"CASS TEACHERS PARTICIPATE IN THE 15th ANNUAL SUMMER WATER CONFERENCE FOR EDUCATORS IN SAN ANTONIO"

I had the privilege this week to attend a conference about water. I say it is a privilege because it was my first experience at something like this. I thank everyone from the CASS Program again for making possible our attendance at this conference.

Before we went to the conference, we had two days of preparation, working with Dr. Cindy Herbert and Mr. Roland Revilla. They oriented us about the schedule for the conference, and they guided us in preparing a cultural presentation to give during the conference.

Dr. Cindy taught us so much more than we knew about water issues, and then we made a lot of creative projects and games related to the theme.On one of the three days of the conference, we had discussion by country about water problems in our communities. Every one of my classmates, divided according the the countries they came from, talked about the problems they confront daily with water. We concluded that the problems with water are the same in each country, although some are more intense than othersIn my country in particular, Nicaragua, the problems are serious. There relaly is no safe and regular source of potable water, nor is water recycled.

The water in Nicaragua for the most part is polluted with trash, insecticides, contaminants from runoff, etc. Fishing boats contaminate the water as well, letting our oil, gas, and diesel; this literally exterminates many many species of sealife. Other problems are social in nature; young girls who are sent to look for water are frequently raped; over 90% of the schools don't have potable water for students; in places where water is held in tanks, the receptacles are ancient and rarely if ever cleaned. Many many children and older adults get sick as a result of all of this. For all of these reasons, and many others, it was personally very important for me to be a part of this conference.We felt very confident about our presentations while we attended the conference. Water is a Lesson in Life.

During these presentations people from the USA expressed their sympathy to us. I think they recognize that they have quantities of water that most people can only dream about, and they can make use of it any time and for anything they want.As a country, we presented a drama about the way people live in the communities of Nicaragua, what are the customs, where and how do they get water?An attending teacher not associated with CASS asked a question, that makes me consider more deeply the reason behind the presentations that we make, The presentation had a double meaning.

For me, the reasons are:

.- This country is making people aware of the benefits that they get from water, Many people around the world need clean water, and the people of this country should appreciate and take care of their environment, their water

sources and systems and everything that make it possible for them to have clean and recycling water.o Presenting our culture helps others understand our cultural traditions and costumes…..We attended some sessions that were dedicated to educators; they shared different themes and methodologies that we can use to teach children about water. I had the opportunity to participate as a volunteer in some experiments. They gave us fliers with information about each presentation, and materials that we can use in our country with our students.I hope everyone that reads this enjoys it and shares it with others. This was a new experience that I will be taking home with me to my country.