[The following is an open letter to all OSCA members]
To the Editor:
I am writing this letter because I am desperate. I have just come from a month-long visit to one of the poorest areas in one of the poorest countries in Central America and I have returned to what is probably the most grossly wealthy part of the world. I am a member of a $1.75 million corporation run entirely by students who profess to have revolutionary and cooperative ideals, and they may fail to continue support for their one international relationship. By now you've probably heard of the "Nicaragua Sister Co-op" and have at least a vague idea of what that means, but I want to use this letter to tell you a little bit more.
The situation in Nicaragua right now is sad, sadder than anything I've seen. In the short time I was there, I became acquainted with four people who were forced to flee their families and the country they love because there was literally no means for them to eat. There is no work, no food and, with rising costs and privatization of education, very little opportunity for self-improvement.
For 10 years, OSCA has supported an organization called the UNAG that facilitates 14 women's collectives in San Juan de Limay, Nicaragua. With our help, women are given credit which no bank would ever afford them as they have no collateral and are largely unemployed. The money is used to buy chickens or a cow or seeds. A $36 loan for seven or eight chickens may not seem like that much of an aid to, say, a family of six, but the eggs from that chicken may represent the only substantial protein their children will consume in a day, or in a week. We have our new organic milk by the gallon in our stuffed, industrial-sized refrigerators, but the small amount of milk that they can get from their cows is just enough to give their babies the nutrition they need.
Why am I detailing all of this for you? Well, it's because you actually have one more chance to continue this support, and perhaps give this opportunity for ownership, self-empowerment and simple subsistence to hundreds more women. Last semester, OSCA came up 11 votes short of passing the funds already allocated in the budget, however 96 percent of the people voting were in support of it. This means that this project may come to a close because of apathy. Please, think of everything I've written (and, believe me, I could write pages more) and make it to one meal this Tuesday or Wednesday to vote for the Nicaragua Sister Co-op. I believe this to be the most important thing in which OSCA participates and to let it die now would be a grave mistake.
Very Sincerely,
Copyright © 1997, The Oberlin Review.
Volume 125, Number 16; February 28, 1997
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