ANNUAL PGL WORKSHOP:
SATURDAY, JUNE 7, 9 AM 3 PM
Join us for the Annual Workshop, to be held on Saturday, June 7, 2008 in the Lyceum, on
the third Floor of Pennsylvania Hall, at Gettysburg College from 9:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m.
A catered lunch is included.
Felice Chay, PGL Coordinator in León, will be present at the
retreat and for the week following. The retreat is being prepared by a committee consisting of Bruce
Bigelow, Barbara Benton and Gretchen Natter. The retreat will include a detailed analysis
of PGL's present budget followed by discussion to clarify organizational priorities.
Discussions will then turn to bringing the budget in line with those priorities for the
coming three years. Please RSVP to Gretchen (gnatter@gettysburg.edu/717.337.6490).
REGISTER NOW FOR THE AUGUST DELEGATION TO LEÓN!
Registrations are now being accepted for the August
Community Delegation to León which will run from August 1
to 9, 2008. The trip is planned to provide an introduction to
contemporary Nicaraguan realities, first hand observation
of PGL projects, and investigation of the educational
structure of Nicaragua (It is anticipated that a number of
Gettysburg school people will be part of the delegation.)
There will be home stays in León, participation in the art
lessons of Taller Artistico Xuchialt, a visit to the coffee cooperative El Porvenir, and also a
visit to the mountain community of Santa Rosa, where PGL has long€standing projects.
There will also be plenty of time for recreation and sight€seeing including a visit to Las
Penitas on the Pacific Coast, a tour of Juan Venado Island and of the natural reserve
Montibelli, and the old market at Masaya. The cost will be between $1200 and $1300 and
the trip will be led by Karl Mattson.
Deadline for registration is June 2. For more
information or to register, call Karl Mattson at 717.334.4445 or Madeline Yates at
717.338.0124
PGL ELECTS NEW OFFICERS
At the regular monthly meeting on May 4, the membership of PGL elected new officers.- President: Istvan Urcuyo
- Vice-President: Gretchen Natter
- Treasurer: Bruce Bigelow
- Secretary: Julie Ramsey
The contributions of the retiring officers, David Crowner, president and Barbara Benton,
secretary, will be acknowledged at the June workshop.
PGL'S FIRST PERMANENT DELEGATION COORDINATOR:
OFELIA ARTEAGA
Ofelia Arteaga began working in mid-April coordinating PGL's
intercultural exchange programs. The position is half-time.
Ofelia grew up in Managua and received her B.A. in Ecology from
the University of Nicaragua. Her thesis was an inventory of
birdlife in Estuary Padre Ramos.
She and her husband founded a
non-governmental organization which provides university
students with scholarships to do research in protected areas and
supports foreign delegations to these areas.
Her husband's name is Olin Cohan, and they have
a one year old daughter named Kenna.
Ofelia will facilitate PGL's delegations to and from Nicaragua and provide support for
the Sister Schools Program. She will develop new opportunities and new host communities for
future delegations, as well as help to develop an Internship/Volunteer Program for PGL.
PROJECT NEWS
TALLER ARTISTICO XUCHIALT (TAX)
On April 20 TAX,
together with other dance groups from Leon and Matagalpa,
performed a dance presentation at an indigenous festival in
Sultiava. Also in April the executive committee of TAX, together
with the PGL Coordinator, Felice Chay, held another in a series of
marketing workshops to develop new business ideas.
EL PORVENIR
Community members of the El Porvenir Cooperative
have spent the last three weeks digging the trench (above) for the pipeline for
the water project. (PGL has pledged $15,000 to this project.) Only a
few technical issues remain to be resolved before the waterline can be
installed. It appears that the maintenance staff of Jubilee House will
supervise the installation of the pipes. It is also anticipated that an
engineer from Bucknell University will be on site for the testing of the
pump and the system.
NEWS FROM NICARAGUA:
NINE FREE TRADE FACTORIES CLOSE
Currently there are 112 factories owned by multinational companies operating in Nicaragua's
Free Trade Zones, most of which produce garments and accessories which are exported to the
US. Recently it was announced by President Ortega that nine Taiwanese companies are
leaving for economic reasons. Ortega said the companies will build new factories in countries
like China and Vietnam where wages are lower.
This page was last updated in May 19,, 2008.
