Political Participation

Since the trip to Matagalpa, Nicaragua did not work out for me. The CP I am reaching out to is Belmont’s Senior and Community Center and I hope this will be a better match for me. I have connected them and now I am awaiting their response. My future community partner does not participate in political campaigns or take public stands on campaigns or candidates because its focus is to better community through the various activities for the senior citizens. I believe the reason they do not participate in political campaigns is because there focus is not on the political activity of Belmont but rather its focus is on the people that live in Belmont and therefore they have created activities and events for the community in order to bring unity throughout. The political aspects of things may be taken into consideration for certain organizations and groups but I do not seeing that being the case here because it is all about the people and community as a whole rather than about politicians and their campaigns.

Citizens

The relationship between citizens and my Community Partner ( Alternative Spring Break Trip-Nicaragua) is that the citizens are the ones who make the impact of the people the Sisters of Notre Dame are out there to help. The citizens are the ones who go and visit the handicapped kids and help them and spend time with them, they are the ones who make an impact on all of the unfortunate people by not only providing service, but by also giving their time to them. It is not only the Sisters of Notre Dame who are out in Nicaragua helping those people who are in need, but it is also the natives of Nicaragua who are involved with the people, and also our students who will go on this trip during Spring Break this year who will be interacting with the people through the Sisters of Notre Dame who have made all of this possible by the programs that are being run in Nicaragua. Citizen participation can affect my Community Partner because without the help of those citizens who give their devoted time and compassion to those who are in need then nothing would ever change in Nicaragua. It only takes one person to take action to make change and without citizens helping through actions then those who are in need will be negatively affected without the help of others.

Legacy of Dr.King

The legacy of Dr.King with regard to the enforcement of voting rights at the local level for African Americans is that he fought for the rights of the people, because they did not have the right to vote and among other rights they did not have for simply being African American. Dr.King believed that everyone deserves equality and justice, and it should not matter what color your skin is because we are all people and deserve the same rights. Dr.King enforced voting rights through a nonviolent approach to this topic because he believed that fighting was not the answer, but rather protesting and marching was. Dr.King made it his mission to fight for the rights of the people and when it came to voting rights wanted to enforce that African Americans deserved the right to vote, because at the end of the day they are people just like everyone else. As human beings we are all essentially the same, and therefore should have the same rights and not excluded any group based on race, ethnicity or gender. These rights are not still in danger for African Americans and other groups in the US, because nowadays most people have the right to vote unless you are not a citizen then that would be a group that is not allowed to vote due to their circumstance.

CBL Project:Alternative Spring Break in Matagalpa, Nicaragua

For my Community Engagement Project I have decided to choose the alternative spring break in Matagalpa and Mulukuku, Nicaragua. Participants learn about the work of the Sisters of Notre Dame through the area of education for both rural and disabled children. This trip is a perfect example on how even in places beyond the United States, state and local governments of those place can face similar issues to the ones US faces. My community partner arises from a local need in the sense that Nicaragua has many parts of its city in which people are in need and their local and federal government is not doing their part to help those citizens who are in need, and that is where the Sisters of Notre Dame come in. The Sisters of Notre Dame are taking action and essentially doing the work that the government doesn’t take the time to doing for its citizens in Nicaragua who are in need. My CP is not constrained or affected by Federal policies, because the sisters of Notre Dame are not doing anything that would constrain them by policies. My CP is accountable for the rural and disabled children in Nicaragua who do not have a voice in society and when it comes to their government they are not heard, and therefore are not being helped and that is why Sisters of Notre Dame have taken the initiative to help them.

I'm done!