study tours

By Mary Ann Fahl
WCCN Study Tour Participant

Seven days. Seven days to learn about the people, their culture and history, and their needs and accomplishments. Is that possible? Yes, if you are part of a Wisconsin Coordinating Council on Nicaragua (WCCN) educational tour, organized by the Executive Director, Carlos Arenas.

In addition, one learns what WCCN and the NICA Fund are doing to improve the quality of life for industrious Nicaraguans. Microfinance has been discussed in previous editions of this newsletter. Once in the country, one can see more easily how it works to improve the economic life of poor, but motivated, people, both rural and urban. The concept is so much more impressive when one hears from the recipients of the small loans just how much it means to them.

For updates from a participant of the recent WCCN study tour, check out Marc's blog:

www.yachana.org/reports/wccn06

by Frances Smith, NICA Fund Investor

I belong to a group in Claremont, California that for several years has loaned money to Nicaragua through WCCN's NICA Fund. The NICA Fund makes loans to microfinance institutions, which in turn make microloans to small farmers, cooperatives, women's enterprises, and people making housing improvements. I went on this tour because I wanted to see how our money was being used. I came away fully satisfied that my money was going to "a good cause."

Finally I can pause and consolidate my reflections of this study tour! It´s my second time in Nicaragua, after participating last January while still a volunteer for WCCN. Now, even after working full-time for WCCN for the past nine months, the immersive study is no less eye-opening.

We decided to take this travel opportunity to obtain video footage for the production of a NICA Fund informational film. This has added to the logistical planning, and made for some long days, but it has also added an exciting element. Brian, the filmmaker, is more talented and professional than we realized, and he has proven to be more than a filmmaker, actively engaged in all facets of the study.

WCCN study tours of Nicaragua enable North American participants to learn firsthand about the history, politics, culture and social

Join WCCN on a study tour to Nicaragua, January 8-16, 2005

Improving Lives through Alternative Economic Projects:
Microcredit, Fair Trade, and Housing in Nicaragua

Join the Wisconsin Coordinating Council on Nicaragua (WCCN) for the opportunity to see firsthand, successful Nicaraguan organizations working to improve the lives of thousands of Nicaraguans through alternative economic projects. Since the defeat of the Sandinista Revolution in 1990, several Nicaraguan non-governmental organizations, some in partnership with solidarity organizations in the North, have been working hard to overcome economic inequalities in Nicaragua. Witness the work of organizations and social movements such as those providing microcredit to small urban and rural producers, cooperatives involved in the fair trade coffee movement, and organizations working in poor urban neighborhoods. We will visit some of the most dynamic and successful alternative economic projects in Nicaragua, which are helping little by little to improve the living conditions of many Nicaraguans.

Participants in this study tour will have the opportunity to talk with leaders of these organizations and with lay people who actively participate in or benefit from these projects. WCCN's study tours are built on twenty years of experience working in Nicaragua, and more than a decade supporting alternative credit organizations and fair trade cooperatives. This study tour will reflect WCCN's new areas of interest as well, such as housing rights issues.

Our next study tour to Nicaragua will be June 14-22, 2003.

WCCN study tours of Nicaragua enable North American participants to learn firsthand about the history, politics, culture and social issues in Nicaragua. The best way for people to experience Nicaragua is through personal interaction with Nicaraguans themselves. We structure our tours to allow dialogue with Nicaraguans from a variety of social sectors. After a tour ends, WCCN encourages participants to share their experiences with others through presentations, articles, and interviews in their communities. Study tours have also inspired a number of constructive and mutually beneficial relationships between the people of Nicaragua and the United States, including WCCN's two longest-running projects, the Nicaraguan Credit Alternatives Fund (NICA Fund) and the Women's Empowerment Project.