Preface and Acknowledgements From April 19th, 2017 to July 19th, 2017, I had the privilege and pleasure of joining a team of dedicated leaders and students from Simon Fraser University’s International Relations department to Nicaragua. The goal of this internship was to formulate a youth education program that targeted vulnerable young people. Under the direction of Dr. Changla Vettan, Director of International Relations, myself and a team of 8 other students worked within the city of Leon and surrounding areas. The three months we spent in Nicaragua were immensely eye-opening in terms of exposure to real crises that the vast majority of Nicaraguans face daily. Many experience yearly encounters with flooding, hurricanes, or drought. In addition, many youth are under-educated and at risk of being enticed into gangs or extreme political groups. It was our mission to set up day camps for the purpose of educating students on how to proactively support and engage with their communities in positive ways and become leaders of tomorrow. This experience was equally enriching for myself and the other students of the International Relations cohort as I hope it was for the students with whom we interacted. I specifically would like to acknowledge and extend my sincere thanks for Dr. Vettan and the other supervisors who participated in this internship; I am profoundly changed and motivated to further my studies and career in the hopes that I might one day dedicate my efforts in a long-term capacity to help individuals such as those we engaged with in Nicaragua. Table of Contents 1. Preface and Acknowledgements……………………………………...…………………….…..1 2. Narrative of Internship: Nicaragua…….……………………………………………...…….…..3 3. Self-Judgment……………………………………………………………………...……….…..5-7 4. Judgment of Supervisory Bodies………………………………………………...……………...8 1. SFU DIR Supervisors…………………………………………………………….………....8 2. Change the Subject……………………………………………………………….………...8 5. Conclusion……………………………………………….………………………………………....9 Narrative of Internship: Nicaragua Prior to departure to Nicaragua on April 19th, 2017, those of us who were accepted to do this internship were connected, by Dr. Vettan, with a local humanitarian organization called Change the Subject. In partnership with Change the Subject, the university internship team aimed to spearhead and execute weekly educational programs for youth at risk in the vicinity of Leon. At this time, many under-educated or impoverished youth are being enticed into violent actions against government, and in more rare cases some youth are being enticed into pro-government demonstrations. It is clear that there is a long-standing history in Nicaragua of faction fighting and political instability; this complex situation is obviously beyond the scope of one internship. However, under exceptional supervision, the cohort articulated a clear objective prior to departure that we believed to be manageable. Within the cohort that traveled to Nicaragua, each member took on a specific role. In my role, and under the direction of Dr. Vettan, I constructed curriculum of a compressed format that would be used for each week of our program in attempting to draw at-risk youth out of their potential endangering environments and into more constructive, pro-community action. The curriculum I developed was further supervised by Change the Subject coordinators who had unique tips on implementation for the demographic we would encounter. Many youth with whom we would interact do not have a high level of education— many youth in Nicaragua between the ages of 12 and 17 only have up to a grade 3 level. After the age of about 8, many children are needed by parents for basic care of the younger children, and the home, in order to free up parents to work, usually for meagre pay. Thus, many youth are left tending to younger siblings, and are often engaged by older teenagers or young adults who promise empowerment in various forms. Many of these factions advocate violence against the government, alternate gangs, or anarchism generally. Once we landed in Managua, and travelled to Leon, we met and worked closely with Change the Subject. For one week, I worked in an office setting in order to clarify and refine the curriculum to be used during community programs; each member also attempted to gather local knowledge of the political and social environment during the first week of the internship. Each of us agreed that this week was pivotal in enabling us in our ability as outsiders to interact meaningfully with the youth we came into contact with in the weeks following. I would estimate, however, that it would be many months or years of immersion before a student such as myself would feel confident in articulating the many perspectives and political opinions present in Nicaragua at this time. Self-Judgment The opportunity to perform in an internship of this magnitude, internationally, was initially quite daunting. I had never travelled outside of Canada prior to this trip, though I’ve always hoped to work overseas in some humanitarian capacity. I was thrilled and nervous to step onto the tarmac in Managua, and be greeted by the very friendly staff from Change the Subject. From the start of the internship I knew my individual objective: to develop a weekly curriculum that would take participating youth, who were susceptible to hostile political groups and gangs, to a place of confidence in their abilities to proactively change their family and community life positively. I was not responsible for the execution of the material, but supervised and adjusted the curriculum accordingly once the programming commenced. Thus, I set out to formulate a 4-day program, each day addressing a particular issue the students face on a daily basis, and proposing concrete actions they can take to improve their chances of a hopeful future. One obvious barrier I faced right away was the language and cultural barrier. While this was not a surprising difficulty, I nevertheless felt burdened to break through those barriers with my curriculum. Not being a Spanish speaker, my curriculum was also at the mercy of translation, which was beyond my capabilities to judge. Thankfully, on our team was a language supervisor, Dr. Smith, who was proficient in English and Spanish, and who aided my efforts through affirmation and careful guidance of those in charge of translation. The first day of the program I titled “Talks”. The initial exercise the first day aimed at opening up and teaching constructive forms of dialogue between students. We circulated amongst small groups of youth to oversee and prompt them in developing positive open-ended sentences and lines of questioning. The goal of this day was to instill a sense of confidence within the individual, but also a sense of respect for others in the conversation. Opinions and beliefs regarding common topics were diverse, and the desired hope with this session was to demonstrate the very useful tool of healthy, respectful conversation about various topics: social, cultural, and political. The end of this day I designed an exit questionnaire for feedback, and to prompt self-reflection of the individual’s role in a structured (and hopefully constructive) dialogue situation. Day two of the program I titled “Happy, Healthy, Home”. The day was separated into the three categories indicated by the title. The first category “Happy” centered around a more holistic approach to defining happiness as a group. Those leading the session quickly determined prompts as necessary. That is, they decided to encourage particular lines of thinking that centered not around “me” thinking, but around “we” thinking. Community in Nicaragua is, in theory, quite strong, and our goal was to reassert positive connections and a sense of dedication between the youth and their broader communities. The second category followed: “Healthy.” As poverty is prevalent in Nicaragua, youth are often subjected to poor diets. Our educational goal was to set them up with a simple but clear understanding of how they could integrate healthy dietary choices in their lives; also, the program encouraged discussion on healthy living as it relates to a larger community. Ideas circulated and were developed to promote healthy lifestyles. These included multi-generational gatherings; organized sports events to bring families together and promote celebration; templates for how to create weekly eating schedules and simple (and inexpensive) cooking ideas. The final category was “Home.” This session was two-fold: it aimed to generate positive thinking about creating safe havens via the home — a place apart from social pressure to join outside groups— and to teach youth about cleanliness as a method of preventative health measures. Family is highly valued in Nicaragua, and the session merely reasserted conscious protection of family life within the context of home. Day 3 was titled “Beyond Youth,” and the sessions on this day were designed to push the youth to formulate plans/dreams/goals. I designed a workshop on assisting each youth to identify their personal strengths and weaknesses, and then each person spend intensive one-on-one time with a Change the Subject staff member to brainstorm goals for career and roles within the community. This was perhaps the most thrilling day, to see almost every individual come up, and plan to tackle real-life goals, with the hope of a future not steeped within an endangering paradigm. The final day, titled “Going Forward,” was a conclusion in a sense. There was a session on reviewing and reasserting self-discovery. The final session, however, was important also. The end of the day presented the students with concrete ideas for how to confront and safely reject offers by gangs or other hostile groups to join their cause. I believe the education could have a powerful impact on those youth who have determined to participate and implement the suggestions offered and developed in the program. It was a highly rewarding task that I was privileged to help create and institute. Judgment of Supervisory Bodies SFU DIR Supervisors My experience working under the SFU International Relations faculty has always been a privilege. I have always had an interest in and deep respect for the work performed under the umbrella of International Relations organizations; consequently, I have a desire to become a colleague and member of this important international body. Most individuals in this field have altruistic goals, are humble, and compassionate towards those with whom they seek to engage. Dr. Vettan was, and continues to be, a profound influence in guidance throughout my internship and the months since. She is committed to empowering students such as myself, while at the same time offering sound advice and assistance whenever needed. She was organized, tactful in resolving discrepancies, and always sought to promote our abilities in the best possible capacity. Her attention to supervising my task as curriculum builder for the Nicaragua internship program was always helpful and enthusiastic, while never overbearing. Change the Subject The organization Change the Subject does remarkable work. Their goal to move into communities where youth are on the cusp of crippling involvement with gangs or other hostile groups, and to educate them towards a brighter future is so very important. They have an obvious rapport with youth in Nicaragua, and in Leon specifically. In connection to the SFU internship and program, the Change the Subject staff were organized, helpful, and supportive both practically and through input. They acted as a kind of natural gateway into the community, and did so almost seamlessly. I am very grateful to their help translating the content I developed in a meaningful and precise manner. Concluding Remarks Rather than altering my course of action with respect to a career in International Relations, I am convinced this internship and those who supervised me have made a distinct impact in assuring my continuation in this field. The Nicaraguan people, who are generous, kind, and very community-oriented, are in such a critical time in the current socio-political upheaval; it is my hope and belief that organizations such as Change the Subject might assist at-risk youth to become leaders of tomorrow instead of victims of an unstable country. This internship was carefully organized, scheduled, and tasks were delegated with consideration of the individual. I feel that this internship was highly successful, and I would like to once again extend my thanks to those involved.