The Hiram College Travel-Abroad Course
INDT 380 "Children of the Dump - A Study in Overcoming Poverty Through Grass-Roots Entrepreneurship"

There is a city dump in Chinandega, Nicaragua, where Italian Missionary Father Marco Dessy found 800 children competing for scraps of food with dogs and scavenging birds. With the assistance of local businesses and generous individuals, Father Dessy built a school and immediately enrolled 90 children from the dump. The school provides each child with one meal per day if they attend classes.    
   Father Dessy recruited outside assistance and soon his "children of the dump" school was enlarged. Now over 1700 children wearing blue and white uniforms attend the school and receive nourishing meals.

     Land was then located where a village could be built - one house at a time - slowly moving each family from their slum into respectable housing on 1/3 acre plots. Building materials were donated and construction volunteers trained the families to build their own houses with vegetable gardens, fruit trees, and a chicken coop to house a donated rooster and ten egg-laying hens. These micro farms, planted next to each house, provided both food and income for each family.
  This new village named Santa Matilde, has become self-supporting in only three years after teaching vocational skills (sewing, metal working, woodworking) to the villagers at the Betania Trade School.

Creating a Micro-Business Economy        
   There are still children living in the dump! Two new villages are being  constructed to help combat this problem: San Pablo, an agricultural area, and El Menco, a fishing community near the Great Lake of Nicaragua.
   Students going on this trip will work with the leaders and villagers of San Pablo (now named Rotary Village) and El Menco setting the groundwork for viable community businesses. Such undertakings will involve a micro bank, exploring various markets for their crafts and other products, and exploring new business endeavors. Classes in English, Spanish, and basic economics will also be offered by Hiram students for the villagers and their children.

Relationships and Cultural Sensitivity       
   The Biomedical Humanities component of the course will help students understand and respect the very different culture they are visiting, the diversity of its history, ethnicity, religious beliefs, and socio-economic standing. Using Nicaraguan stories and dramas, students will learn the cultural norms and will be able to use this literature when they help teach English in the school.
   Biomedical humanities case work will also examine how health care resources are distributed in Nicaragua and what steps might be taken to improve the people’s health.
   Women’s roles have evolved in these villages with an emphasis on business. The women, for example, have been given the titles to the houses, not the men, and they are also very involved in managing the community micro banks.
   The cultural roles of women, men, and children have also evolved differently in the fishing village compared to the agricultural village and will be studied during the trip.

Goals for the Course
*  Help students understand the causes for and solutions to poverty/ethical responsibility.
*  Help students understand living and working with people of a different culture.
*  Engage students in entrepreneurial efforts of indigenous people.
*  Study how an individual’s role will vary in families from different evolving cultures.
*  Draw on the student’s concern for others by developing a sense of service and community.

      Estimated Costs: $1800 - $2000 Includes all transportation expenses (air and ground), accommodations, guides, and meals.  Side trips, personal expenses, passport fees, and independent travel are not included.

The deadline for the nonrefundable $60 fee and trip application is March 16, 2007