Box 30191 Seattle, WA 98103-0191 Tel. 206 329-0811 rick8x@yahoo.com

Australia Martin Reilly & Margaret Nixon 3 Alisa Court, North Balwyn Melbourne, Australia 3104 Tel. 859-4439 reinix@netspace.net.au

Canada Ometepe-Gulf Islands Friendship Association Janice & Brian Finnemore 2681 Fulford-Ganges Rd., Salt Spring Island, B.C. Canada V8K 1Z3 Tel. 250-653-4630

bjfinn@shaw.ca

Germany Siembra Futura Dortje Treiber Münstertalstrasse 34 Ettenheimmüster, Germany 77955 Tel. 49-7822-5464 info@siembrafutura.de

Nicaragua Sí a la Vida Apartado OR-16 Sucursal Oscar Robelo Managua 15, Nicaragua Managua center: Tel. 505-2-289-0998 Ometepe center: Tel. 505-2-569-4410

feelings. Some of these kids have never been asked how they feel about anything. Underlying all of our work at Sí a la Vida is the con-cept of “respect,” a value very important to our founder, Jona-than Roise. We believe that David Gonzalez is beginning to respect himself, and that is allowing him to start changing the direction of his life.

struggle with a variety of issues and traumas. Many suffer from neglect or abuse in their fami-lies. Others have been ignored by the school system, and passed from grade to grade without learning to read, write or do basic arithmetic. In addition to helping kids succeed at school, Sí a la Vida offers art and craft classes, English and Spanish lessons, martial arts and dance. We have recently started teaching the non-swimmers how to swim—very important for kids who live on an island in Lake Nicaragua. All of these activi-ties are aimed at building their self confidence, giving them useful skills and new ways to express their thoughts and

Sí a la Vida is seeking vol-unteers for its center on Ometepe Island, Nicaragua. Anyone with dedication and the ability to work well with chil-dren would be welcome. But two specific needs are: 1)Volunteers at our Casa in Altagracia with primary or sec-ondary teaching experience. Spanish language ability is re-quired. Minimum stay of two months. 2)Volunteers for our farm outside of Altagracia to do building maintenance, con-struction, and agricultural work. Minimum stay of two weeks. Volunteers stay on our farm just outside of Altagracia for $5.00 per night. Cooking facili-ties are available, or volunteers may wish to eat at the relative-ly inexpensive restaurants in town.

Volunteer at Sí a la Vida on Ometepe Island

Amigos de Sí a la Vida is seeking new board members in the Seattle area. We are the pri-mary support organization in the U.S. for Sí a la Vida. We raise funds, give counsel, and provide logistical support. We generally meet quarterly, (although some-times less often). Our meetings are held on Bainbridge Island, and transportation from the ferry is provided. The Board is a very congenial group. We work to-gether well to insure that Sí a la Vida continues its vital work in Nicaragua. If you are interested in volunteering in either loca-tion send an email to us at: amigossalv@gmail.com. Or you can call 206 329-0811 to speak to a board mem-ber of Amigos de Sí a la Vida in Seattle.

are full of drug traffic and violence. With the violence at home, it is not surprising that Bryan has behavior problems at Sí a la Vida. We are working with him to change these behaviors. We are also working hard to get him engaged with his school work. Just being at Sí a la Vida for a half day after school every day is important, as it keeps him away from the street cul-ture of his neighborhood. Some of our kids have par-ents who are involved with the project, attending parent meet-ings and participating in parent support groups. But, sadly, many kids like Bryan do not. Sí a la Vida offers these kids a “zone of safety” where they can work, play, and develop more healthy ways of interacting with others. By providing this safety, and helping them to do their homework and get to school every day, we strive to break the cycle of poverty and social dysfunction that have so dam-aged their parents’ lives.

Volunteer at Amigos de Sí a la Vida

Girls of Sí a la Vida at Work and Play

Please give generously to Sí a la Vida

so that we can continue our vital work with vulnerable children and adolescents in

Nicaragua.

Donate with the enclosed envelope or go to

www.asalv.org

Update from the Farm

The plantain plantation has entirely recovered from the fire that took place two years ago. We are getting bumper crops! We are also raising chickens and cows to sell. And we have plant-ed a variety of other fruit trees and vegetables. The goal of all this activity is to use the assets we have to make Sí a la Vida more self-sufficient. The farm can never provide enough in-come to finance the project, but each year it contributes more. _____________________________

Girls’ team gets ready for bag races

Girls doing homework

Not just for boys!

Girls learn confidence and skill through the practice of martial arts