It’s that time of year again folks. I cant begin to tell you all how proud I am to announce Operation Esteli 2015!
I don’t think I need to remind any of the guys that have been around a while what a wonderful project this is, and all the great things we accomplished as a community last year during Operation Esteli 2014.
For those of you that are a little newer to the board, or may not know or understand what I am talking about. Before going any further, please click the link below, and spend some time reading through the thread. Do a quick search and find some related threads and educate yourself. Operation Esteli is one of the most incredible things I have had the privilege of being involved in, in my life… BradMc, Eric, and myself would be honored to include as many of you as are interested in this years activities.
http://www.botl.org/threads/botl-gives-back-operation-esteli-2014.73575/
While we accomplished some incredible things last year, we also have several lessons learned that we intend on capitalizing on, and believe that OE 2015 will be even bigger and better than last years event.
Knowing how much time/energy/effort it took last year to keep things organized, to coordinate with our contacts in Nicaragua, to coordinate with our OE 2014 sponsors, to make sure all of the members that wanted to get involved were plugged in wherever possible, coordinating the trip to Esteli at the end of the project, etc..etc.. we have decided to bring on an additional set of hands to help keep everything on track and running smoothly.. and we’d like to welcome Smoqman/Joel to the project team! He will be working as a liaison between MPI and BOTL, and assisting in much of what is listed above.. If anyone has any questions.. or wants to get involved beyond participating in auctions, raffles, t-shirt purchases, etc.. and would like to get “hands on” with something.. please reach out to Eric, Bradmc, myself or Smoqman.. we’d love to get you plugged in..
Why Operation Esteli? The answer to that question is the same as it was last year.. We as a community want to give back to the people of Nicaragua. The people of Esteli have provided us something that brings us much joy and happiness, that provides common interest, which has led to people on this board making friends around the globe, attending HERF’s, chatting, etc. on a daily basis for most of us.
While Estelí enjoys relative prosperity compared to other regions in Nicaragua, poverty still reaches and impacts the population. Almost 25% of the people in Estelí live in extreme poverty by the definition provided by the World Bank (less than US$1.25 per day). Many of the impoverished work in the city´s cigar´s factories. The impact of poverty is evident in the poor standard of education and the proliferation of unsuitable housing/shelter that line the residential neighborhoods in the area. In Esteli the school day is only 4 hours long, and provides only minimal educational opportunities to children.
The Estelí Education Center, which OE 2015 will support, provides refuge and opportunity to children living in the city and surrounding rural areas. The center offers support for children in two key areas:
· Primary Education/Education Enrichment: Provides academic support and extracurricular opportunities for children and adolescents to reinforce important subjects like reading and math. The program also includes teacher training and/or technical assistance, distribution of school supplies, and parent engagement.
· Food Security and Nutrition: Seeks to improve the nutritional levels of children and increase the food security within communities through the provision of daily school lunches, school/family garden assistance, and community workshops.
The Esteli Education Center, is managed and operated by Fabretto, a Spanish charitable foundation that was formally founded in 1990 as the Fabretto Childrens Foundation in the US, and has had a presence in Nicaragua (through its founder, Rev. Rafael Maria Fabretto) since 1948. Partnering with Fabretto brings BOTL and MPI experience and expertise in Esteli that simply cannot be matched anywhere else. We are proud to be working with them at the school. The Fabretto staff in Esteli are wonderful people, dedicated to making a difference in the lives of children.
Techo, a Latin American charitable foundation which OE 2015 will also provide assistance to, shares a common mission with BOTL and MPI in its desire to improve both education and shelter in Nicaragua. OE 2015 funds will be used to help TECHO to build emergency shelter and temporary housing for disadvantaged families with children living in Esteli. If you have not heard of TECHO before, check out their website (www.techo.org). This is a group that Drew Estates teams with regularly to provide assistance in the area as well. They are an incredible organization, that uses local college students and the families themselves as to provide the labor required to get homes built, and are an excellent example of communities coming together to help themselves overcome poverty and all of the associated problems that come with it. We’re excited at the opportunity to assist TECHO along the way.
Our goal this year is simple.. We want to beat our 2014 results… In 2014 we raised just over $12K… I see no reason we cant blow that number out of the water this year.. Money raised will be used to enhance education, provide food, and provide shelter for children.. The people that frequent this board are among the most kind and generous people I have ever known. I can think of no greater purpose for us to come together as a group and focus our energies than to improve the lives of children in Nicaragua.
How are we going to do it? The plan is just as simple as the goal.. We intend on running a series of fund raising activities over the next several months.. We encourage you to look at the auctions and the raffle that we will conduct and consider participating.. if you were going to buy cigars or cigar related items anyway.. why not buy a raffle ticket or bid on an auction item you have interest in.. get what you wanted.. and let the money go toward charity? We’ll also be posting a link soon where you will be able to purchase an OE2015 T-shirt. Individual donations or corporate donations are certainly welcome as well.
When do we start? RIGHT NOW. You can find a “donate to Operation Esteli 2015 button” on the MPI website (link below). Within the next few days we will post a link to the t-shirt campaign… Brad is already starting to organize auctions.. just stay on the look out for anything OE related on the board over the coming months.. there will be plenty of opportunities to get involved/donate/participate.
http://microprojectinitiative.org/donate
For those of you that aren’t familiar with MPI.. here’s a quick run down.. In 2013, I founded a 501(c)3 Non-Profit called Micro Project Initiative (with much assistance provided by a couple of key BOTL board members along the way). The purpose of this non-profit is to capitalize on a global network of contacts and find ways to deliver low cost, but high yield, sustainable development services in developing countries that improve the lives of children. In short, MPI is NOT a job or a career move for me (or anyone else) so much as it is a tool that can be used by other groups (such as BOTL) to do good things for good people in communities around the world. It is not intended to make money, pay a salary, or do anything other than act as a link between donors and recipients, and help with some of the challenges associated with delivering services into developing countries.
Operation Esteli is an annual project sponsored by BOTL to raise money to help kids in Nicaragua. MPI simply acts as the vehicle that BOTL uses to collect those funds, coordinate with the recipient, and then distribute those funds (through a non-profit organization).
If you want to know more about MPI prior to getting involved with OE2015, feel free to PM me for more information.. or check out the website, facebook, Instagram, twitter, etc.. There are lots of pictures, posts, etc.. on our social media sites that should help you get a better understanding of OE in general, and OE 2014 and how everything worked out there as well..
www.microprojectinitiative.org
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Micro-Project-Initiative/302635493207550
https://twitter.com/mpinitiative
https://instagram.com/microprojectinit/
Also check out BOTL social media.. and consider following both MPI and BOTL to get regular updates on OE 2015. We will make major announcements/posts here… But there will likely be more photos and additional information that can be found on social media as well.
https://www.facebook.com/BOTLORG
https://twitter.com/botlorg
http://instagram.com/botlorg
We also have OE Specific social media set up this year. Please make sure to subscribe, follow, etc.. to these as well..
http://instagram.com/operationesteli
http://twitter.com/operationesteli
http://facebook.com/operationesteli
Last thing.. here’s what I would like to request from all of you.. While money is certainly important.. that is not what matters most.. what we really need is your TIME… please, help us get the word out. Tell your friends that are not members of this board. Tell the people you talk to at your B&M. If you know someone in the cigar industry.. whether they are a blogger, run a review site, work for a magazine, make cigars, sell cigars, or anything else.. tell them what we are up to.. SPREAD THE WORD… the more people that know about this.. the easier it will be to reach our goal, and accomplish the mission of improving lives in Esteli…If you know someone (company or individual) that would like to make a donation other than money (cigars, etc.. to be auctioned or raffled).. please put them in touch with Smoqman/Joel. He will be the primary person coordinating with vendors, etc this year (I am sooooooo thankful to have the help!)…
And.. don’t forget to subscribe to this thread.. things are about to get busy around here!
Last edited by a moderator:
)
.
