An interview with Michael Radtke
WCCN member Michael Radtke is a schoolteacher on a Native American reservation in Northern Wisconsin. He has traveled to Nicaragua with WCCN on its last three study tours and shared his experiences from those tours in a recent interview with Development and Marketing Director Susan Frisbie.
SF: How were you first introduced to WCCN, and why did you decide to attend your first WCCN study tour?
MR: WCCN first came to my attention after coming across a newsletter quite by chance. The efforts of a local organization to make a difference in the lives of people in Nicaragua intrigued me. For the longest time, I had had an interest in the struggles of Central American peoples and nations. So WCCN provided the opportunity for me through its study tours to make a personal connection with people in Nicaragua. And learn firsthand about its history and beautiful landscape.
SF: Having traveled with WCCN on three study tours, what would you say were your most memorable experiences of the tours?
MR: The most memorable experiences of my tours have been meeting and listening to people who are striving to change their lives, families who are starting or building businesses with the help of microfinancing thanks to WCCN’s NICA Fund, and women empowering their lives through land entitlement and better access to health care and legal representation. Through the study tours, I’ve also had the opportunity to meet students who are discovering that possibilities exist for them to build their self-esteem and future independence through education beyond high school.
In addition to those experiences, I have fond memories of my interaction with fellow WCCN members and staff on the tours—traveling throughout the country together, sharing meals, and learning more simply by meeting and listening to others from diverse walks of life who share a common interest in the people and politics of Nicaragua.
Finally, experiencing the beautiful culture and landscape of Nicaragua is always a highlight—the music, cities, churches, food, forested highlands, volcanoes, and ocean beaches. The WCCN tours allow time for exploring Nicaragua’s many historical, architectural, and cultural sites.
SF: How has your impression of WCCN and its partner organization’s work changed after traveling on the study tours?
MR: I have been amazed at the extent of WCCN’s impact in so many different aspects of life in Nicaragua. The tours have given me the opportunity to see firsthand changes in the lives of women through the efforts of nongovernmental organizations and cooperatives supported by WCCN. The access women and their families have to counseling, health clinics, land ownership, small business opportunities, and education is improving through WCCN’s efforts.
It is gratifying to me as a member of WCCN to witness in the Nicaraguan people’s faces and hearts the evident pride that comes from owning their own plot of farmland or growing and developing a market for their own coffee. These are sustainable, self-empowering changes in people’s lives that will profoundly impact the lives of future generations in a positive way.
SF: How has what you have learned and experienced on the tours affected you personally?
MR: I have been moved on a personal level to contribute to the scholarship fund that WCCN has established for students in a small community of La Loma, in Malpaisillo. I have also been involved in supporting improvement in housing for families in Managua who are without basic sanitary units in their homes. Traveling in Nicaragua and listening to the people is humbling. I feel very blessed in my own life and privileged to share in their lives.
SF: What advice would you offer someone thinking of participating in a study tour?
MR: I encourage WCCN members who haven’t been on a study tour to “make the leap” and do whatever necessary to take eight days out of your daily routine to visit Nicaragua. It will change your life!