Steve Sheppard | Winds of Peace Foundation

Empty Hands

By Steve Sheppard, on May 18th, 2013

I take the opportunity to read many things about Nicaragua. Some are by Nicaraguans, opining about life in that country. Others are by North Americans who have traveled to the country and been moved to offer written reflections about their experiences. The following is a portion of a thoughtful and moving piece written by Harvard Divinity School scholar Desiree Bernard upon a meeting she had with Father Fernando Cardenal, the Jesuit priest whose commitment to the poor in Nicaragua has been unwavering over the course of his long service there. I thank Ms. Bernard for her reflection which appeared in the –> Read More

Teaching and Learning, 101

By Steve Sheppard, on May 12th, 2013

For the past year and a half, Winds of Peace has engaged in some creative thinking about education. Not only education in Nicaragua, where we have funded a number of initiatives to both train teachers and help kids stay in school, but also in the U.S., where the education task takes on a much different form and function in creating awareness of Nicaraguan realities. There have been a number of components that we have dreamed about over these months and the ideas are exciting to play with, because they each hold promise of an impact. And the entire topic of –> Read More

Feeding the Wolves

By Steve Sheppard, on April 12th, 2013

I have a long-established interest in Indigenous people and their traditions, in cultures around the world. I’m not sure why; maybe for me such people represent humanity from some of its earliest manifestations, at a time when we were all a lot less “developed,” sophisticated, savvy. That interest is one of the factors which years ago drew me to Winds of Peace, an organization which had identified Indigenous people as one of its priorities. The history and circumstances of the North American Indigenous people, in particular, has resonated with me since I was a young boy. Recently I came across –> Read More

Good Friday?

By Steve Sheppard, on March 29th, 2013

As a day of great significance for the Christian faith, Good Friday has always been a day of reflection for me, whether such musings have been entirely religious or not. I have used a portion of every Good Friday since I can remember to contemplate life, the world, my place in it and whether I think I’m “measuring up” or not. I confess that the nearly universal conclusion I reach is “Not,” and then I spend the rest of my day wondering what to do about that state of affairs. (Apparently, not enough, since my answer tends to be the –> Read More

This post is also available in: Spanish

All Jazzed Up

By Steve Sheppard, on March 22nd, 2013

The task of survival among small, rural cooperatives in Nicaragua is not an easy one. Any success beyond subsistence requires an uncommon blend of resources, technical help, favorable weather, sufficient labor and knowledge of the land, agriculture, organizational strengthening, marketing, logistics, reinvestment, strategic planning and community development. In short, a producer must cultivate not only a crop, but also his/her ability to see things whole. Within the second-poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, it’s especially daunting, and recognition for any success that might be encountered along the way is so infrequent as to be non-existent.

So when one of –> Read More

This post is also available in: Spanish

The “Piece” Prize Forum

By Steve Sheppard, on March 15th, 2013

I attended the Nobel Peace Prize Forum during this past weekend. It was the 25th annual gathering of Nobel laureates and an eclectic mix of others who have activist interests in the pursuit of a more just and peaceable world. The Forum has now grown to an attendance of approximately 6,000 at the Minneapolis site, with perhaps thousands more connected by Internet livestreaming technologies that linked up with more than 20 countries around the world.

The theme of this year’s gathering was ‘The Power of Ideas: People and Peace,” and there is no question that the big ideas represented by –> Read More

This post is also available in: Spanish

The Power and the Weakness of One

By Steve Sheppard, on March 9th, 2013

One of the headlines in the news this week was the death of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Although he died at a relatively young age, Chavez has seemed to be in the news headlines forever, sometimes for his outrageous statements, sometimes for his larger-than-life persona, sometimes for his disparagement of United States policies abroad, and often for his utter disdain for Western-style capitalism. He demonized Western leaders, befriended outcast, “rogue” governments around the world and consolidated his power in Venezuelan politics until he controlled it almost single-handedly. Indeed, there were few agencies of Venezuelan government which did not feel –> Read More

This post is also available in: Spanish

The Boy On A Bus

By Steve Sheppard, on March 3rd, 2013

Nicaragua is a country full of wonders for travelers. The natural beauty is never-ending, no matter how many times one might have the pleasure of taking it in. The history is both enchanting and haunting; it is a past of great cultural beauty, spirituality and perseverance. But the real asset of the country is its people, of course, and I feel remarkably blessed in having opportunities to come to know many Nicaraguans. I wish that I could know more of them. Especially the kids. As an adoptive parent myself, I have little difficulty envisioning any of the beautiful Nicaraguan children –> Read More

This post is also available in: Spanish

Paying the Debt

By Steve Sheppard, on February 20th, 2013

Last month’s visit with partners in Nicaragua included some sobering visits with small coffee producers who are struggling with the after-effects of “coffee rust,” as described here in my previous entry, “Faces of Loss.” This crippling plant disease, along with other afflictions which can occur once the coffee plant is weakened, is taking an enormous toll on the yields of these farmers and threatening their livelihoods. There is truth to the fear that this year’s impact from the disease is more intense than in past years, and that some producers may not survive the onslaught.

An initial inclination might be –> Read More