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NORWALK, Conn. Virginia Auster of Norwalk has spent 26 years working on the Norwalk/Nagarote Sister City Project and still enthusiastically visits the Nicaraguan city to find ways to help.
At 88, Auster was the oldest member of a 14-person delegation visiting Nagarote in February, and some argue the most energetic. Her traveling companions, ranging in age from 14 to 88, came from all over Fairfield County, New York City, and even North and South Carolina.
The purpose of the five-day trip was to see the city's recent accomplishments and what needs are most urgent for the children, parents and sister city staff.
The projects new community center opened last August and has become a second home to many children of the barrio. They go to the center to learn practical skills such as sewing, hairdressing, tailoring, cooking and baking and computer technology. English and theater arts, including dance and music, are two additional classes that the project hopes to make available to the families of Nagarote.
Juan Gabriel Hernandez Rocha, the mayor of Nagarote, told the delegation that the children and their parents as well have benefited enormously from the support and dedication of the Norwalk/Nagorote Partnership and thanked them for their work.
The Norwalk/Nagarote Sister City Project works closely with students from area schools and colleges and in collaboration with other non-profit groups. Volunteers, donors, and grant funders are always needed. To learn about opportunities with the project, contact Carol Way at 203-293-3111 or at caroljway@gmail.com, or go to the project's website.
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