An Investment in Women

Working for social change in Central America.

BY MILLIE BROBSTON '91

It is only 9 a.m., and the sun is already blazing down hard in Managua, Nicaragua. I am thinking that my choice of a dark shirt was a bad one. The car is on the fritz, so I am walking three blocks to hail a cab to go to work. As I trek down our dirt road, I am fuming that many houses on our street do not have access to water and sewage. I walk past an ominous stream of milky white liquid which is heading toward our house.

Rounding the corner, I see three guys hanging out under the trees. Something in my gut makes a jump. I absolutely hate this part. "Hey señora!" I ignore them and keep walking. "Hola, señora." They make a whistling noise that sounds like they're calling a cat. I keep walking. Eventually the sound of their words dies away.

This time, I feel relieved that the situation did not escalate. On a previous occasion, a man reached out and touched my chest.

I am among the millions of women who are harassed or violated each day because of their gender. Except many other women are not as lucky as I was. Every day in Nicaragua, two young women between the ages of 14 and 25 are raped, and 12 are beaten or battered. In El Salvador, sexual violence is one of the three most common reasons for imprisonment. The consequences of the violence young Central American women face each day are lasting, given that their physical and mental well-being is frequently in jeopardy.

What am I doing walking the streets of Nicaragua? I moved here more than three years ago with my husband, Ronald García Fogarty, who grew up here. I had always wanted to live abroad, especially after participating in a study abroad program at Furman. Of course, I never imagined that after our first date, when my future husband said, "I plan to move back to Nicaragua. I hope it is not a problem for you," that I would actually be writing from here.

In many ways, my life is not so different than that of many of my friends in the States. I am a working mother, juggling career and home responsibilities. Just last year, I gave birth to our son, Camilo Henry, whose favorite pastime is picking up sticks and rocks and seeing how they taste.

I think the differences come in the little things - instead of oaks or pine trees, our house overlooks coconut, mango and lemon trees. On our street, children play with abandoned bikes that have no tires. Instead of dependable hot water and electricity, we ration water and prepare for the daily electricity cuts.

Before I came to Nicaragua, I had worked at a large private foundation in Washington, D.C., for nine years. With my background in philanthropy, my goal when I arrived here was to find ways to leverage more resources to support social change. I began working with someone who was starting a women's fund based on the model of other women's funds around the world.

The idea was to create a sustainable resource for Central American women's groups (especially for young women) that are working to defend and promote human rights and combat violence against women, among other issues. In July 2003, my friend and I began working as volunteers and helped create the Central American Women's Fund. In the first year, the Fund distributed $13,000 to five young women's efforts.

One of the groups we supported was the Executive Commission of Women and Children in Waslala, Nicaragua. This group was formed in response to the high levels of violence in Waslala, a region that experienced heavy conflict during the Contras-Sandinista war.

Although the war is long over, domestic violence is still a significant problem in the region. In response, a coalition of ex-Contras, ex-Sandinistas, the Catholic church, the police and disability groups came together to create a women's shelter that provides refuge, counseling and legal advice in the case of domestic violence. With a grant from the Central American Women's Fund and other donations, they were able to construct the shelter and provide women an opportunity to escape from mistreatment and abuse.

Since that first year, the Fund has grown significantly. It recently distributed more than $170,000 to 38 groups in Nicaragua, Honduras and El Salvador. We plan to extend our support to Guatemala in 2007.

Into the future . . .

As I write this article, Nicaragua is recovering from the recent presidential election. The new president will be Daniel Ortega, the former Sandinista president who ran for the fourth time. His victory came despite U.S. intervention efforts - or perhaps because of them.

Unfortunately, I am not encouraged about the future for women under an Ortega administration. He has been accused by his stepdaughter, Zoilamerica, of rape and abuse throughout her adolescence.

Recently the Assembly of Nicaragua, with support from Sandinista legislators, voted to penalize therapeutic abortion, which had been allowed only in the case of a threat to the mother's life. Yasmina Bojorge, an 18-year-old who was five months pregnant, became the first victim of the new law. She went to the Fernando Vélez País hospital in Managua with a high fever and in need of an immediate Caesarean. Doctors were fearful to treat her because of the new law. As a result, she died.

When these kinds of things happen, the future looks bleak. However, I am encouraged by the women I work with each day. The Central American Women's Fund is investing in women, especially young women. In Central America, more than 70 percent of the population is under the age of 30. Thus, in the words of Ana Criquillion, the director of the Fund, "Young people are not the future. They are the present."

Karla Lisseth Garcia is a university student and a leader of the Network of Human Rights Promoters in Matagalpa that works to educate young women about issues of gender and violence. She speaks of the impact that her work has had on her life: "In my community, girls are breaking the age-old cycle of staying at home, and we are beginning to dream about different possibilities in our lives. Adults and our families have a more open mind and listen to what we say. Where once I was just another member of my village, now I am seen as a leader."

There are so many others who inspire me - especially those who make a difference in their communities by educating young women about preventing HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, or by hosting radio programs on environmental issues.

I have learned from these women that it is important to, as they say in Nicaragua, "poner nuestro grano de arena," or "put in our own grain of sand." I believe in the vision of the Central American Women's Fund, which works to support a region in which young women are guaranteed their right to physical and emotional integrity, to economic justice, and to help make decisions that affect their lives and their communities. I believe in the potential of women, especially young women, to contribute to the development of Central America and to address the problems they see in their communities.

If you want to make a difference, invest in women. Invest in young women.

Visit the Central American Women's Fund Web site at www.fcmujeres.org.