Happy Thanksgiving from Partners of the Americas! As the holiday season gets underway, Partners wants you know how thankful we are for the key role you play in this community. Whether it be volunteering your time and expertise, spreading the word about Partners to your communities, or the countless other ways people contribute to Partners, our work is possible because of the people involved.
Partners chapters impacted communities across the Americas in so many ways throughout the year. Some were through annual traditions that have remained strong, and others were through innovative projects that introduced new ways we can continue building partnerships across the Americas. All projects were equally impressive. Below are a few representative projects:
Wisconsin-Nicaragua Partners helped bring clean water to a Nicaragua village
When University of Wisconsin-Stout’s Engineers Without Borders chapter learned about a village in Nicaragua where women must walk half a mile or more, seven to 10 times a day, to collect clean water for their families, the students made it a priority to make clean water more accessible for the village. Through grant funding, the students are designing a way to pump water to an on-site holding tank. Wisconsin-Nicaragua Partners is acting as one of the project’s direct contacts in the country.
Kentucky-Ecuador Partners hosted an incredible art exhibit in Kentucky for an Ecuadorian artist
Enriquestuardo, an artist famous for his richly detailed, lifelike paintings on antique doors, traveled from Ecuador to Kentucky through a Partners grant, where he held an exhibition at a public library. The exhibition featured his new series of work, the Faces of Ecuador and the Kentucky Series, as well as borrowed paintings from locals who bought his work in the past. Filled with symbolism and stories from the past, the exhibition brought Ecuadorian culture directly to the U.S.
Four middle school English teachers traveled from Brazil to Colorado to strengthen their English speaking skills and participate in a professional development course at a local community college. The trip sparked important conversations about improving English speaking skills in Brazil. The experience was just as beneficial for U.S. students and teachers, one of who said, “I’ve never had a three-hour session go by so fast.”
The incredible documentary follows the Recycled Orchestra of Cateura, whose members are a group of children living next to one of South America’s largest landfills. The children created musical instruments entirely from trash, and what you hear when they play is magic. The Recycled Orchestra of Cateura grew from a project supported by Kansas-Paraguay Partners. And now Landfill Harmonic has been proposed by Paraguay for an Oscar nomination.
Partners’ international D.C. office was thrilled with What Works! 2015, and we hope you were too! The incredible event was made possible thanks to the Oregon-Costa Rica chapter graciously hosting us all. We know the endless work and planning that goes into preparing for a conference, and we were deeply impressed with the event. Seeing old friends, making new friends, and building on the partnerships we’ve created through open-dialogue was an unforgettable experience. As we enter 2016, we will take what we have learned and continue creating new ways to strengthen our partnerships!
Thanks to all and Cheers to a year well done!
Does your chapter have a story about giving back to the community you’d like added to the blog? Send a paragraph to [email protected]!
