felt personal because it was a

lesson about life not about war,

a lesson on how to make deci-

sions, how to face your reality,

about team work and not giving

up.

One of his answers to a ques-

tions from the audience: “It was

an honor to serve my country and to

have come out alive. Even at this age.

If I´m asked to do it again, I will”.

My batteries were recharged for

life by this small man that just

happens to have the biggest

heart, with an awesome story

that made history.

What better way to start learning

about U.S. history than to witness

a conference during veteran´s day!

We went back in time and stepped

out of our own realities for two

hours and walked in the shoes of

the code talker himself: Chester

Nez. We heard his story and how

he and other 28 code talkers

helped assure victory for the Unit-

ed States over Japan in the South

Pacific during WWII. No one in

the audience could ever fill in

those shoes. I will never be so

close to history as I was that day.

An inspiring story about a native

American who faced discrimina-

tion, injustice and survival, who

felt love, patriotism and courage.

Even to me , a total outsider of

this country, it felt personal, it was

not my war, nor my beliefs, I

wasn´t even born yet, and it still

Starting with the right foot

“A Walk in Their Shoes”

DECEMBER 16TH, 2013 EVELYN MENESES CASTRO´S NEWSLETTER

ISSUE # 2

Veteran´s Day Tribute. Chester Nez,

the last living Navajo code talker

Visiting rotarían @ Stevens Point Rotary Club

Being a Rotarian myself, former secretary to my

home club: “Club Rotario Las Brumas Jinotega”, it

was a must to visit the local rotary club meeting. I

was invited by Mr. Terrald Arnold, member and

honorary past president of the Stevens Point Rotary

Club. A meeting in which the Stevens Point mayor

was a guest speaker (now that was different from

where I come from).

A club under the leadership of a women as presi-

dent, with half the members, female, and filled with

Rotarian spirit.

I learned about their volunteer work, their projects,

and their enthusiasm for helping others in need

right there at home and abroad.

It is simply a nice rewarding feeling to be a Rotari-

an. Stevens Point Rotary Club meeting at Stevens Point Coun-

try Club

know that I am not alone

and that, yes we can, we are

able to achieve our goals

without feeling guilty when

trying to raise a family while

achiev ing profess ional

growth.

Lesson learned: best practic-

es for developing and sup-

porting women as leaders.

Experiencing politics in the making

history teacher Elizabeth An-

derson, former teachers Judy

Ordens & Marilyn Slusarsky,

and the most inspiring lesson

came from Katie an 8-year old

that was sensible to the fact that

kids in Nicaragua lacked school

supplies and was able to raise

awareness and came up with her

very own backpack project.

It doesn´t matter where you live,

women always face challenges to

find that balance between a hap-

py family life and a successful

professional career. But I found

key common elements in all my

mentors: the passion for what

they believe in and the persever-

ance and determination to

achieve it.

I am specially thankful to all of

these women for letting me

Learning and Owning it: Women empowerment and leadership.

Experiencing cultural perspectives

and opportunities for women in the

United States was the most enjoya-

ble part of this fellowship for me.

Why? Simply because where I

come from, there are little opportu-

nities for women, even less oppor-

tunities if you´re over 40+.

I met with community leaders that

were mentors to me: Portage Coun-

ty Executive Pattie Dreier, Repre-

sentative to the State Assembly

Katrina Shankland, Wisconsin/

Nicaragua Partners Director Amy

Wiza, School of Health Promotion

& Human Development staff Lisa

Ebert, , UWSP Spanish Teacher

Anna Runnion, UWSP Emergency

Management Specialist Corrina

Neeb, small business manager Lori

Terril, Stevens Point Fire Depart-

ment Chief Tracey Kujawa,

SPASH Hispanic/Native American

Portage County Democratic Party. Executive

board meeting at Stevens Point, Wisconsin.

Although I was able to identify a few adminis-

trative similarities, certainly the ways the USA

does politics is different from how is done in

Nicaragua. I was impressed to see the assem-

bly representative´s assistant account for the

work the democratic reps do at the state capi-

tol and for the county as well. There was an

announcement on senate bill 274, and how

rare it is for a bill introduced by a Democrat

to pass both houses controlled by Republi-

cans. It was also interesting how a regular

citizen just took the microphone and an-

nounced he would be running for office in

spring election (non-partisan). Back at

home, we do things differently. On the oth-

er hand, it was inspiring to hear Mrs. Barb

Gifford, a retired business owner and an

environmental protection advocate for the

Little Plover River.

Lesson learned: if I want to make a differ-

ence, I can´t just sit around and criticize. I

have to become more engaged in my com-

munity and try to develop a holistic plan to

improve its conditions.

Page 2 “A WALK IN THEIR SHOES”

There I am, under the dome,

sitting at the west wing gallery

witnessing my very first state

assembly, trying to overcome the

vertigo due to my fear of heights.

First order of business: a prayer

to the Lord asking for guidance

and the pledge to the flag of the

United States.

Before the agenda begin, there

were several announcements

made by the representatives who

where called out by the assembly

speaker not by their names but by

their seat chart number, and, oh

yes, all of the sudden I hear my

name! There she was, Katrina

Shankland announcing my partici-

pation in the legislative fellowship

program and my interest in learn-

ing about civic participation in the

law making process in the differ-

ent government levels. I have to

say it: it was cool.

It was indeed a very organized

and long meeting with an exten-

sive agenda. It ended about 2 am.

This experience was more signifi-

cant to me because of Katrina

Shankland, how young she is,

and what she stands for and

what she believes in. She is a

very eloquent, educated,

young politician who I

learned a lot from. She is the

author of senate bill 274 that

passed both houses controlled

by Republicans. This bill will

help 5,700 people with disa-

bilities find work through

career guidance and training,

job placement and transporta-

tion. Kudos to her on this

achievement.

Thank you Annika L. Petty

for arranging my visit to the

Wisconsin Capitol Assembly.

My passion for progressive values

like economic and social justice

and my concern about my com-

munity has driven me to think

about the possibility of someday

running for local office in my

country. This was the place to be

for identifying those leadership

skills required for the job: the

candidate training workshop. One

on one training from the sponsors

on the left on how to craft a cam-

paign plan that suits a candidate´s

abilities, their schedules and their

community.

Even though the political struc-

ture is different between Nicara-

gua and the USA, I was able to learn

how to coordinate a strategy, fund raise,

hire team staff , identify volunteers, and

to work on how to build an infrastruc-

ture that can support my ideas. Every-

thing from how to successful manage a

campaign to track donations, from

finance reporting to campaign messag-

ing.

Having a project management back-

ground, it all became so relatable to me.

I came out of that workshop feeling

empowered because I felt reassured I

have what it takes to be a leader but

most importantly I now have the tools

to make it happen.

Wisconsin Assembly at the State Capitol

Identifying my leadership skills

Page 3

Note to self:

Rhinelander, Wisconsin

Jeff Smith. Regional Political Director.

Democratic Party of Wisconsin.

Eric Couto . Program Director. Wisconsin

Progress

ason Sidener. Member Mobilization Coordi-

nator. Wisconsin Council 40 AFSCME

Top: Wisconsin State Capi-

tol in Madison: Its dome is

an exact replica to the

U.S. capitol dome in DC.

Right: Meeting with Katri-

na Shankland, a 27 yr

democrat representative

to the state assembly.

Wisconsin River. The most worked river in the USA. Along its banks

are hundreds of paper mills

WHAT´S WORK

WITHOUT PLAY?

Special thanks for their hospitality to:

Tom & Judy Ordens

Patrick Sinnot & Mary Vills

Donald & Marilyn´s Slusarsky

Brian & Amy Wiza

Dr. Mike Curtis & Sandy Curtis

Wisconsin Nicaragua Partners' staff, volun-teers & board members.

Anna Runnion & Rosalind Kealiher.