Day Eight

Ten Thousand Villages supplier in Managua

As we gathered for breakfast this morning our hearts felt heavy as we thought of this being the day of Henry's funeral. Anne, you and your family have been in our hearts and prayers, even in the midst of the busy schedule and flurry of activities we have been put through here in Nicaragua.

Our morning was spent with people from DIRAC (the Centre for Alternative Resolution to Conflict).  This is a government supported organization mandated to offer mediation alternative to court processes, civil, family, and criminal cases.  In 2012 they diverted over 12,000 cases to mediation with an 80% success rate.

At the same time, they seemed quite uninformed about restorative justice practices.  Our visit served to facilitate a conversation between another Nicaraguan woman who has been very involved with RJ training and the folks at DIRAC.  As we left, Martha commented to a couple of us, "mission accomplished!"  It seems a door may have been opened for more exploration of RJ possibilities in Nicaragua.

This afternoon we went to the cooperative Ten Thousand Villages works with here.  Yes, some purchases were made!!
After that we went to a huge market in Managua for shopping and another "taste of Managua."One guy kept coming around trying to sell the men in our group little blue pills.  Not sure what that was about!

I think we're all getting a bit tired but for the most part have remained healthy and energized.  We are grateful for this experience and look forward to sharing it when we get back!