Nicholas Kristof recently, in addressing a St. Petersburg audience, reminded us “you have won the lottery of life.” Few experiences do more to make that statement a personal reality than visiting the projects of ProNica in Nicaragua: the graduation of proud pre-school children who had recently lived on the town dump; the house and farm for children rescued from a life on the street; services for battered women in a place named for a beautiful 27-year-old whose husband had beaten her to death; a community whose courage and resilience helped them relocate themselves after a civil war; and certainly not least, the graduation of students from a beauty school so generously founded and supported by Pam and Herb Haigh. The reminders of pain and suffering are countered by the beauty of Nicaragua, the crater lakes, the fields of drying coffee beans; the smoke rising from the distant volcano. These are wonderful, and yet vividly painful memories of the ProNica tour so expertly arranged. Thank you to everyone for an experience that will renew our commitment to all those who haven’t yet won the lottery. Marlene Springer

To me, Nicaragua is like a time machine. The Nicaraguans value families and neighbors. They exist in a shared sense of community and solidarity. The primary form of entertainment is conversation and each are brilliant conversationalists. Where we struggle to be “present” and have “quality time,” Nicaraguans have mastered it and do so effortlessly. It’s a huge contrast from our diasporic and frenetic culture. I went to Nicaragua wanting to help and discover that perhaps it’s me that needs help. Kurt Guenther