Greetings! As most of you know by now, I work mostly with small business development, and I am primarily teaching Entrepreneurship in the public high schools. However, from the get-go, I realized that I was very interested in working with local women in the community as well. A current project in the community is creating a common space for women that can focus on health and education for local women. This project has been inspiring as it has been a grassroots effort, dreamed up and started entirely by a Nicaraguan woman in the community, which will greatly attribute to the overall sustainability of the project.
In my town, there is an incredible woman named Karla. Some in town call her the “Psycholoca” of my town..or crazy psychologist. However, this strong woman has been at the forefront of any and every effort for women’s work in a community... And this is a breath of fresh air.
Karla began talking one day about creating a gym in town. We all thought she was pretty crazy. Then one day, she ran down the street yelling that everyone should come a check out her gym as her dream started coming true. I walked next door to find four dinky pieces of exercise equipment circa 1980. Maybe I didn’t necessarily give her the benefit of the doubt. But, the people started exercising. Over time and little by little, the gym has gone from free weights made from cement in baby formula cans to an actual weight or two. You can walk down the street of my town on any given evening past the once abandoned house that has become a gym and hear the reggaeton music blaring. And as you peer in, you see a solid presence--especially of women.
The women have now begun asking for yoga classes and even aerobics classes. I have held basic yoga classes focusing on the importance of breath, stretching, and knowing their body--which can be a new concept for these women.
This gym has been an amazing community development project to witness. Eventually, a fellow health volunteer and I may start to look for grant opportunities to expand the current building and create more opportunities for the women including business classes, art classes, pilates classes, access sexual and reproductive health information, etc. More than anything it is important for the women to have a safe and comfortable common space in a town that traditionally has not had many women’s programs. But for now it is best to start small. We have been using old towels and blankets as yoga mats. But, sometimes it is hard for the women to find an extra towel in their house, and currently, there is only one torn yoga mat in the gym.
I am collecting donations of spare or old yoga mats that may be hanging around the house and just collecting dust. I think there are probably enough old mats out there before we focus on getting ahold of new mats. I am asking yoga studios in my home state to announce in their classes that if any students have any spare or old yoga mats that the would be willing to donate, please bring them into the studio so that I may collect them for the community center in Nicaragua.
I will be back in the States until July 20 and would be willing to coordinate how to meet up with anyone interested in donating a mat, especially in the Charleston/ Hilton Head, South Carolina area.
Any questions what so ever.. Please feel free to contact me at london.noelle@gmail.com. I really appreciate your support in announcing this opportunity and for helping to make this project a reality.
