Sister Cities Bloomington and Posoltega

Contents and links

Upcoming trip to Posoltega

A trip to Posoltega has been planned for 1999, though the date has not yet been set. If you are interested in participating, please contact Barbara Seitz de Martinez (email: seitzb@indiana.edu, phone: (812) 335-0851) or Lee Mysliwiec (email: lmysliwiec@yahoo.com, phone: (812) 331-8742), giving your name, interests, skills, Spanish-speaking ability, and available timeframe for the trip.

The aftermath of Hurricane Mitch in Posoltega and the relief effort

On Oct. 30, 1998, as Hurricane Mitch swept through Central America, mudslides and floods devastated the area in and around Posoltega, Nicaragua. Probably 2,500 people of the 18,000 in the area were killed, 4,600 more became refugees, and entire villages were wiped out. Posoltega now faces the massive task of rebuilding.
How you can help
- Send checks to: Sister Cities--Posoltega, P.O. Box 1461, Bloomington, IN 47402-1461
- Buy one of these from us:
  - A plaque made by children in Posoltega. (You can see photos of these here.) They are $10, $15 if shipped elsewhere.
  - A spiffy Bloomington--Posoltega Sister Cities mug: $7, $10 if shipped elsewhere.
  For either, you can contact Lee Mysliwiec at lmysliwiec@yahoo.com, 812-331-8742, or send a request to Sister Cities--Posoltega, P.O. Box 1461, Bloomington, IN 47402-1461.
News stories from the Bloomington Herald-Times on the disaster and Bloomington's response to it
Sympathy letters to Posoltegans from Bloomington schoolchildren

The Bloomington-Posoltega Sister City relationship

The Sister City relationship began in 1988. Since then more than one hundred people of all ages from Bloomington have traveled to Posoltega in more than fifteen delegations.

Sister Cities strives to promote communication and mutual empowerment between our people. We provide Bloomington residents with the opportunity to learn more about events in Nicaragua and to experience life in Posoltega first hand. We support the efforts of the Nicaraguan people to attain peace with justice and to realize sustainable development in health, nutrition and education. Our project focuses on the needs of children, who make up half the population of Posoltega.

The Sister City relationship is important to Posoltega, where people are eager to share their hopes and hospitality. Our relationship is mutually beneficial. Bloomington has been able to help Posoltega in material terms, but most important is the friendship we share. The people of Posoltega are truly rich in spirit, and through their dedication and bravery they have taught us much.

SINCE 1988 WE HAVE ...

Continuously supported the Children's Lunch Program for malnourished children.
Helped establish a community garden.
Delivered medicines, school supplies, lights, and sports and music equipment.
Acted as official observers of the 1990 elections.
Carried out three eye care missions, providing eye exams and glasses to those in need.
Implemented a Scholarship Program in cooperation with various Nicaraguan universities.
Supported community service learning projects and leadership development among youth in both cities, including an award-winning Service Learning Youth Exchange for high school students.
Worked to sister organizations such as schools and churches.
Exchanged letters between school children in Bloomington and Posoltetga.
Provided educational forums about Posoltega in Bloomington.

MORE RECENTLY, VOLUNTEERS HAVE ...

Continued support for the Children's Lunch Program and the Scholarship Program.
Conducted a pilot literacy project for children who had not been attending elementary school.
Carried out two more eye care missions.
Provided prenatal nutrition and health care training through the work of students and faculty from the I.U. School of Nursing.
Brought the mayor of Posoltega, Felicita Zeledon, to Bloomington, for a month-long exchange of ideas and information.
Spearheaded the relief effort in the aftermath of the devastation resulting from Hurricane Mitch in Posoltega.

WHAT CAN YOU DO TO HELP?

We always welcome new community members to become involved. You can:

Attend our monthly meetings, the first Tuesday of each month, in the First Presbyterian Church. (Call ahead for the current meeting time.)
Participate in a delegation to Posoltega.
Invite someone who has been to Posoltega to speak to your organization.
Initiate a sister relationship between your organization and a group in Posoltega.
Contribute to the Children's Lunch Program, the Scholarship Program, or another current project.

Here's how to contact us.

Posoltega, Nicaragua

Posoltega is a rural municipality located near the smoking San Cristóbal volcano in northwestern Nicaragua. From cotton fields and banana plantations on the coastal plain, it rises to coffee groves near the top of the mountain. About 5,000 people live in the town of Posoltega and another 13,000 live in the surrounding countryside.
Parts of the municipality lack a dependable water supply. Malnutrition, parasitic infections and other illnesses are a problem for Posoltega. In the aftermath of the mudslide and floods of Oct. 30, 1998, all of these problems have been made more acute. The residents of Posoltega are working to solve them and to meet the needs of their children and neighbors.
Maps
Photographs of Posoltegans
Artwork of Posoltega schoolchildren

Contact information

For more information about the Bloomington-Posoltega Sister City relationship, contact
Barbara Seitz de Martinez (email: seitzb@indiana.edu, phone: (812) 335-0851 or(812) 857-8698) or

Contributions, payable to "Sister Cities, Posoltega", may be sent to:

Sister Cities--Posoltega
P.O. Box 1461
Bloomington IN 47402-1461

Comments on this web page: sabriggs@indiana.edu
Last updated: March 2003