It's that time of the decade again -- the winter Olympic games debuted last Friday in Sochi, Russia. Although Ecuador, Nicaragua, and Guatemala will not be represented by winter athletes these 2014 games, citizens from all countries can reflect on the values for which the Olympics stand. The Olympic Truce was derived from the ancient Greek tradition of the ekecheiria in the eighth century BC "to encourage a peaceful environment and ensure safe passage, access and participation for athletes and relevant persons at the Games, thereby mobilizing the youth of the world to the cause of peace", explained the United Nations Organization of Sport for Development and Peace (UNOSDP). The UN Assembly has called on all member states to observe the Olympic Truce throughout the Sochi Winter Games.
Even if a country is not represented in the Winter Olympic Games this year, peace is an idea all countries can stand behind. In an effort to really promote international cooperation, as conflict has become a recurring theme in recent years in the international system, the International Olympic Committee aimed to make this a very memorable games, with input and support from many different countries.
The traditional torch relay, always an impressive feat, was the longest in history this year, both in distance and in time it took to complete. Carriers from 160 nations participated in the passing of the torch between October 7th and the Opening Ceremony. The torch even made its inaugural visit to the International Space Station! The tour took 123 days to complete, covering over 165,000 km. "I think the key phrase is international cooperation", responded astronaut Rick Mastracchio when asked about the significance of the torch making its way to the ISS. "Both the Olympics and the International Space Station are great examples of what folks can do when the countries get together and try to accomplish something", Mastracchio added.
The Winter Games are off to an impressive start, and although Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Ecuador will not be making an appearance these winter games, MPI is looking forward to cheering on Ecuador in the World Cup this coming summer.
The story of MPI's campus chapters.
Sunday, February 9, 2014
Thursday, January 30, 2014
Mannafit: a Vanderbilt Tradition
January may mean cold and snow for some, but for the MPI Vanderbilt chapter, it means the annual Mannafit event. There were over 300 attendees at this year's Mannafit to support all the MPI Vanderbilt chapter spring break groups that plan to spend their week off in March, supporting Manna Project and various other nonprofit organizations in Latin America. Vanderbilt has had a Manna chapter since the inception of the organization, and consistently sends a full group of spring break volunteers to each of Manna's three sites in Nicaragua, Ecuador, and Guatemala each March. On top of this, the Vanderbilt Chapter typically sends about 10 other groups of students to volunteer with like-minded organizations all over Latin America.
This year, 20 awesome items were auctioned off at Mannafit, such as Nashville Predators tickets and gift certificates to fabulous restaurants in Nashville, raising over $800 on the silent auction alone. We are super proud of our Vanderbilt Manna chapter and are so excited to see the excellent projects they complete during spring break!
To a smashing success! What an incredible tradition.
This year, 20 awesome items were auctioned off at Mannafit, such as Nashville Predators tickets and gift certificates to fabulous restaurants in Nashville, raising over $800 on the silent auction alone. We are super proud of our Vanderbilt Manna chapter and are so excited to see the excellent projects they complete during spring break!
To a smashing success! What an incredible tradition.
Thursday, January 23, 2014
Read of the Week: Youth Data Sheet 2013
This "Read of the Week" delivers staggering statistics to show development across the globe. Fertility and childbearing are a common indicator of development, as the risk of maternal death and disability is much higher for adolescents than for mothers in their 20's. In addition, early childbearing can also limit women's opportunities.
Unsurprisingly, Adolescent Fertility Rates (AFR) are much higher in developing countries than they are in developed countries. This indicator measures the number of births per 1,000 women ages 15-19 all over the world, and the difference between developed and developing countries is astonishing. Most developing countries were given a rate of nearly 100, whereas, most developed countries possessed an AFR of less than 20. We decided to see where Nicaragua and Ecuador faired on this scale, and both countries come in high, with Nicaragua at 104, and Ecuador coming in at 80.
For more interesting comparisons of youth from all reaches of the world, check out this very interesting article published by the Population Reference Bureau.
Unsurprisingly, Adolescent Fertility Rates (AFR) are much higher in developing countries than they are in developed countries. This indicator measures the number of births per 1,000 women ages 15-19 all over the world, and the difference between developed and developing countries is astonishing. Most developing countries were given a rate of nearly 100, whereas, most developed countries possessed an AFR of less than 20. We decided to see where Nicaragua and Ecuador faired on this scale, and both countries come in high, with Nicaragua at 104, and Ecuador coming in at 80.
For more interesting comparisons of youth from all reaches of the world, check out this very interesting article published by the Population Reference Bureau.
Friday, November 22, 2013
"Thrift Shop" by MannaUGA
Big Manna on Campus is BACK.
That’s right – Manna is incredibly excited to showcase our
chapters and the fabulous work they are doing, both here in the states and
abroad on site! We will be updating this blog with examples of chapter
awesomeness. If you host an event or your chapter volunteers for an amazing
local cause, send us the deets! We would love to turn the spotlight on you and
all you’re doing to make Manna all that it is!
Without further ado…here is what's happening in Athens, Georgia!
MannaUGA is off to a fantastic start this year. They are
sending FOUR trips to Manna sites abroad this March. UGA chapter members will
be spending their spring break at MPI sites in Nicaragua, Guatemala, and
Ecuador. They had so much interest, they are even sending an off site trip!
In addition to the wonderful international spring they’ve
got planned, MannaUGA has been busy right here in Georgia. The chapter recently
hosted an event on campus called the “Thrifting Extravaganza”. A local vintage
store donated clothing and accessories to the UGA chapter to aid it in raising
funds for their trips abroad. The event was a staggering success, raising funds
for the on-site projects the chapter has committed its spring break to
achieving. Its prime location on campus also spread the word about the work
MannaUGA is doing in Athens!
We are so excited for UGA to get to site this spring. We
also know that other chapters are busy spreading the word about Manna on their
university’s campus. We want to hear about it! Please email our US Coordinator,
Taylor Brown, at taylor.brown@mannaproject.org.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
MPI UGA Wraps Up for the Summer
As the school year comes to a close, our chapter activities are winding down for the year. In this post, MPI UGA President Ian Jones gives his closing remarks for the year:
Greetings from Athens!
As the MannaUGA chapter wraps up our year here, I wanted to take a minute to let everyone know what we’ve been up to. This year has been a fantastic success for MannaUGA; we’ve worked really hard on the local and global fronts to expand our impact and really get the Manna name out there on campus. Internationally, we doubled our spring break involvement from one SB trip of 10 last year to two SB trips this spring—10 students to Ecuador and 10 to Guatemala. We now have established relationships in the communities surrounding all three Manna sites, which we hope to continue developing over the coming years. We also doubled our number of summer volunteers from last year. Here in Athens, we have been working on building a foundation from which to expand our local work, strengthening our partnerships with our flagship programs with the Athens Area Homeless Shelter and the Oasis Católico Santa Rafaela community center. With these two relationships strong, were hopeful that next year will see further growth on the local front.
Personally, I’m sad to be ending my term as a leader with MannaUGA. I was brought on board in the spring of 2009 when the chapter was being chartered, and served as the Communications Director for the 2009-2010 year. This past year, I was selected as the Executive Director. I’ve been on SB trips to the Nicaragua and Guatemala sites, and was also a summer vol in Nica in the summer of 2010. Manna has been become a huge part of my college career and will always hold a special place in my heart. I’ve made great friends, been through lots of stress, and had some crazy fun adventures, but most importantly I can leave my post at MannaUGA confident that I’ve made a difference. Along with two years of wonderful MannaUGA Exec members, I’ve been able to build something from nothing—we’ve filled a vacuum in the volunteer culture here at UGA and created a vehicle in which students can think global and act local, where we can strengthen our own community while working to strengthen others. I think that’s a pretty amazing thing.
Of course, this isn’t goodbye for good. I have another year at UGA before graduation, during which I’ll be creeping all over Exec meetings and happily watching the next crop of MannaUGA leaders continuing to build Manna up past what any of us could have imagined when we got started. I’ll probable weasel my way onto yet another SB trip, and, who knows, maybe I’ll find myself working with Manna after graduation.
But until then—
Much, much Manna love,
Ian
MannaUGA Executive Director, 2010-2011
www.mannauga.org
As the MannaUGA chapter wraps up our year here, I wanted to take a minute to let everyone know what we’ve been up to. This year has been a fantastic success for MannaUGA; we’ve worked really hard on the local and global fronts to expand our impact and really get the Manna name out there on campus. Internationally, we doubled our spring break involvement from one SB trip of 10 last year to two SB trips this spring—10 students to Ecuador and 10 to Guatemala. We now have established relationships in the communities surrounding all three Manna sites, which we hope to continue developing over the coming years. We also doubled our number of summer volunteers from last year. Here in Athens, we have been working on building a foundation from which to expand our local work, strengthening our partnerships with our flagship programs with the Athens Area Homeless Shelter and the Oasis Católico Santa Rafaela community center. With these two relationships strong, were hopeful that next year will see further growth on the local front.
Personally, I’m sad to be ending my term as a leader with MannaUGA. I was brought on board in the spring of 2009 when the chapter was being chartered, and served as the Communications Director for the 2009-2010 year. This past year, I was selected as the Executive Director. I’ve been on SB trips to the Nicaragua and Guatemala sites, and was also a summer vol in Nica in the summer of 2010. Manna has been become a huge part of my college career and will always hold a special place in my heart. I’ve made great friends, been through lots of stress, and had some crazy fun adventures, but most importantly I can leave my post at MannaUGA confident that I’ve made a difference. Along with two years of wonderful MannaUGA Exec members, I’ve been able to build something from nothing—we’ve filled a vacuum in the volunteer culture here at UGA and created a vehicle in which students can think global and act local, where we can strengthen our own community while working to strengthen others. I think that’s a pretty amazing thing.
Of course, this isn’t goodbye for good. I have another year at UGA before graduation, during which I’ll be creeping all over Exec meetings and happily watching the next crop of MannaUGA leaders continuing to build Manna up past what any of us could have imagined when we got started. I’ll probable weasel my way onto yet another SB trip, and, who knows, maybe I’ll find myself working with Manna after graduation.
But until then—
Much, much Manna love,
Ian
MannaUGA Executive Director, 2010-2011
www.mannauga.org
Sounds like MPI UGA had quite an amazing year! We thank Ian and all of the other MPI UGA leaders and volunteers for all their hard work and dedication and wish them a great summer!
Monday, March 21, 2011
Time for a Celebration!
We all sincerely apologize for the delay in an update! We are just having entirely too much fun and haven’t had the down time.
You’ve read about the painting and the arranging, the teaching and the playing, but today our experience came to full fruition.
We began our day back at Central, this time experiencing the 3rd grade and 6th grade classes. I was particularly impressed with some of the 3rd graders knowing their numbers in English. A nice girl named Lillian attempted to teach me how to make the throaty sound in Kaqchikel. With no time to play with our new friends at recess, we rushed up to Cooperativa for the opening ceremony of the new biblioteca we finished Tuesday.
The kids were ecstatic when we arrive. The picture frenzy and endless question began once again. The girls were definitely enjoying the “fotos locos” I asked them to take with me. It’s amazing to me how kids everywhere are so similar. The girls still pose the same way and the giggles sounds exactly the same. Boys, too; they would run up to poke a gringa then run away laughing as one of them took pictures on his camera phone…serious, a camera phone.
Our whole group was called up to the stage to begin the ceremony.
WOW.
We all were talking about how difficult it would be to describe the experience, but here’s to my attempt.
From the little Spanish I know, the director of the school made a touching speech of thanks about how invaluable our work had been for them. It was muy emocionada to hear how much they appreciated the project. Next was a series of dances by a lot of the kids. Some traditional, and some…not so much. There were two groups who performed HIP HOP dances in our honor. Snoopdog pumped some jams for their fly moves. I do believe break dancing occurred…
When the director Celso took the stage once again we though it was over. But he announced that the parents had gifts for us. Each of us was given a woven scarf made by the women of the families. It was the parents who bestowed this gift on us individually. I received mine from a woman who was absolutely beaming and once again expressed her thanks. This act of generosity was only countered by the meal of chicken, soup, and tomales they made for our lunch.
The PD’s later explained that everything about that ceremony was not usual. The dancing, the gift, and the meal of meat are all incredible honors. Every aspect of the ceremony evoked indescribable emotions and we are all so grateful.
Chaquiyja is not to be pitied or looked down upon as ‘undeveloped’. They are a community of kindness, selflessness, and hope. Someone in our group put it best when they said, “Things don’t make you happy, so we shouldn’t just be trying to give them things.” To be honest, I didn’t even think about how I was doing them a service. They needed a library and we were here to make it happen. But what they have given us is perspective. The genuine benevolence of the community at Chaquiyja is overwhelming.
With tears in our eyes, we all agreed that there couldn’t have been a better way to say goodbye to Chaquiyja and Cooperativa.
We finished our day relaxing and shopping in Pana and danced the night away. Half way through the week and we can’t imagine leaving this beautiful place.
Talks, Trucks, and Tortillas
Greetings from Hotamala! (Don’t worry; I really know it’s Guatemala..)
Today was a chill, relaxing day. I woke up to a sunny day and a beautiful view of Lake Atitlan. I am still amazed at how beautiful it is here. We enjoyed a delicious fresh fruit for breakfast. The peaches were my favorite, even though they look so different (here they are a dark, purplish color).
While we waited on two ladies to give us a tortilla-making lesson, I sunned out back with the rest of the group. It was great just basking there, chatting, and attempting to read my boring book for international affairs, A Nation of Enemies. It’s great that even though I’m on a service trip, I can still get some sun on spring break J Formal is next weekend..
While making our tortillas, we came up with a brilliant idea: we are going to start a new tortilla business venture in Athens and sell them on the street! Everyone will help make the corn tortillas except for Jessie; she will tend to the financial aspects of our business, since she dropped 4 or 5 tortillas on the ground!
We spent our afternoon in Pana; the ride down was quite exhilarating and almost like a roller coaster ride: we rode in the back of pickup truck that zoomed down the mountain towards the lake. The view was amazing! Pana was quite different from Sololá, where we have been for the past few days. It’s much more touristy and liberal but still fun, of course. There were more gringos than us, quite a few hippies actually. I bought a few souvenirs at the market, which I will refrain from describing considering who might be reading this blog..
We had an interesting discussion at a bar about sustainability and development in Guatemala. I enjoyed that I could contribute to the conversation after taking some international affairs classes. It still amazes me how happy and positive people here seem even after the war that only ended 15 years ago.
Now I am freshly showered (the warm water worked finally!) and we are about to play Catch Phrase. I can’t wait for what the rest of the trip brings!
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