Project Minnesota-León marks three decades of linking Nicaraguans and Minnesotans

It was 1984 when Bryce Hamilton traveled with a delegation to the war-torn country of Nicaragua, a small Central American nation then making big headlines as U.S.-backed rebels tried to overthrow its leftist government.

Hamilton was deeply moved by his experience of meeting ordinary Nicaraguans caught up in global politics, and wondered, "How do we get something going that is people-to-people, no politics involved?"

The question led to the birth of Project Minnesota-León, one of at least a dozen Central American groups formed in the 1980s in the Twin Cities, which was then a national hotbed of Central American organizing.

Since then, nearly all have disappeared. But Project Minnesota-León, which focuses on people-to-people exchanges and financial support for health, education and welfare projects in the region of León, marked its 30th anniversary last week.

In an ironic twist, its first field coordinator in Nicaragua — Elizabeth Moreira — recently returned to her former job to help lead the nonprofit into its fourth decade.

"We didn't go there to build latrines or libraries; we never had the money," said Hamilton, a Minneapolis businessman.

"The community would come up with ideas, and we would try to connect them with people who could help them. That's what happened over the years. It was always people meeting people."

More than 100 Minnesota delegations, from church groups to educators, have visited León under its auspices, living with low-income families and learning about their lives.

Although the 1980s intrigue of touring the literacy campaigns, health clinics and other hallmarks of the former Sandinista government is no longer there, the experience of creating genuine connections with Nicaragua's people has lasted. Said Hamilton: "There's no reason it can't go another 30 years."