Winds of Peace Foundation

Steve Sheppard | February 22, 2010

I know a fellow who has inherited a significant amount of money.  He’s one who has never had an abundance of the commodity, so I would expect that the relatively sudden change in finances is a happy occurrence that resolves a number of issues for him and his family for a long time to come.  But I received a message from him that gave me pause for reflection.  At the conclusion of his note he said, “People such as I have no business with that amount of wealth.  One of my Latin writers, Propertius, wrote the following familiar quotation: ‘Sollicitae tu causa, pecunia, vitae’ (You, money, are the cause of an anxious life.) This seems to be true whether one refers to an insufficiency of money or to a nemiety of it. I can’t seem to win.”  Not surprisingly, the availability of money is creating changes in the way that he now thinks about his life, his daily needs and his future. 

This might seem so obvious as to not even warrant comment; we surely all understand the positive impact that sudden access to capital would have upon anyone.  But we might question that certainty when it comes to funders bestowing capital- either in the form of grants or loans- on needful organizations which have had little experience with resources.   Are funders generating results?

The answers are far-ranging, of course, and depend upon the objectives being sought.  There are plenty of large, global organizations which have among their goals the placement of funds; first and foremost they need to distribute a targeted amount of funding during the year.  Next, there are increasing numbers of microlenders operating in Nicaragua and throughout the world who have evaluated these populations as underserved clients to be tapped.  And finally, there exist many small, family-type foundations which seek to perform as much good as is possible from a continent or more away.  They are all players in the global funding game, they all can point proudly to successes, and yet they each keep score differently.

Winds of Peace has experienced its own, ever-growing number of success stories in Nicaragua as we focus particularly on the plight of women, Indigenous people and the rural poor.  Readers here have become familiar with a number of them over the years and we celebrate those successes as affirmations of our methodology and analysis of Nicaraguan realities.  At the same time, our less-successful projects typically do not generate photographs and glowing descriptions of courage and perseverance in these essays.  We simply accept the fact that not every project will meet its objectives, that entrepreneurial risk does not always pay off, or that changed and unexpected circumstances arise which cannot always be foreseen.  But considering those experiences, as well as those generated by the funders mentioned above, suggests a larger, more responsible role to be played, one which goes beyond where most of us function today.

There is a science, a sociology, that is present in the communities we visit and it is a reality which is as much a part of the funding equation as dollars, interest rates and defaults.  Funders may balk immediately upon learning that a proposal is not backed by any collateral.  But are we as quickly halted at the prospect of unknown and unintended consequences?  Do we understand and integrate the sociology of the community and the funding activity as readily as we calculate the loan return?  Sometimes, money is not the first and most important need.  Sometimes, there are more immediate priorities that should supercede the cash.

As Winds of Peace continues its own philanthropic journey in Nicaragua, we continually try to assess whether we are doing all that we can with our partners, or not.  While we have always been an organization which seeks to both fund and accompany our partners, we also know that successful organizations (ours and those of our partners) embrace change and innovation.  As a result, Winds of Peace will be piloting a practice in working with cooperatives new to us.  The Foundation will seek to fund up-front, facilitated, internal assessments, SWOT analyses, as well as the training components resulting from such evaluations.  While the up-front activities will increase our costs of funding, they also can provide for greater success in all performance metrics, including the community-wide, real-life, sociological impacts.  The practice will incorporate our permanent presence in country, the talents of Nicaraguan trainers and educators, Foundation funding and continued focus on some of the most marginalized people in the country.

It’s an important enrichment of our current practices of accompaniment, and an initiative that I’ll comment upon from time to time as to progress.  In the meantime, let the notion feed your own thinking about “truly being with the poor….”

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Steve Sheppard | February 15, 2010

The Winds of Peace Foundation Advisory Committee met in the first weekend of February to consider 16 project proposals from Nicaragua.  This was a rich and diverse array of projects, some from existing partners and some from new sources.  Among the hopeful opportunities funded were grants to two of the communities hardest-hit by recent drought and resulting food shortages, two groups working very hard on gender issues within Nicaragua, an Indigenous community, a half-dozen rural cooperatives and a photo essay book being compiled by Paul Dix and Pam Fitzpatrick (see my reference in the  August 4, 2009 entry here).  Microlending continues to occupy a central role in the Foundation’s strategies, even in the face of eroding economic conditions, a “no-payer” movement, and relentlessly poor weather.  I suspect our session was the best work to come out of St. Olaf College (our meeting site) on Saturday!

This process of evaluation and accompaniment is central to the Foundation’s methodology and core beliefs about providing assistance to those in need.  Our presence- financially, physically and emotionally- with our partners is an important piece of what we bring to those with whom we work.  Thus, we’ll be identifying the dates for another Advisory Committee trip to Nicaragua later this year, perhaps to visit some of the very same organizations funded two weeks ago.  Watch for some additional notes and initiatives stemming from our recent meetings!

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Steve Sheppard | February 12, 2010

Old-fashioned, head-shaking astonishment just seemed to be the theme for my January travel to Winds of Peace partners.  After seeing the completion of the magnificent building by the Genesis Cooperative,  later in the week (reported in my previous entry here), I found myself north in Pantasma visiting our partners at the Buculmay Cooperative.  And the transformation there is no less than the miracle at Genesis.

  Visitors to this site will have read about the dubious beginnings of Buculmay (one of their earliest meetings in a hotel lobby, at right), how the Women’s Oversight Committee of the Indigenous people of Jinotega were illegally removed from their positions by unscrupulous leadership, how they stuck together to form their cooperative, how they were willing to receive training and, as a result, become funded for a pig-raising project, and how they have watched their own infrastructure and facilities grow.  How could such an evolution be measured to convey the journey they have been on?

We arrived in Pantasma at mid-morning.  Chairs were needed at the cooperative site so Mark drove the truck to haul the seats while I walked the half-mile or so with Julieta, President of the Cooperative, and Ligia, our consultant with the Indigenous communities. Now, I had visited the site just last August, so I knew the progress that they had been making on the buildings and the preparation for the animals.  Still, to see the facilities nearly complete and ready for production, and to hear the cooperative members report on their organization, strategies and preparedness was to encounter a moment of amazement for these resilient people.  They have literally come from nothing but their self-respect to a moment of potentially remarkable triumph.  The presence of their offices (right), signifies the organization and formality of their intent. 

The modern, expansive feeding and raising quarters (left) signify the significant scope of their endeavor, both the investment and the expectation of their husbandry, as well as the grant support that they have received as a result of their persistence and persona.  The sophistication and environmental considerations (right) that have gone into the development of their operation would impress any “green” activist.  And the future visions that they hold, including another facility for the birthing and nurturing of newborn animals speaks to their vision of a future that is prosperous and self-sustaining (below).  

No one owns a crystal ball to tell where this journey will lead nor whether all of the promise that has been generated will, in fact, come to pass.  The reality is that in Nicaragua, things are difficult for the rural poor and just when circumstances seem to invite progress, a natural or political storm breaks dreams apart.  But especially in light of that uncertainty, the courage and outlook of the people of Buculmay is as inspiring as any human attitudes I’ve encountered.  I feel great privilege in coming to know these heroes and for Winds of Peace to be involved with their journey. 

Somehow the words here are inept for conveying what has and is happening in this remote region of Nicaragua.  As in any written effort, success is only as good as the author and I fear my words are insufficient to describe the gentle determination of these individuals and the persevering group they have become.   All I can report is that I know there has been something universal, elemental at work within this cooperative; it is the power of believing, of faith, and of holding onto one another in the face of overwhelming odds.  It is the human spirit at work….

                                                     

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Steve Sheppard | February 4, 2010

The term “shock and awe” as I have come to know it over recent years has had to do with U.S. military might and the almost unbelievable precision and impact that human ingenuity can bring to warfare.  Yet I have recently returned from another visit to Nicaragua and, specifically, the Genesis Cooperative at Ciudad Sandino.  This is the spinning plant which has been in the making for several years now, its physical plant unfolding gradually as the women (primarily) members built this place of business from the ground up (see the photos on this site under Women’s Issues- Genesis Cooperative).  During my visit there two weeks ago, my first in several months, I experienced a brand new sense of shock and awe, and one that makes the military meaning of the phrase paling in comparison.  For what I encountered was, indeed, shock and awe nearly beyond description,  in this instance for an expression of human will, vision and achievement like few others I have ever experienced.

If you look at the early photos posted on the Winds of Peace site, you will get at least a sense of the scope this project has encompassed from the beginning , even if only in the physical facility that has been built.  The edifice is a marvel, an incomprehensible undertaking by women and men who possessed little in the way of construction know-how, almost nothing in materials, little money, and virtually no experience in the ways of creating a business or a building.  The ground was prepared by hand.  The post holes were dug by hand; the cement girders placed in those holes by hand. The cement was mixed by hand.  The steel rebar was twisted and formed by hand.  The cement flooring was mixed and laid by hand in four-foot sections.  Take a look at the building in this adjacent picture and envision what has gone into its creation, by hand. Knowing what was required of the inexperienced, unschooled participants makes its accomplishment even more remarkable. 

The impact of this project has been magnified in the face of economic and political times which have not reflected the best of human motives and aspirations; we have become numbed, in many ways, to the destructive outcomes of wars and greed and their legacies for the future.  But here, here is a tangible reminder of what the human will is capable of achieving in the best sense: a collaborative perseverance which exceeds even the imagination.  I have sufficient experience within Nicaragua to expect the unexpected from these rural teachers, but nothing quite like this.

The spinning cooperative is not functional yet.  The women await the arrival of the spinning equipment making its way from South America.  Their efforts are now on hold, as they are forced into patient waiting for the final pieces of this immense puzzle.  Even in the shadows of their magnificent building accomplishment, the women continually seek work to improve their future operation: on the day of my visit, several of the board members were busily excavating behind the building, preparing for the plumbing needs of their plant.  There is no pay for this, no compensations, no remunerations that they can take home for feeding the family.  Those resources have to come from their real jobs, when they can find such, undertaken during other parts of the days!

I have written about the women of Genesis Cooperative here before, and it won’t surprise me if I do again.  But there is nothing redundant about the spirit and resilience that drives them in ways that you and I can barely fathom.  Every day is a challenge against the odds and so who knows when cotton might be spun in this place.  But I I know this: the shock and awe that I have seen on the television screen each night over recent years is full of death and destruction.  The shock and awe of Genesis Cooperative is full of hope and help, dignity and drive.  They are not without their conflicts and “bad days,” but they represent the better part of who we all are.   Indeed, it is the type of shock and awe which we all need more of.

If you might have an interest in supporting these women in any way, please visit www.jhc-cdca.org, the organization that has helped these women come together. (Click under “worker-owned cooperatives” to see more about Genesis.)  It’s a chance to personally experience a healthy shock and awe….

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