The Pageant Queens

Another long gap in our posts – sorry. We had a slight accident with the computer (involving a very excited dog, a long computer cord and a hard, hard floor). It seems that the fan on the computer has broken. So after being turned on for about 3 – 4 minutes, the computer overheats and shuts itself off. Not very conducive to writing blog updates.

Anyway, just to update everyone out there, things have been moving along at a Nicaraguan pace in Somoto. The days seem long lately. Most start early, with a hint of sunshine, crawling along to afternoon, when the rains come. The rain just makes things seem even heavier and more slow. Plus, the project with which I am working is winding down (they officially end in December) and with the rain, Matt is having trouble traveling to the outlying communities, so work also seems slow. But, we both have project ideas in mind and are excited for the coming months, when the rain starts to come less and less.

Last week, we did have a successful event, one in which Matt and I worked together. Horizonte 3000, the project with which I currently work, had their last encuentro, or conference, for young girls/women in outlying communities. Ninety young women between the ages of about 13 and 25 came, as did a number of other PC volunteers from communities around Somoto. The theme of the event centered around rights, and it consisted of 2 days filled with training sessions and cultural activities.

Matt and I were asked to give a 3 hour session on sexual and reproductive rights. For those wondering what this means, we discussed with the girls rights such as the right to decide when and with whom to have sexual relations, the right to decide to abstain, the right to decide when and with whom to have children, the right to elect to not have children, to have a career, to receive a sexual health education, etc…

A ´lluvia de ideas´(literally a ´rain of ideas´) that we used to discuss what a ´right´means to each of the girls involved in the charla


We decided to take a fun approach with two out-of the box activities: a beauty pageant of sorts, and a mock-court, Judge Judy style. The girls were each given a reproductive or sexual right, and instructed that they had to make a sash and then parade in front of their peers, explaining their representation of the right, the importance of their right and the implications that violation of this right had for women, including themselves. At the end, we gave every participant a crown that said ˆ I am the queen of my sexual and reproductive rightsˆ.

Our girls, hard at work....

The beauty queens

We then elected a judge and members of a jury from the group. The remaining girls were assigned roles in mini skits, which they had to present in front of the judge and jury. The judge and jury were entrusted with delivering a decision to the parties on trial, informing them of their rights, and in cases, who was in violation of the rights of the other.

The judge, jury and those ´on trial´

Matt and I considered the event an overwhelming success. The girls seemed to enjoy the different take on the traditional material (many of them have received lectures on the material in the past, though in a less dynamic way). I was really proud of the girls, watching them work together to discuss the intricacies in the cases that we presented to them, and deciding among themselves what rights a woman was entitled to and what decisions she had available to her in her life. Entonces…until next time!

Me, two other volunteers (Ian and Leanne) and Enrique, from Horizonte 3000

Matt and Enrique fighting in front of Law 230 (anti-violence law)