San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua has enjoyed a “Sister City” relationship with Newton, MA for over twenty-five years, during which time the Newton/San Juan del Sur Sister City Project has financed the building or renovation of over twenty schools, and improved the health of communities surrounding San Juan bay by bringing simple, eco-friendly technologies to the families of San Juan.
Two recent projects are the installation of BioSand Filters for purifying contaminated well water, and EcoStoves, for cooking with wood without filling the home (and folks’ lungs) with smoke. The photos in the slideshow below showcase communities where one or both of these initiatives were underway in 2010/2011.
See our Spring 2013 Newsletter!
MORE NEWS FROM 2013: SEE OUR “RECENT NEWS“!
SPRING 2013: Our March 22nd “12 by 12″ art show and silent auction brought together many Sister City Project supporters, local artists, past travelers to SJDS, educators and friends, and raised much-needed funds for the Free High School for adults.
SUMMER 2012: We’ve completed our second “Green Preschool,” this time in the village of San Antonio de Baston. See a slideshow about the building project including the school plus the “Comedor” or lunch room, constructed using locally-sourced, sustainable materials.
Dozens of new pupitres ready for use
January 2011: The rural students of the Free High School and their teachers usually meet in elementary schools in the villages where we offer classes. This means that the chairs with arms (pupitres) are sized for children between the ages of six and thirteen, and too small for many of our adult students. Many chairs are old and falling apart. We needed new pupitres of the right size. Newton Highlands Congregational Church came through for us, purchasing over eighty in 2010.
Thanks to Rodney Barker, Lynn Scheller, Carol Carroll, and other members of the Mission Ministry: Marianne Talis, Heidi Frimanis, Carol Jensen, Marian Reynolds, and Lynne Sullivan.
The chairs are made in San Juan del Sur of certified wood that has been cut down according to ecological standards set by the Nicaraguan environmental agency. They were made in the workshop of Jose Ruiz, out of two hardwoods, laurel and roble.
