1984: Burlington City Council votes to establish sister
city relationship in Nicaragua to protest Reagon administration policy
of support for Contra war; Puerto Cabezas on Atlantic Coast becomes
sister city.
1986: Burlington sends "Pdeace Ship" with 560 tons of
material aid to Puerto Cabezas for war relief
1987: Ballot initiative leads to referendum in Burlington
condemning US support for Contra war; Brigade of Vermont plumbers and
carpenters work at Grey Hospital and construct public playground in
Puerto Cabezas; Health kits sent to Nursing College from UMH.
1988: Publication of book "Sister City Side By Side",
following exhibition of photographs at Casa de Cultura in Puerto
Cabezas and at various sites in Vermont.
1990: Establishment of Vivero Comunal Community Tree
Nursery on 30 acres of land on outskirts of Puerto Cabezas,to
establish a genetic bank of quality fruit stock and train personel in
agroforestry techniques.
1993: Vivero Comunal Tree Nursery celebrates its third
anniversary with tens of thousands of seedlings and Nicaragua's largest
citrus germ plasma bank.
1994: 14 member delegation of Vermont teachers, social
workers, dancers and artists travels to Puerto Cabezas; folk
singers Remigio Hodgson and Tiger Omer from Puerto Cabezas sing at Ben
and Jerry music festival and tour Vermont.
1995: University of Vermont student delegation spends
Alternate Spring Break working at Vivero Comunal Tree nursery; Vermont
delegation washes and paints Casa De Cultura and Dan Higgins sets up
photo postcard studio and exhibits "Puerto Cabezas Portraits"; Abenaki
storyteller Wolfsong travels to Puerto Cabezas; Champlain Valley High
school begins educational exchanges with school in Puerto Cabezas;
World Bank 50 Years is Enough campaign is launched with Sister City
support.
1996: Theater delegation travels to Puerto Cabezas and
produces collaborative theater event with youth; ongoing advisory and
grant writing support for Vivero Comunal and Conades; work with "50
Years is Enough" campaign to educate North Americans about oppressive
relationship of World Bank to development in Third World
countries. After serving in the alternate spring break program
the previous year, Tania Garcia returned to Puerto Cabezas for a
one-year volunteer position, with a primary focus on translation of
grant proposals for the Vivero Comunal Tree Nursery and the Movimiento
de Mujeres Nidia White (Women's Movement Center).
1997: Environmental Justice Delegation tours
communities affected by multinational timber and mining operations on
the Atlantic Coast; an environmental justice solidarity campaign is
launched in response to massive foreign logging concessions; a former
University of Vermont student collects outdated computers from UVM
and takes them to Puerto Cabezas, establishing a community computer
training center; Burlington Fire Department sends outdated equipment to
Fire Department in Bilwi.
1998: Vermonters visit Atlantic Coast for Elections to
Autonomous Government positions; Two students from Atlantic Coast of
Nicaragua travel to Burlington for a three month internship focusing on
sustainable agriculture at the Intervale Foundation's Green City Farm
in Burlington; $1800 is raised to launch the Municipal Compost Project
at the Vivero Comunal site in Puerto Cabezas; $2000 is raised for
Hurricane Mitch relief on the Atlantic Coast; A shipment of 6 used
computers is sent to the Puerto Cabezas Municipal Computer Center
serving low income residents; a shipment of sports equipment is sent
with the Pastors for Peace caravan. Delegation from Puerto Cabezas
visits Burlington, visits Living Machine technology center; young
Nicaraguan baseball player serves as bat boy for Vermont Expos baseball
team.
1999: 12 Vermonters, including Burlington Mayor Peter
Clavelle, participate in Spring Delegation to Puerto
Cabezas and Rio Coco area; 30 students graduate from the Burlington
supported Computer center in Puerto Cabezas; The Vivero Comunal
launches an organic compost production project; Delegation from Mayor's
office in Puerto Cabezas visits Burlington; Bilwi fire chief trains
with Burlington Fire Department.
2000: Sister City board members Dan Higgins, Jane Kramer,
Howard Jaentschke and CCTV member Nat Ayer spend three months in Bilwi
offering video training to 18 students through URACCAN to produce local
community video
programming. Burlington Mayor Peter Clavelle and 4 families visit
Bilwi in March to work on community construction projects. In June
Jaime Ruiz of PuertoVision Cable TV visits Burlington and meets with
Public Access television channels in Vermont. PuertoVision continues to
show local videos being made by the URACCAN students. Also in
June 4 residents of Bilwi receive scholarships arranged by David
Hutchinson of Johnson State College to participate in a drug
counselling workshop as part of the Institute for Addiction Studies.
2001: Delegation of Burlington Little Leaguers travel to
Bilwi for a week of baseball in April. In
August Burlington is visited by a delegation of 14 young baseball
players from Bilwi, their coaches, and President of baseball federation
Rudolfo Jaentschke. Along with the baseball players came the Mayor
of Puerto Cabezas Guillermo Espinoza, the Chair of the City Council
Sebastian Morales, the Secretary for the City Council Glennis Escobar,
and the Chief of Police Gregorio Aburto. Bringing the delegation to 25
(the largest ever) was Julio Bordas, member of the URACCAN community
video project, who will be working with Dan and Jane on the video
project in "Port" this fall.
2002: Dan Higgins and Jane Kramer offer video
workshops to URACCAN teachers, Lynn McNicol fundraises for
Maureen Courtney School of Special Ed, Charley Delaney brings Rodolfo
Rivera Hill to United Nations conference of Indiginous Peoples,
firetruck packed with fire fighting supplies and video equipment
donated by Public Access Channels for shipping to Bilwi.
2003: Visit to Burlington by Myrna Cunningham, support
for URACCAN Video Project continues, Delegation of Johnson State
College students travel on work brigade to "Port" in May, firetruck
shipped in July. Mayor declares Aug 8 Puerto Cabezas Day in Burlington
as part of Latino Festival.
2004: Video training with
URACCAN's Preparatorio students living on Kamla Campus, culminating
in student making of movie "Sisimiki". 20th anniversary celebration in
Burlington with Neko and Dancers from "Port" who tour Vermont towns and
give workshops in the schools. Performance at Contois Auditorium.
2005: Sister City conference in Managua, BilwiVision
established, video exchange project -UVM and Charlotte High schoool
students and Kamla Preparatory students
2006: Roxanne
Dunbar-Ortiz launches "Blood on the Border", Video training in Bilwi,
Ellwin Finley, Miskitu man, trained at Burlington Tech school
2007: Hurricane Felix
destroys homes and trees in Bilwi. Alida Duncan coordinates "Roofs for
Christmas" campaign to raise funds for rebuilding houses in "Port".
2008: Burlington raises $10,000 for roof repair in Puerto
Cabezas. Delegation to Bilwi in April includesJohnson College
counseling students who meet with social support organizations in
Bilwi. In October Debby Hodgson of CEDEHKA visits Burlington.
2009: 25th anniversary of Sister City Program,
Call to Vermont artists, musicians, etc. to join video collaboration
with Nicaraguan counterparts. Dan Higgins completes documentary film on Sister City
Program hisory, film shown at Burlington College October and on
Channel 17 television, reviewed
in Seven Days. Charlie Delaney works with Elwin Finley on roof
rebuilding projects and storage area for Barrio Cocal School.
2010: February delegation to
Bilwi: David Hutchinson brings Johnson State College Counseling
students who meet with social organizations and do service projects for
the Alcaldia. Charlie Delaney and Elwin Finley build tables for
Barrio Cocal School. Dan Higgins video tapes Brigitte Zacarias reading
her poetry and Calmor Tatum talking about artists use of tunu bark.
Propsal initiated for bringing Nicaraguan artists, musicians, etc. to
Burlington for a Miskito Culture/ Vermont Art Collaboration in October
2011.
2011:Arts
Exchange 2011;
2012: anual report
2013: annual
report
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