May 2008

Issue: 2008 - 3

Nica - Newsletter

Humanitarian Works

• Building the Second Fence: A slightly Different Experience
• Poyner & Spruill Health Care Attorney Ken Burgess Receives 2007 Volunteer Of The Year Award
• WOW: Week of unusual learning is “incredible”

Humanitarian Works

Building the Second Fence: A slightly Different Experience

By Greta Schlender and Ligia Diaz

As part of the ongoing effort to improve life in Villa El Carmen, CHESS partnered with the Ormond Beach Rotary Club to install fences at as many schools as possible. In late August, the first fence was installed at Osneida Medrano School. Although the project had its share of ups and downs, Rotarian Chapter President, returned with several other members to continue their good works. The site of the second installation was the Calle Nueva School; this school employs 3 teachers who are responsible for educating 68 students in grades K through 5. Built in 2000, the school used to have a fence but it had stolen, bit by bit, over the years.

On Thursday, October 25th, Mr. Slick and his group of fellow Rotarians, began their mission. The Rotarians that came with Mr Slick were quite a mixed group, all joined together by the desire to have this unique life experience and make a difference in the lives of children. For two men of the group, this trip to Nicaragua was their first visit to a foreign country. One, Mr. Slick joked, “is the pickiest eater he had ever met” and yet, the man happily ate all the food prepared by local mothers. Another is an executive of a large real estate company, while a third runs an oil and gas company. Two of the men drive race cars professionally.

The team installing the first fence in August 2007 at Osneyda Medrano School was faced with many unexpected challenges. This time, the weather cooperated and the supplies arrived on time. A larger group of workers allowed the project to be completed in just two days. The workers learned that one of the most important things about building the fence was making sure that the fencing itself could not be pulled apart and stolen. As a result, each piece was soldered to as many other pieces as possible, ensuring that none of it could be taken away. When questioned as to why fences are so important to the community, the parents and teachers gave several answers, ranging from keeping chicken out of the yard during school hours to deterring theft.

To reinforce that point, one of the parents shared the story of one such theft. Schools in Villa El Carmen are given provisions for their students just once a month, breakfast and snacks for the children on school days, are stored in one of the classrooms in the school. One day, these provisions were stolen from the classroom by someone in the community, most likely out of desperation, but stolen nonetheless. The children were left without this food for the majority of the month, something which should not have to be a concern. A fence could have at least deterred this theft, and this is one important reason it needed to be built.

The school community was so thankful for the help of the group, saying that this was the first time anyone had come to help them; that it was a gift from God. Mr. Slick said that these experiences are something “breathtaking and rewarding,” a chance for people to “invest of themselves” and promote “enlightened self interest” in a country that desperately needs it.

This, more than anything else, is what keeps CHESS and Mr. Slick making schools more secure. Nothing can replace the smiles and thank you’s they get in return for just a day or two of fun work, work in which the whole community gets involved, and for which they really are eternally grateful. Mr. Slick said. “We were here [with them], and the community never left us.” He added that the efforts of the community are something to be revered and that it is “and absolute trip” to see everyone get so wholeheartedly involved.

The Ormond Beach Rotary Club has served for several years in different projects in Nicaragua. Mr. Slick recounted how relationship started six years ago, when they put on a BINGO night to finance CAT scans and MRI’s for children in need. The project was expanded in 2004 and groups have come down to replace air conditioners, paint buildings, clean hospitals, and bring supplies. Donations as large as entire shipments of hospital beds have been delivered by the group. Mr. Slick said that it might be easier to just front the money and pay someone to do all of these things, but it is just so much fun that people are always ready to participate

This has been a heart-touching experience for all those who have been involved and we even received this eloquent e-mail we hope touches your heart also!

www.chessnicaragua.com

Poyner & Spruill Health Care Attorney Ken Burgess Receives 2007 Volunteer Of The Year Award

Raleigh, NC -- Poyner & Spruill Partner Ken Burgess has been selected as 2007 national Volunteer of the Year by the Jessie F. Richardson Foundation. The Foundation, located in Clackamus, Oregon, supports projects in the U.S. and around the world designed to promote health care and related services to seniors. The award is based on Ken’s efforts to raise money for the renovation and expansion of a shelter for homeless seniors in Jinotepe, Nicaragua which will be not only a home for its residents, but a center of health care for the entire community.

The center is the first of its kind in Nicaragua, and one of the few in Central America, but it’s likely to become a model for similar programs in that part of the world, according to Burgess. In addition to renovating and expanding the center itself, the money raised by Burgess and Poyner & Spruill is helping with a number of related projects designed to ensure the center’s long-term financial stability, bring medical care to the residents, and help train some of the 500,000 abandoned street children of Nicaragua in services they can provide to seniors at the center or elsewhere, helping them learn trades that also keep them off the streets and away from lives of sexual abuse, drug addiction and poverty.

“Few things I’ve ever done have given me such a sense of satisfaction as this project. The generosity of my firm, my family, and my professional colleagues in different parts of the country have moved me beyond words,” said Burgess.

Ken is a long-term care attorney advising clients on a wide variety of legal planning issues arising in the skilled nursing facility setting, assisted living setting, and other spheres of long-term care. He is a frequent national lecturer and author of industry manuals, national trade journal magazine articles and similar training tools. He serves Poyner & Spruill clients by focusing on legal issues impacting the long-term care and health services sector.

Ken graduated from the University of North Carolina with a B.A. in 1979, and received his J.D. cum laude from Campbell University Law School in 1984. He can be reached at 919-783-2917 or kburgess@poynerspruill.com.

About Poyner & Spruill
Poyner & Spruill LLP is a large, multidisciplinary North Carolina law firm, providing a comprehensive range of business and litigation legal services. The firm has a reputation for professional excellence and client service throughout the Southeast. Poyner & Spruill, one of the largest firms in North Carolina, has over 110 attorneys with offices in Charlotte, Raleigh, Rocky Mount, and Southern Pines.

www.poynerspruill.com

WOW: Week of unusual learning is “incredible”

Trinity Episcopal students' experiences include Nicaragua trip

STEVE LYTTLE

Dozens of students from Charlotte's Trinity Episcopal School recently spent several days engaged in a variety of unusual educational activities.

It was part of the school's annual Without Walls Week (WOW Week), which took place Feb. 19-22 for students in grades 5 through 8. WOW Week is designed to allow the school's older students a chance to participate in outside-the-box learning experiences.

One group of students traveled to Nicaragua. Another group spent the four days at the U.S. National Whitewater Center. Yet another activity, "Project Runway," allowed students to experience the fashion world.

There also was "Searching for Balance," a class devoted to finding strength and peace through activities such as kickboxing and yoga.

The Nicaragua trip involved 26 Trinity Episcopal students and several parents and staff members. They worked at the El Ayudante Orphanage in the city of Leon. The group tutored students and took part in repair work at the orphanage.

Tom Drake, Trinity's academic dean and a participant in the Nicaragua trip, said, "Of the profound learning that occurred for all on this trip, the strongest piece emerged from the relationships that we formed with the various people we met on our journey."

Seventh-grader Sarah McDonald said: "We met incredible people and learned a lot about ourselves, like how we can help in the world and that we should be grateful for what we have."

www.charlotte.com

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