First post!

In January 2007 my son Alex and I will travel to Nicaragua as part of a study tour sponsored by the Wisconsin Coordinating Council on Nicaragua/NICA Fund, or WCCN/NICA. (Please visit their website .) The theme of this study tour is "Empowering Communities Through Alternative Economic Projects: Microcredit, Fair Trade and Housing In Nicarauga”.

This blog will share the tour, as we travel through different parts of Nicaragua and meet with many individuals and organizations. Coincidentally, the inauguration of Daniel Ortega will take place while we are on the tour.

I'd like to mention that my son Alex is 15 years old. He was born in Managua in 1991. I worked with a local NGO (non-governmental organization) at that time, and we moved back to the U.S. when Alex was one and a half so that I could complete graduate studies in Community Economic Development. At that time the Sandanistas had recently fallen from power, and the policital and economic future of Nicarauga was unclear. It is also about that time that the NICA Fund was begun.

So here we are, 15 years later, looking forward to returning and learning more about the Nicaragua of today on this tour. I have so many questions. How do people feel about the rise and fall of the Sandanista revolution? How is the "new" Sandanista party different, and what are the expectations for this new government? What is the current economic situation? What are the hopes for the future? What possibilities are provided by a loan fund such as the NICA Fund, and how has it impacted people's lives? And how can we as Americans be good world citizens, and positively impact international development and a more equitable world?

Please check back during the week of January 7th to the 14th. I will try to post whenever possible, and provide photos from the tour. And please let me know what you think!