This week I have been working on semi-annual reports to send to Romania, the originating organization of IMPACT Clubs. I recently had the privilege of visiting them for a few days while on holiday in Europe, and I was greatly encouraged by my time with them. We are poised for take off here in Nicaragua with our clubs. Thanks to a June training with two people from Honduras who have been involved in IMPACT clubs for years, our leaders feel motivated, and some are going to open new clubs. Nothing major has happened yet, but it will soon.
Nothing major meaning no community service-learning projects. None at all. IMPACT Clubs have been functioning in Nicaragua for over a year, and no one has even carried out a street cleanup. This is very puzzling since it's one of the main purposes for IMPACT Clubs. IMPACT, for those who don't know, gives youth a group to belong to (besides gangs) and teaches them values and life skills so that they can contribute to their own neighborhoods and cities. It's really weird. Clubs plan the whole project, but when the date for actually carrying out the project approaches, members stop coming to meetings or they are nowhere to be found the day of the project.
However, there is a club that should be completing its first project next week. I talked about it in my report, and I thought I would share it here, too.
The IMPACT Club from Carlos Fonseca in
Chinandega, led by Mauren, has had its ups and downs. There are 5
dedicated members from Mauren’s church, but they are mostly family.
These core members walk 20 minutes from the church to the neighborhood of Carlos
Fonseca and meet with young people – mostly men – on a street corner Wednesday
afternoons. Some church members – including one who is in the club – live in this
neighborhood. Since the club began meeting in this neighborhood, several
people have offered their houses as a meeting space so that if it is raining or
very sunny, the group can meet indoors instead of on the street corner.
When Mauren first approached the youth in
this neighborhood about starting an IMPACT club, she was very nervous because
she is a young, Christian lady and most of the members are young men who are
older than her and do not go to church. However, they accepted the idea and
Mauren’s leadership. Though the numbers vary, Mauren considers her club to have
about 12 active members, and 6 or more who are inactive, drifting in and out of
meetings. Others visit but do not integrate into the club. In the past few
months, the Carlos Fonseca club has been suffering from low numbers and low
motivation.
However, with the training in June, Mauren
received more training and a renewed desire to make this club work. They began
discussing project ideas, and many ideas were suggested. At a meeting in which
I accompanied them, just the church members of the club showed up because they
held the meeting in the church. Each person gave an opinion of a project. Some
talked about a spiritual retreat, others a sports afternoon, others a project
of mercy for poor children in the Carlos Fonseca community. However, none of
the ideas got full support from the 6 people gathered, and they saw many
obstacles. When they considered that the purpose of the project is to serve the
community, they started reconsidering. Then someone mentioned the idea of going
to visit the jail.
The departmental (like state in the US) penitentiary is
located in the Carlos Fonseca neighborhood, and several young people from the
community are in that jail. Mauren had been told that going to the jail did not
count as a project, but it had not been explained clearly that the jail was next to
the neighborhood. I encouraged them to consider this project again, especially
after hearing that it had originated as an idea from the neighborhood club members.
The club decided to go forward with the idea of visiting the penitentiary as a
project.
As part of their preparation, the core
members of the group, who all belong to the same church, decided to fast weekly
and spend time in prayer for this project. They meet to pray and fast on the
same day, and it has been increasing their faith. They have seen that this idea
is from the Lord because the church and two individuals have been collaborating
with them. The club has been collecting clothing and basic supplies to give to
the 26 prisoners they will visit – 13 men and 13 women. Mauren testifies that
the morale of the club is much higher, the youth in the neighborhood have been
participating more faithfully, and the core group from the church has become
very dedicated as well. They hope to visit the jail in the first week of
August, depending on when they can get approval from the authorities.
In Nicaragua, faith cannot be separated from
the clubs. Even in clubs where the majority of members are not Christians, they
insist on praying during meetings, and they bring up spiritual themes. Mauren’s
club has seen the power of prayer and fasting in their time of preparation for
this project, and they are hopeful and trusting in the Lord that their club
will be strengthened through this project in the jail.
