http://viewchange.org Videos from ViewChange.org (Filtered by topics: Nicaragua) en-us Wed, 02 Mar 2011 16:54:00 +0000 Copyright 2011 Link Media, Inc. http://www.viewchange.org/videos/changing-lives-through-renewable-energy Safe drinking water and household electricity were well out of reach for the rural communities of Candelaria and Malacatoya, Nicaragua, until the arrival of AsoFenix, a nonprofit organization that provides renewable energy projects to improve the lives of rural Nicaraguans. Wed, 02 Mar 2011 16:54:00 +0000 http://www.viewchange.org/videos/changing-lives-through-renewable-energy Nicaragua, Renewable energy, Central America, Technology, Environment, Electricity, ViewChange Online Film Contest, Water & Sanitation, Solar power, Hydropower >> TITLE: Nicaragua>> TITLE: Changing Lives Through Renewable Energy: Green Empowerment and AsoFenix, Candelaria and Malcatoya, Nicaragua. Green Living Project>> ROB HOLMES [Host, Green Living Project]: Electricity and immediate access to potable water are things a lot of us take for granted, but not rural Nicaraguans. A local NGO, AsoFenix, in partnership with Green Empowerment, are providing these basic needs through cool, renewable energy projects, like wind, solar, micro-hydro, and biogas. It's exciting stuff that's having an immediate impact on the environment and the lives of rural Nicaraguans. >> JAMIE MUNOZ [Director, AsoFenix]: AsoFenix began in the year 2000. I left the National Engineering University because I saw the need to use the projects of renewable energy to improve the lives or rural people. >> SARAH HAYS [Volunteer, AsoFenix]: AsoFenix has been making an impact in the communities by installing water projects where before people had to carry buckets of water on their head several kilometers in order to have water in their house, as well as providing electricity in communities where there's no road and there would have never been electricity. >> SETH HAYS [Volunteer, AsoFenix]: Up the stream, we built a dam, and we're diverting the water, and, as you know, there's always water. It's a renewable resource, so the water's channeled through pipes, spins a turbine, which generates electricity and goes into the community, and then the water re-enters the stream farther down. >> ROB HOLMES: So, with the two to three kilowatts that this generates, how many households does it power? >> SETH HAYS: Here in the community we're connected to about 29 houses, so it's about 100 watts per house is what they use for electricity.>> CRUZ TORRES BURGO [Project Technician, AsoFenix]: The energy has really helped our coffee production. In order to de-pulp the coffee, we used to have to do it by hand. And we would start working at three in the afternoon, and work until ten at night. And now within a half an hour, using an electric motor, we can remove the fruit that would have taken us seven hours before. >> NIDIA GONZALEZ [Resident, Candelaria]: So before, life was hard. But now we're a lot happier. We have water in our houses. We don't have to go long distances to carry water back to our houses. Less people are getting sick, so life is just a lot happier now.>> JAMIE MUNOZ: So before we start projects, I build relationships with the communities, and through these relationships, I feel a strong tie to the communities. At times I feel even if I were to find a better job, or something where I would make more money, I couldn't give up my promise to these families to help them improve their lives. http://www.viewchange.org/videos/living-proof-nicaragua-a-vaccines-remarkable-impact Diarrheal diseases are some of the deadliest afflictions for newborns and young children in developing countries. They are also some of the most preventable. The rotavirus vaccine has reached 80 percent of Nicaraguan children under five years old and is responsible for saving thousands of lives. Wed, 02 Feb 2011 11:18:00 +0000 http://www.viewchange.org/videos/living-proof-nicaragua-a-vaccines-remarkable-impact Nicaragua, Diarrhea, Rotavirus vaccine, Vaccine, Public health, Immunization, GAVI Alliance, Living Proof, ONE Campaign >> TITLE: Nicaragua>> DR. OJEDA GUTIERREZ [Director, Pantasma Health Center]: Three years ago we had high rates of diarrhea and severe dehydration. We had so many cases that we would have two babies sharing one bed. I am a doctor, but I'm also a father. And it was hard to lose so many of our kids to rotavirus. We felt helpless because so many of our kids would come here only to die. And even though we would do everything we could to treat them, for every child we healed, two new ones would appear. For every one that left, three new ones came. >> MAN: My daughter's name is Skarla Serai Alvarez. I have four kids, and she is the youngest. She is my princess. We are here because she's sick. She's vomiting and has diarrhea. As a dad, I work to protect my kids, but sometimes I worry. >> TITLE: Diarrheal disease kills 2 million children every year. Rotavirus is the leading cause of those deaths. >> DR. OJEDA GUTIERREZ: When this vaccine arrived in Pantasma, the number of cases of diarrhea dropped. Today, we don't have a single child admitted into our rotavirus ward.>> TITLE: More than 80 percent of Nicaraguan children under five have been vaccinated against rotavirus, including Skarla. >> MAN: We are going home today. If she hadn't been vaccinated, she'd be a lot worse. >> DR. OJEDA GUTIERREZ: We may not be able to prevent kids from getting diarrhea, but we are able to prevent them from dying from it. And that is something we couldn't say before. >> MAN: For my daughter, I want everything. I want her to grow strong and healthy. She's two years old, and I hope she grows to be a strong and determined woman. A superstar. Right, my love? >> TITLE: Living Proof: Real Lives, Real Progress. >> TITLE: Since the vaccine's introduction in 2006, Nicaragua has reduced very severe rotavirus cases by 77 percent. A rotavirus vaccine will be introduced to 44 of the world's poorest countries by 2015. >> TITLE: Living Proof: Real Lives, Real Progress. www.one.org/livingproof http://www.viewchange.org/videos/living-proof-nicaragua-a-vaccines-remarkable-journey Follow the life of a vaccine from its creation in a lab in Pennsylvania to the mouths of newborns in impoverished Nicaragua. This innovative film touches on every step that a pharmaceutical drug must take in its difficult journey to reach those who need it most. Wed, 02 Feb 2011 10:18:00 +0000 http://www.viewchange.org/videos/living-proof-nicaragua-a-vaccines-remarkable-journey Rotavirus vaccine, Pediatrics, Nicaragua, Managua, Immunization, GAVI Alliance, Public health, Living Proof, ONE Campaign >> TITLE: Journey of a Vaccine>> TITLE: Rotavirus kills 500,000 children under five every year. Thirty years ago, one pediatrician began a journey. >> TITLE: Pennsylvania: 1 dose; 2 milliliters; 10 years of research; 16 years of development; 1 billion dollars; the best minds in science>> SIGN: Nicaragua Ministry of Health, Policlinica Oriental Ministeri de Salud 40 Metrros Abajo, Managua, Nicaragua>> SIGN: Managua, Nicaragua>> TITLE: Below 35F it freezes; above 46F it spoils; 2,254 miles>> TITLE: A new journey begins>> TITLE: The first rotavirus vaccine arrived in Nicaragua three years ago. There have been no major outbreaks since. By 2015, the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations [GAVI] will introduce the Rotavirus vaccine to 44 of the world?s poorest countries, covering 60 percent of all newborn children. http://www.viewchange.org/videos/rising-voices-the-flowing-river David Zamora Munoz attends a UNICEF-sponsored child-friendly school in Nicaragua. While many of its defining characteristics are things kids in developed countries take for granted -- gender equality, running water, a friendly atmosphere -- in Nicaragua the school is being seen as a model for the future of the country's education system. Thu, 07 Oct 2010 07:04:00 +0000 http://www.viewchange.org/videos/rising-voices-the-flowing-river Nicaragua, Child-friendly school, UNICEF, Palacagüina, Central America, Agriculture, Education, Latin America, Elementary school, Poverty >> TITLE: Rising Voices >> TITLE: The Flowing River>> DAVID ZAMORA MUNOZ: My name is David Zamora Munoz. I am 10 years old. I live in Punto Arena, and I like it a lot. >> TITLE: Palacaguina, Nicaragua>> DAVID ZAMORA MUNOZ: It is really pretty. There are trees, and animals such as hens, dogs, cows, bulls. I live with my mother, my father, my two brothers, and me right here. Our house is really tidy. We have nice things. Every day I have to walk to get to my studies at school. It takes me an hour to walk to school. I look at the trees, the birds, everything around us: parakeets, magpies, great-tailed grackles, and white doves. My school, The Little River, is a Child Friendly School. I like everything about it, the garden ... I like everything there. I feel really good with my friends who are there. We don't fight because we are all friends, and we all study together in the same school.>> CHILDREN: Hail to thee, Nicaragua. On thy land roars the voice of the cannon no more. Let peace shine beautiful in thy sky.>> TITLE: El Riito Elementary School, 65 students, Child Friendly School since 2002>> DAVID ZAMORA MUNOZ: This is my teacher. Her name is Angeles Karina Garcia Cruz. She is great with us. She teaches us a lot. She teaches us with kindness, love, and respect. She is respectful with all of us.>> SIGN: School is my second home>> ANGELES KARINA GARCIA CRUZ [Teacher]: For me, a Child Friendly School is one that provides all that children need physically to be students, including a pleasant atmosphere where the walls speak.>> DAVID ZAMORA MUNOZ: This is my headmaster. His name is Yader Jose>> YADER JOSE CRUZ [Headmaster, El Riito School]: This school is totally different from other schools today, because others don't have all the accessibility we have. This school is committed to gender equality and the inclusion of children with special needs. It does everything to provide a caring, high-quality education. Another of the components this school has is that we have running water. We teach personal health and hygiene so that the children wash their hands, because later they will go over to the kitchen and get their lunch. They have all been taught to use soap and a towel after they've used the bathrooms. >> DAVID ZAMORA MUNOZ: Before we eat, we have to wash our hands, because when you play you get dirty, and then if you eat without washing, you can get sick. >> YADER JOSE CRUZ: The first thing you see when you come through the school gate is the wheelchair-accessible ramp. We have here another ramp that leads to the bathrooms, where we have two sets of toilets, one for the girls and another for the boys. This is the only school around here that has all the components that together make a Child Friendly School and has a sanitary environment.>> MARTA [Parent Body President]: I am the school parent body president, and I am a mother who's very involved in the school. The mothers are part of the school, and they run the food committee. She is here today because it is her turn. The mothers prepare the food from Monday to Friday. Today is not my day, but I always am here, involved with the activities that are going on. This is chicken liver. We're cooking it with potatoes and white cabbage. She chopped the cabbage to add it to the chicken, so we bulked it up with two types of vegetable, potatoes and cabbage.>> WOMAN [Mother]: Come get a tortilla!>> DAVID ZAMORA MUNOZ: The food is very good. I like what we ate today, and other delicious things.>> YADER JOSE CRUZ: The people here are poor, but what there is here is so much love for the community and for the school, and they want their children to get ahead in life, that's why they are so organized, but in real terms they are poor. It isn't that people here have many chances. We can find houses here made out of mud. The good living conditions that you could have in a city are not offered here. Here, life is basic: people work to scrape together a daily living.>> MAN: And to stop, you push the red again. Now, film Robbie.>> TITLE: Children's footage.>> DAVID ZAMORA MUNOZ: I'm going to record this. My mom's ironing. This is my dad. This is my dog. He's called Savage. These are my kittens, Dolly and Cutey. This is my brother Francisco. He's 11 years old. This is my brother Deybin, and he's 12 years old. My father is 61 years old. He's a tenant farmer. I like to help him gather the corn we grow. I help him. We help him to finish more quickly so that we don't waste any time. My mom works here in the kitchen and takes care of everything. When we come home from school, she is always working here and has food ready so that we can eat right away. She prepares everything for us. Almost every day they give us homework. It is nice to finish it.>> CELESTINO ZAMORA MUNOZ [David's father]: The children's studies are really important to me because they are more advanced than we were at their age. They have more knowledge of the sciences.>> FRANCISCO ZAMORA MUNOZ [David's brother]: This is the universe.>> CELESTINO ZAMORA MUNOZ: Their schooling is so different from mine because we were exposed to so little. I was one of eight children, nine, ten with my parents. My father was a farm worker like me. I followed in his footsteps, pretty much: working six in the morning until six at night. I didn't do much in the way of studies. I didn't like it. It weighs on me now. I see there are ways to get ahead, and life is difficult for me. I am learning from my sons, though. They teach me words. They say to me, "Papa, you missed something here," "Papa, you left out a little dot there." They correct me. I learn words from what they tell me. They tell me how to write words. I tell them there's a better life, not one with a machete, not farm work, different work, that in their lifetime they will be able to earn more than I do. All that I earn from one day's pay here, I spend. I imagine they say they are going to study and then work. They'll decide when they're older what they want to do. I give them the word of God. I work as a missionary. Today, we have a week of community Bible study. A whole week.>> CECILIA ROSA MUNOZ [David's mother]: One of them says he wants to do the same kind of work as his father. One of them says he'd like to study to be a doctor. Another says he would like to be a musician for the choir in the Catholic Church. They are very studious. They are fascinated by their studies. They never want to miss a day of school because they say they will miss some of the subjects that are taught.>> DAVID ZAMORA MUNOZ: Quiet, quiet. We sleep here. This is where the three of us sleep, my two brothers and me, and my mom and dad sleep here.>> FRANCISCO ZAMORA MUNOZ: Shine the light on the Virgin, Deybin! >> DAVID ZAMORA MUNOZ: I like sharing a bed with my brothers because we snuggle up the three of us, and also I like it a lot because we're not quiet in bed. We chat about what we are learning at school and stuff like that. She gets up at four in the morning to make our breakfast. >> FRANCISCO ZAMORA MUNOZ: "Goodbye, and lots of love.">> DAVID ZAMORA MUNOZ: This is my brother Francisco's teacher, Consuelo.>> FRANCISCO ZAMORA MUNOZ: "Signed, Francisco Jose Zamora Munoz.">> CONSUELO OLIVAS JOYA: [Francisco's teacher]: A Child Friendly School is one that provides an education with quality and warmth. A child that attends a different kind of school has a different kind of childhood. Before, there were not the opportunities they have now, because it was very difficult to go to school. Now, education is free. Does anyone think there is enough water in this river? Look at all that empty space over there. They have a lot of support now. They are given pencils and exercise books and so on. And our Ministry of Education helps out by giving desks and books. Conditions are better. Before, the school wasn't like it is now, it was small, a long time ago it was made of clay, then it was rebuilt, with big classrooms and all the facilities we have now.>> CHILD 1 [Student]: They don't bite, do they? >> CHILD 2 [Student]: Yes, they do.>> CONSUELO OLIVAS JOYA: Before, there was no drinking water, no sinks. It was a little school, and now it's not. It's big with everything that children need. The children have the opportunity to express themselves freely and to say what they think. It is a way of life not only for the pupils but the teachers, too. I'm really happy working here. It's my first year in the school. We work hard, and because it is a Child Friendly School you cannot be the kind of teacher who's a clock-watcher. We stay on in the afternoons to work with the children, and with the parents. I feel really relaxed and satisfied working here.>> KARINA [David's teacher]: Is everyone drawing a picture? What does the dove mean to you?>> DAVID ZAMORA MUNOZ: Nature. >> KARINA: Yes, nature, what else?>> DAVID ZAMORA MUNOZ: We are studying with my teacher. We have classes in civics and social studies.>> KARINA: Are we better off in Nicaragua today? Is there discord? What is life like now? We are united, the country has united, and what do we call this? What does the white dove mean? The white dove is a sign of peace, freedom. We live now in a time of peace and freedom, and we have freedom of expression. Your picture is very pretty. What have you learned in this class? >> DAVID ZAMORA MUNOZ: We are preserving the traditions of Nicaragua.>> KARINA: We are preserving our traditions. What else have you learned?>> CECILIA ROSA MUNOZ: The government has made a difference. There's been a lot of special programs. They've made a lot of changes. Everything today is so different. Everything has changed. When I was little, we lacked a lot of things. School wasn't like it is now. Today, the schools are very nice, and the children have fun. There is more love in the school.>> ANYOLI SANABRIA LOPEZ [UNICEF Education Specialist]: In a country as poor as Nicaragua and in communities as poor as this one, education is very important. Education is a key factor in helping people get out of poverty, and the Child Friendly Schools, we believe, are contributing to achieving this.>> NERYS DEL ROSARIO RODRIGUEZ VIDEA [Municipal Delegate, Ministry of Education]: Using this school, we have begun to extend the model to other schools, so we took the teachers that established it as a Child Friendly School, with the Ministry of Education's authorization, and we transferred the teachers to another school. The teacher who was here at this school with a mixed-grade class went to be the principal of another school with 1,000 students. So we are scaling up the model. We are able to put into practice in other schools the achievements we are getting in this Child Friendly School. We are very interested in quality and warmth in education, because that is our goal. >> ANYOLI SANABRIA LOPEZ: Historically, self-esteem is not something that has been part of the culture in Nicaragua, and poverty limits people's views. This kind of school sets out to release all of the children's potential, to get them to believe in themselves and in their abilities, and to realize their dreams. We believe that a school like this one is doing just that.>> DAVID ZAMORA MUNOZ: I want to be a doctor or a teacher, whichever would be the easiest to accomplish and to learn later on. Being a doctor is good because you learn about diseases and you can help your family. You can give them medicines for the illnesses they have. If they have a headache, you can give them a little pill to make them better. Before, we didn't know anything about our bodies, about the land, the world. I can't imagine life without school, because we wouldn't learn anything. We wouldn't know if there were cars, cows, and other countries. We wouldn't have any knowledge of these things. We wouldn't know anything. Life without our school would be terrible. It is great to study so that we can learn more, and there will always be things we can learn in the future. >>TITLE: [end credits] http://www.viewchange.org/videos/surgeons-of-hope <p>Children in developing nations with curable health problems often die because of inadequate healthcare facilities and training. Surgeons of Hope is sending medical specialists to Nicaragua to help treat children and teach local personnel life-saving surgical procedures.</p> Thu, 16 Sep 2010 12:38:00 +0000 http://www.viewchange.org/videos/surgeons-of-hope Nicaragua, Surgeons of Hope, Managua, Haiti, Latin America, Surgery, ViewChange Online Film Contest, Healthcare, Intensive-care medicine, Physician >> TITLE: For years, Surgeons of Hope has been sending teams of heart surgeons to Managua, Nicaragua. >> TITLE: The organization's primary goal is to shorten the period of surgical experimentation by training local physicians. >> HOLMAN VELAZQUEZ: When I get too tired, it hurts. This part, it, like, stabs. >> HOLMAN'S MOTHER: I took him to the center. They took a microscope and listened, and they detected that he had a heart murmur. I was sad, because on the other side, where I work, a little boy died from a heart murmur. The boy died. That scared me. >> HOLMAN VELAZQUEZ: They're going to open my chest, and they're going to fix what's wrong. I think it's going to be worth it, because I'll be like everybody else. >> TITLE: La Mascota Hospital, Intensive Care Unit >> MAN: She's like this at home. Just like you see her. She doesn't play. She doesn't go out. She just sits there. Thinking. It's painful to see her like this. Instead of gaining weight, she's getting thinner and thinner. >> DOCTOR 1: The girl has a very serious problem. So serious, she's close to death. >> MAN: Yes. >> DOCTOR 1: We've had the luck, up to now, to have, for example, Dr. Leonard Bailey. They saw the girl and checked her out, and they considered that, before dying like this, they can operate and do a surgery. We want to do the surgery tomorrow. There's no chance, okay? >> MAN: Yes. >> DOCTOR 1: And so we need to do something about the problem, okay? The risk is great, but it's the only chance that she has left. After that, she has nothing left, so if you tell me that she can die, she's going to die anyway. And it's going to be like you said. So, do we agree? >> DOCTOR 2 [Anesthesiologist]: I'm going to stick this here. >> NURSE: Stay calm. >> DOCTOR 2: Tell her it's going to smell a little funny. >> NURSE: You're going to feel a little pain, somewhat weird, but that's the medicine, okay? >> MAN: Let me tell you, it was hell living like this. After doing nothing, she would gasp for air. It was one or two in the morning, and we would leave the house, running to the hospital, to the health centers, because she would say, "Get me out of here. I can't stand it anymore. Take me! Take me!" And we would have to take her. We'd have to take her. It's horrible living like that, not knowing if your child will wake up in the morning or not. >> TITLE: Next day, La Mascota Hospital >> MAN: She had a few days left. Now they gave me more time. Her mother is still crying. She still can't believe it. Who healed you? >> GIRL: God. >> MAN: Who? >> GIRL: God. >> WOMAN: He's here, everybody! http://www.viewchange.org/videos/unia-0175 <p>The Arms for Arms program is a unique recycling project, one that turns decommissioned weapons into prosthetic limbs for victims of conflict. This video tells the story of Elba Garcia, a Nicaraguan woman who lost an arm when she was caught in crossfire between Sandinistas and Contras.&nbsp;</p> Wed, 26 May 2010 00:52:24 +0000 http://www.viewchange.org/videos/unia-0175 World Rehabilitation Fund, Artificial limb, United Nations, Nicaragua, Prosthesis, Central America, Contras, Sandinista National Liberation Front, Nicaraguan Revolution, UN in Action >> VOICEOVER: Elba Garcia arrives at the World Rehabilitation Clinic in Honduras. It's a very special day for her. Two years ago she lost an arm. Selling goods along the border with Nicaragua, Elba got caught in a crossfire between Sandinistas and Contras. She's spent weeks at the clinic learning how to operate her prosthetic arm. So far, her story could be that of thousands of people receiving artificial limbs all over the globe. But Elba's new arm, like all the limbs produced here, are quite different from any other prosthesis in the world. >> VOICEOVER: The peak of the Nicaraguan demobilization in April 1990. UN soldiers disarmed the Contras, destroyed their weapons, and sent the former resistance fighters back home to civilian life. Remaining was a mountain of useless weapons. The United Nations decided that the tools of devastation could be utilized to serve the process of peace and reconstruction. Ten tons of scrapped weapons were donated to the World Rehabilitation Fund to be turned into artificial limbs. The program Arms for Arms as part of the organization's work in 153 countries. The metal components of the weapons are ideal for use in prosthetic devices, says center director Mike McGee. >> MIKE MCGEE: They have to be made of hardened steel. They have to be durable. They have to be usually of very high-quality materials, because they're going to take a lot of use and may be not be so well cared for, so that they have to be able to operate under any condition. >> VOICEOVER: The donation has made it possible for the center to cut dramatically manufacturing costs for otherwise very expensive prosthesis. The scrapped metal has also helped speed up the production process. Parts of the guns can be taken out and used almost immediately with only minor adjustments. The rod from an AK-47 assault rifle is carefully re-shaped to become the hooks for Elba Garcia's arm. Therapy at the center is aimed not only at physical disabilities, but also at addressing the mental problems of civilians wounded in the wars in Central America. It's a special day because, after weeks of therapy, Elba finally graduates to receiving her own prosthesis, modeled exactly to replace the arm she lost. She's intrigued by the thought that she might be wearing spare parts from the very same weapon that caused her injury. >> ELBA GARCIA: I can't help thinking that the rifle that wounded me also changed my life and gave me my new hand. >> VOICEOVER: Elba signs out to a more comfortable life. She's told her family that she's bringing back an amazing toy. But that's not all she's taking home. At the center, she met Candido Monge, who was there to get an artificial leg. They're now planning to get married. This has been a report from the United Nations.