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in Rhinebeck. |
Dr Espinoza and her friends up north...
Teresa Espinoza was a teenager during the 1970 revolution against Somoza. The daughter of a farmer, she had little hope of becoming a doctor until the Sandinistas opened the doors of the universities to the poor. Eventually she became head of the clinic in her hometown, Larreynaga, Nicaragua.
Dr. Espinoza has friends in the Hudson Valley. They bring her village medicines because many families cannot afford to buy it for their children. She has even come north once to visit these friends, staying in their houses and visiting their hospitals. Dr. Espinoza is part of a special relationship which uses friendship and mutual respect to erase the barriers of language and cultural differences. She is part of the Bard/Mid-Hudson Larreynaga Sister City Project.
Larreynaga, frontier town...
Set six miles back from a paved road, Larreynaga looks much like the set from an old western movie, with horses and oxen pulling wooden wheeled carts. There are no cars on the dusty streets and only two telephones that link this community of 2,000 people to the outside world. There are cattle on the flat plains that surround the town, and a perfectly shaped volcano in the distance.
North Americans a familiar sight...
Since June, 1988, many delegations have traveled from the Hudson Valley to Larreynaga, including college students, teachers, school administrators, engineers, business people and senior citizens. Each trip has resulted in new friendships and insights into the complexities of our relationship. We have delivered thousands of dollars worth of medicines, school supplies, sports equipment, and even a pickup truck that served for a time as the town's only ambulance.
Common hopes for the future...
Larreynaga desperately needs jobs, decent housing, an affordable health care system, and better schools. Abject poverty and an inequitable distribution of wealth have led to continued social unrest. In many ways, Larreynaga's problems are a reflection of our own, of our inner cities and of our permanent underclass. Working for change in Nicaragua helps us define the changes we need in our own society. Our common needs and hopes are the foundation for our solidarity.
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their new backpacks. |
Receive a strong and brotherly hug from your brothers and sisters in Larreynaga who always remember you well.
It was with much pleasure that we received in our humble town the two ambassadors of the project, Beth and Stephanie. It was a proud time for us to have had them here living among us and our children. We are very happy for the help that they brought for our children, the fifteen scholarships and backpacks will be a great benefit, and we are sure that our children will profit increasingly by the help they have received.
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Friends, we hope that you won't forget us, and that you will always make efforts to help us come out ahead. We have included a list of materials that the teachers need in their daily work. Here, as well, we make a request for money to expand the new library project that benefits elementary and secondary school children as well as all the youth and adults in our community.
Brothers and sisters, Many greetings and hugs from all of us.
Sister City Committee
Larreynaga, Nicaragua
