Cedro Clinic Celebrates Third Anniversary

Health Fair at the Cedro Clinic

The Cedro Galán Clinic celebrated its third anniversary with a community health fair on Saturday, October 22nd. The health fair included 5 main themes:

• sexual health
• social health with a focus on preventing drug and alcohol abuse
• nutrition and a balanced diet
• diabetes education and prevention
• mosquito-borne illnesses awareness and prevention

Each theme was comprised of an instructional component and a hands-on activity to reinforce the lesson. Students from our Generation (Youth Medical Career Education) program created posters, co-taught themes, and led games with Program Directors throughout the fair.

Further, our Girls' Health students expressed interest in educating their community on machismo culture. We loved this cross-bridging of MPI programs, as it allowed our students to be leaders and contribute to the sustainability of our initiatives. We also had child-friendly activities such as a dental hygiene station with toothbrush give-a-ways and face painting! 

Community members Gabby and Flor presented
their research on mosquito-borne illnesses:

Generation student Laura presented her
research on social health:

Children learned about the importance of dental hygiene
and practiced with new toothbrushes:

Martha and Irma had fun at the
face painting station:

Meet Program Director Brooke Wilson

#HumansOfManna: Meet Brooke Wilson

Happy Friday! Inspired by the moving work of HumansOfNewYork, We are hereby launching our weekly #HumansOfManna posts as spotlights on our incredible volunteers. Without further ado, meet Program Director Brooke Wilson!

Brooke, walk me through the busiest day of your week: 

6:30 am

Tuesdays are my busiest day! I start with a rich cup of coffee. I then begin a mile-long walk to the Chiquilistagua public school for Lacrosse the Nations (LtN) practice at 7:30am.

9:00 am

After practice, I hop into the Manna micro (bus) to go to the Club in Villa Guadalupe for more lacrosse fun. I then meet with Coach Maycol for a half hour to discuss training plans, then segue into LtN practice #2 for an hour and a half.

12:00 pm

The public transport bus ride takes me approximately an hour to get home, just in time for a quick lunch before I have to leave again for Camp JAM in El Farito - our arts, music, and games class for the children of Cedro Galán.

2:45 pm

At around 2:45 pm, I return home to catch up on emails and finish preparing lesson plans for my hour-long Level 4 English class.

6:00 pm

English class begins at 6:00 pm, and I teach our level 4 students, who are improving by the day!

7:30 pm

My day of program responsibilities ends at around 7:30pm, upon my return from English.

What is your favorite thing about living in Nicaragua?

The energetic, smiling children in LtN who are always enthusiastic to learn, despite early morning practices every week. They are undoubtedly a wonderful start to my long days. (Shout out to Team Managua, my team competing in this year’s LtN Cup on November 19th! Please consider supporting this cause here.

Favorite place to “treat yo’ self”?

It’s a toss-up between Tip-Top’s popcorn chicken and PriceSmart’s supreme pizza!

What has been your biggest struggle while living in Nicaragua?

Being so far away from family!

Why did you commit to spending a year of your life here?

After graduating from college, I knew I had so many diverse interests and was uncertain about what to pursue in the future. Working with Manna Project International exposes me to a majority of these interests on a daily basis, ranging from healthcare and education to coaching lacrosse; I am confident this multi-faceted role will allow me to gain new experiences and further develop my passions.

On another note, while I rarely had the opportunity to travel during college while juggling school and DI women’s lacrosse commitments, my job as a Program Director in Nicaragua lends itself to so much travel!

Thank you, Brooke!

Click here to learn more about Brooke's work with MPI's partner organization Lacrosse the Nations.

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