Vecinos is a group of volunteers in both the United States and Nicaragua that every year work together to provide educational support to rural families in farming and mining communities outside the city of León, Nicaragua.
Board of Directors
Director: Polly Straub-Cook
Polly Straub-Cook is a journalist, PhD student, and musician who learned about the opportunities to support the efforts of rural Nicaraguan communities to improve and expand primary school education while on a 2008 trip to visit Mateo Garibaldi, then the director of his own non-profit that provided English and computer literacy programs for adults in the city of León. She currently studies communication at the University of Washington, where she also teaches journalism after a career in community journalism, and in the summers she tours nationally with her blues trio.
Project Coordinator: Mateo Garibaldi
Mateo Garibaldi began volunteering in Central America while in high school, and after earning a degree in International Studies, began his own non-profit, Adelante, in León, where he ran a school that offered classes in English and computers for adults who wanted to improve their employment opportunities. He encouraged Polly to start Vecinos as part of Adelante, and each year coordinated the Vecinos project. When Mateo returned to the United States last year, closing Adelante, Vecinos was incorporated as a stand-alone non-profit, and Mateo now coordinates volunteers and itineraries for the annual trip.
Gina Giefer, RN
Gina Giefer is a nurse and an experienced volunteer who joined Vecinos on a trip in 2017 and joined the board. She immediately brought new ideas, such as providing school pictures to Nicaraguan students, and improving our record keeping practices. She travels with Vecinos on the annual trip.
Youth coordinator: Robert Sweetser
Robert Sweetser came to Nicaragua in 2017 with his mother Gina, and joined the board as a board member and a liaison with youth volunteers. Vecinos often takes high school volunteers on annual trips, and Robert advises Vecinos on youth and school outreach, as well as traveling with us each year as a volunteer.
Maverick Velasquez: Country Director
Essential to the project is Maverick Velasquez, who each year coordinates ahead of the trip with the Telica school district to get the lists of materials needed by students and teachers and requests from the schools for repairs. He also lets the communities know when we will arrive so they can plan to access services. Furthermore, he purchases all the school supplies ahead of the trip, and each year handles many other details. He owns a small school supplies store in León, and is able to find Vecinos the best prices and highest quality materials.
Jenniffer Espinoza Carmona: Dental coordinator
Jenniffer Espinoza Carmona is a dentist with her own office in León, and several years ago offered to provide dental services as part of Vecinos’ project. Since then, she has assembled a team of dentists who each year provide services to more than 100 students and adults in rural communities. Jenniffer organizes equipment and manages logistics as well.
You!
Vecinos each year is joined by volunteers from teenage to retired who help package and hand out supplies, assist dentists and veterinarians, document the trips with video and photos, and much more. If you are interested, please contact us!