Orange News | July • August • September 2022

Organizational

World Vision Nicaragua strengthens its disaster response capabilities

World Vision Nicaragua developed the Disaster Response Preparedness Training. All this with the main objective of strengthening the capacities of the national team to respond to emergencies of the organization, as well as anticipate contingency plans for hurricanes or other natural threats that affect the country.

“World Vision staff are mandated to respond to crises and disasters. Therefore, it is a requirement that the members of the national office, field staff and members of the National Disaster Management Team receive the appropriate training. The objective of this is to reinforce the technical capacities in humanitarian response”, shared Milton Tapia, Manager of Humanitarian Affairs and Corporate Security of World Vision Nicaragua.

Some of the topics discussed in the workshop were the Emergency Management System, Damage Assessment, Field Operations in an emergency context, and Preparation of the Disaster Response Plan.

The information provided was focused on each participant better understanding their role in the emergency response, child protection standards, and relevant coordination to provide an agile and effective response to vulnerable populations.

“The contents were quite comprehensive and from my role I recognize the importance of field personnel being trained in damage assessment because response decision-making is based on obtaining quality and timely information. What we expect when conducting a damage and needs analysis is that the best decisions are made based on the situation,” said Claudia Picado, Manager of Learning and Program Quality at World Vision Nicaragua.

“These learnings are part of personal and professional growth. From my strategic and guiding role, relying on this technical and contextual knowledge of the emergency vulnerability zones, I have a clear vision of the situations in the field. This allows me to provide a more agile and effective response aimed at inclusion and partnership in the territory”, said Soraya Silva, Area Supervisor of the field staff of the North-Central areas of World Vision Nicaragua.

The training lasted two days and included the participation of 27 collaborators from multidisciplinary areas of the Nicaraguan National office, said José Nelson Chávez, Subregional Advisor for Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean of World Vision Humanitarian and Emergency Affairs. Two UNICEF collaborators who played a facilitator role for the topics of Clusters, Logistics and Emergency Telecommunications expressed it in the same way.

“These meetings are very important for UNICEF and World Vision because we work hand in hand in Humanitarian Aid. Many times as implementing partners and partners acting on the ground to help us fulfill our Mission and objectives. These meetings allow us to share experiences, refresh theory and learn new response trends”, David Flores, UNICEF Supply Assistant for Ecuador and Nicaragua.

World Vision is a Christian Humanitarian Aid organization that for more than 80 years has assisted various disasters worldwide. Likewise in Nicaragua, in more than 30 years of presence in the country, it has assisted in disasters caused by hurricanes, earthquakes, droughts and the recent COVID-19 pandemic.

“These multidisciplinary training processes allow the organization to leave established roles in humanitarian response teams. All this with the great purpose of preparing actions that ensure the protection of children in adverse situations in a disaster context”, shared José Nelson Chávez, Subregional Advisor for Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean for Humanitarian and Emergency Affairs of World Vision.

We celebrate “Our Voice” in orange: results of the internal survey of organizational well-being

World Vision celebrates the annual results of “Our Voice”. This is the internal survey that allows employees of the orange family to express their opinions on various aspects of the organizational climate.

In Nicaragua, the country office obtained a general score of 91% as a result of the evaluations in the areas of Effectiveness, Agility, and Organizational Culture. Also in Commitment to the Staff, Development and Identity of the Staff.

to develop strategies to improve the work environment, work-life balance and have a greater commitment of the staff in the service to children and the most vulnerable communities.

general average of results of the evaluations in areas of Effectiveness, Agility, and Organizational.

“In recent years World Vision Nicaragua has shown sustained improvement reflected in many areas of the office. This has been due to a coordinated strategy of the People and Culture Directorate CA4. This strategy contemplates the integration of leaders and staff who work together to understand their part of the organization and relentlessly pursue integrity, responsibility, continuous improvement and collaboration”, shared Burmania Aguirre, World Vision People and Culture Manager. Nicaragua.

The Our Voice survey is carried out on an individual and voluntary basis, The answers given by the collaborators are anonymous. All this with the purpose of obtaining sincere feedback that allows the organization’s leadership

“During the celebration that took place with each of the programs we were able to learn about and compare the results of the Our Voice survey with the feelings of the Staff. This is reflected in the atmosphere of the teams, the motivation, and the commitment they have with the organization and the families of each of the communities with which we work daily”, assured Kebyn Gonzalez, Area Program Manager of World Vision Nicaragua.

World Vision is a fellowship committed to the well-being of its collaborators and recognizes that listening to their voice will allow discerning areas for improvement to reach the maximum potential as an organization. In this way we will be in the best position to serve the most vulnerable children in the country with high Christian and human standards.

Advisory Council and Club of Friends of World Vision Nicaragua visit communities reached by the organization

The Advisory Council and Club of Friends of World Vision Nicaragua made a field visit to the Municipality of Larreynaga. The objective was to socialize with the beneficiaries of the development projects carried out by the organization from the Technical Programs of Spirituality, Protection and Education; Social, Environmental and Economic Resilience and Community Empowerment.

During the visit, the impact that the organization’s work has had in supporting community leaders committed to the comprehensive well-being of children was learned. This is the first face-to-face visit made by the World Vision Nicaragua Advisory Council and leadership team to the communities since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It is a very enriching experience. In each place we visited, we learned about a different component of the technical programs and the work that is done in the reading clubs is impressive, and it contributes to access to drinking water. Bringing water to these communities is bringing health”, shared Glenda Reyes, President of the Advisory Council of World Vision Nicaragua.

Community Voice

As part of the route, four communities were visited to learn about the progress of the construction of a drinking water system, talk with the directors of the Drinking Water and Sanitation Committee about a recently built water well. Also to share experiences with children supported by reading clubs and share with their parents the observed impact.

Similarly, , a meeting was held with a community action group. The objective is to know about their opinions about the work carried out by the organization, the integration and leadership they have had within the projects, the support received and the training provided by the technical programs

“We tried in various ways to dig a well to get water and we couldn’t. Working without support is not easy. We pray that God would send an institution with the same desire and dream of ours to work for the care of children. Suddenly World Vision brought us the news that they were going to work on a drinking water system. That incessant work of wanting to influence the basic needs of the population is something that we are

grateful for. We are committed as a church to raise awareness of the importance of making commitments to our community as a service to God” shared Marlon Sobalvarro, Pastor of Iglesia Roca Viva.

World Vision in Larreynaga

In the Larreynaga Area Program, World Vision Nicaragua covers 15 communities and directly supports 2,710 children in vulnerable conditions.

“It was very important and necessary for the World Vision Advisory Council to resume closeness with the communities we support, connecting with the work in the field and getting to know the community leadership team and the staff that is at the service of the communities”, shared Rioberto Shelevy, Director of Country Programs of World Vision Nicaragua.

The work carried out by the organization in the communities manages to have a greater impact thanks to the joint work with community leaders, volunteers, members of the Community Action Group, reading promoters, CAPS members, institutions,

schools and the church as our preferred partner.

“I think this visit was very revealing. While at the National Office we see the strategic plans and the way in which resources are managed, in the field we can see how these resources really transform the lives of people in the communities. And this applies not only with the projects left by the organization, but also with the reinforcement of the leadership skills of the community members”, concludes Glenda Reyes.

World Vision is a Christian Humanitarian Aid organization with more than 30 years of presence in Nicaragua. Currently, it accompanies 8 departments, 512 communities, and directly impacts the lives of 34,917 sponsored children, with the support of 989 community volunteers.

Orange Challenge benefited children from Yalí and Tipitapa

On the eve of the start of the 2022 school year, World Vision Nicaragua launched the campaign “Join the Orange Challenge: Give Education” to help vulnerable children in Nicaragua return to school. By donating a school kit, people were able to help children receive the necessary supplies to join the new educational cycle.

The Orange Challenge had the support of individual donors, Invercasa Business Center, Inspiro, Ibex, Librería San Jerónimo, Librería Jardín and LibreríaGonper, and Ivania Mejía Transport. Similarly, it was sponsored by Little Caesar’s and Cinemas.

Thanks to the proceeds, community reading clubs were supported in San Rafael and 120 school kits were distributed in Tipitapa.

World Vision supports families affected by rains in Tipitapa

Following heavy rains in mid-September, 160 houses in Tipitapa were flooded and many households lost part of their goods and food.

World Vision Nicaragua, from its permanent response to emergency situations, distributed, in the last week of September, supplies, hygiene and other types of kits to help affected families.

World Vision Fellowship celebrates Day of Prayer

The World Vision fellowship celebrated the Day of Prayer globally, This is an internal activity that inaugurates the beginning of a new fiscal year. On this occasion, the motto Remaining in Christ was taken. This motto will accompany us in all the actions to be carried out in the new fiscal year 2023.

During the celebration of the Day of Prayer, the offices of World Vision block CA4, provided a moment to recognize, commemorate and honor the 33 years of interrupted work that Oscar Chicas dedicated to the service of the most vulnerable children in Central America from the Ministry of World Vision .

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Teenagers are recognized for their community leadership in favor of children

Four teenagers, from the Tipitapa Area Program, were recognized for the empowerment and community leadership they have shown for the most vulnerable children in their communities, as well as their participation in various advocacy and social development activities carried out by World Vision Nicaragua.

The four teenagers have been accompanied by the sponsorship program since their childhood. They have received training in various protection methodologies such as Opening Paths of Protection and Tenderness, Channels of Hope, and GodlyPlay (Playing with God).

To celebrate their achievements, World Vision Nicaragua held an awards ceremony in which the teenagers, their mothers and part of the World Vision Nicaragua leadership team participated.

Global Impact

Jenny, 16, participated in the Young Connected Leaders project to end violence. This project consisted of the more than 100 young participants from America, Asia and Africa interacting through a digital platform and preparing articles, blogs or other types of communication material with the purpose of making readers aware of the importance of eliminating child violence.

The project ended with the El Poder de Contar Historias contest. In this contest, the participants had to write a story about a current problem, Jenny wrote a true story about teenage pregnancy with which she was decorated as the winner.

“Teenage pregnancy cannot be normalized. This is one of the forms of violence suffered by women in adolescence and can be the result of neglect, alcoholism, lack of healthy family relationships and assertive communication from their parents towards them. It is important that parents manage to break taboos by talking with their children about sex, contraceptive methods, ways to recognize and denounce psychological, verbal or physical violence. In this way they can form assertive relationships with their family nucleus”, shared Jenny.

Clarito, Clarito

Likewise, the Grisleny, Gillien and Geisha advocacy was celebrated for their participation in various advocacy spaces and leadership from the protection campaigns carried out by World Vision in Nicaragua and Central America.

Their most recent participation was in the “Speaking Clearly Clearly” campaign. This consisted of children explaining in their own words the normalized forms of violence in the process of “upbringing and education.””.

“I feel happy because I have learned to express my opinions with confidence, backed by my rights and by the acceptance of the community. Being a teenager I know that I can also contribute to change and that these are personal. If I want change, I have to start with myself,” shared Grisleny.

The three adolescents made campaign spots, participated in violence prevention forums and led a project to sensitize parents and caregivers about the importance of transforming parenting methods from assertive communication, tenderness and positive discipline.

“For World Vision Nicaragua it is a great pride that we can highlight the empowerment, motivation and talent of Nicaraguan children at an international level. As an organization we recognize the importance that they can express their rights, disclose them and influence the different spaces to other institutions, churches, families and their peers. It is really impressive to show the human growth in terms of knowledge, confidence and self-management of the teenagers who were awarded in this event. They are an example for others in our country. Now it can be recognized that the children of Nicaragua have other spaces for expression and participation. Through the use of technology there are no limits to their different forms of expression” shared Liseth Espinoza, Manager of the technical program Education, Spirituality and Protection of World Vision Nicaragua.

A space was also dedicated to the act to recognize the mothers of these teenagers for the commitment, support and trust they have placed in them and their process of transformation into community leaders.

Tipitapa teachers trained in theater techniques.

World Vision Nicaragua, with the support of the Global Alliance for Education, trained 53 teachers in theater techniques. All this with the aim that the children who attend the Reading Clubs and schools improve their reading, writing, communication and social skills.

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Social, Environmental and Economic Resilience of Children and their

Community leaders trained in Risk Management issues.

World Vision Nicaragua carried out the first workshop on Local Management for Disaster Risk Reduction. This was done with the aim of empowering community leaders in mitigation tools in the face of the impact of possible natural phenomena in their localities.

The workshop lasted four days. There was a total participation of 44 community leaders and volunteers from Condega, Larreynaga, Matiguás, Pantasma, San Lorenzo, San Rafael del Norte, San Ramón, San Dionisio, Yalí and Tipitapa. .The participants are part of the Drinking Water and Sanitation Committees, Community Action Groups and Local Committees for the prevention, mitigation and attention to disasters in their communities.

“For me, it is a pleasure to serve my community and be part of this workshop. It has been an enriching experience for me and for the communities where I will go to replicate the learning obtained on issues of community organization. This way, I will be able to support to respond to the high vulnerability we have to floods. Now I know what to do in case we go through situations like those caused by hurricanes Eta and Iota”, shares Norman Largaespada, Volunteer and Community Leader of San Lorenzo.

Local Risk Management, Risk and its Components, Risk Scenarios, Response Plan, Family Plan, National System for Disaster Prevention, Mitigation and Attention, Social Cohesion, Community Organization and Resilience in Risk Management, Self-care in Emergency Scenarios, Gender and Social Inclusion and Rights of children in disaster scenarios were the topics taught in the workshop.

“This workshop has helped us to obtain tools for any risk event that we have in our community. . We are being prepared to support families who are going through a situation of threat or risk, mainly focused on the protection of children. After this workshop, I feel qualified to lead my community in prevention actions, design a family map, community evacuation route map and identify the critical points of our community with the greatest possibility of threats and vulnerabilities”, shared Marbely Rocha, leader community in San Nicolas.

The workshop participants will replicate the learning obtained with the communities they accompany from their role as community leaders and volunteers. The communities represented at the workshop are vulnerable to landslides and floods.

“We held this workshop because in our technical program we work on the issues of access to water, sanitation, access to agriculture, food security and entrepreneurship. All this with the aim that the communities improve their economic income. But all these initiatives can be affected in disaster situations by the multiple threats faced by the country. These issues must be addressed to ensure the sustainability of the actions we implement, as well as guarantee the well-being of children in these situations. They are also taught to promote social cohesion and inclusion of people with disabilities and gender in emergency situations. It should be noted that this work is carried out thanks to the support of community volunteers and local authorities”, shares Javier Moncada, Manager of the Technical Program for Social, Environmental and Economic Resilience of Children and their Families.

Sponsors

World Vision Nicaragua and the Matiguás Community Action Group execute a microproject for children

As part of the community empowerment work carried out by World Vision Nicaragua in the communities where it has a presence, a Community Action Group is organized whose function is to identify the main problems that affect children and provide a response proposal.

In this line, a Community Action Group of the Matiguás Area Program identified the need for children in the community to have a hygienic and safe space to consume the school snack inside their school.

the students consume the school snack and carry out other school activities where the primary and preschool modality exists.

Regarding the infrastructure of the school cafeteria, walls were lifted, installation of sinks, installation of pantry and ceramics for food preparation, electrical system, lights, ceramic floor, installation of water for sinks, fences, glass shutters, metal door, roof and zinc sheets.

115

directly benefited children

Given this, a community microproject was developed to contribute to the wellbeing of children in the area. Soraya Silva, Supervisor of AP Matiguás, will comment on what the initiative consisted of and how it benefited children.

What did the microproject consist of?

This microproject was formulated with the educational community and community action group for the construction of a safe and hygienic space in which

Regarding materials, plastic tables and chairs, dry food storage containers, alcohol and liquid soap were set up to promote hygienic practices.

What was the contribution of the community and the organization in this case?

As a community counterpart, water, electricity for construction, care of materials and unskilled labor were provided. The families were organized under a work role in coordination with teachers and members of the Community Action Group.

The World Vision investment was US$11,464.72, between the purchase of materials and the payment of skilled labor for construction.

How many children does the microproject benefit?

This microproject directly benefits 115 children (58 girls/57 boys) enrolled in school.

How long did the project take?

The physical execution of the micro project lasted two and a half months..

Profile Oscar Chicas

“Oscar Chicas leaves a legacy of honorable, committed and competent leadership”

“There are things that can only be done for love and I am sure that Oscar has given himself to this ministry for love of God and love of children and their vulnerable families”, Laura del Valle, National Director of World Vision El Salvador about Oscar Chicas

Responsible, punctual, helpful, humble, servant of God, spiritual guide and leader were some of the characteristics with which family, friends and collaborators of World Vision described Oscar Enrique Chicas Oliva, who had been National Director of World Vision Nicaragua since March from 2017 until his retirement in September 2022.

During the celebration of the Day of Prayer, the offices of World Vision block CA4, dedicated a space to recognize, commemorate and honor the 33 years of work that Oscar Chicas dedicated to the service of the most vulnerable children in Central America from the Ministry of World Vision.

“Oscar has been a great blessing in our ministry, bringing hope to children, their families and entire communities. He has motivated, shared and collaborated with us. He has kept hope alive for countless children through difficult times. His Christcentered passion shines through,” said Andrew Morley, President and CEO of World Vision International.

1989 1992 1998 2003 2011 2017

WV Honduras: Fellowship Service Manager

WV Honduras: Manager of Sustainable Development

WV Honduras: Program Manager

WV Honduras: Deputy National Director and Director of Operations

WV Honduras: National Director

WV Nicaragua: National Director

Throughout three decades of tireless work for children, Oscar Chicas has assumed various leadership roles. With his example, he marked the lives of his colleagues, staff in charge and the most vulnerable families in Honduras and Nicaragua.

Legacy of humility and service

“Today his time at World Vision ends, leaving a legacy of worthy, committed, and competent leadership, of being able to do a job that has marked generations. Today, there are many leaders who have been trained under his example of leadership. I thank God for his life and his legacy of work in our ministry,” shared Joao Diniz, World Vision Regional Leader for Latin America and the Caribbean

From his role as National Director of World Vision Nicaragua, Oscar Chicas led the response to the health crisis caused by COVID-19 and the responses to the emergencies caused by hurricanes Eta and Iota.

In turn, in the last year his leadership accompanied the work in 8 departments and 512 communities, directly impacting the lives of 34,917 sponsored children.

At World Vision Nicaragua, Oscar Chicas built a mature and trustworthy team, fostering a culture of openness and trust. He left us a culture of service and leadership from humility.

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