Dear Readers,
Once again, it is time to bring you some good news from Nicaragua and Gran Pacifica. You'll see the normal sections about business, the economy, tourism, and humanitarian work below the opening letter. As usual there is plenty of good news to share in these areas with you. But we'd also like to draw your attention to the theme highlighted in the letter; mainly that development, social responsibility, and sustainability really do go hand in hand when done right. We want to recognize the incredible support, time, effort and money that our partners, home owners, shareholders, friends, and visitors contribute to this reality. Two events in March highlight this commitment, the Milagro del Mar / Pacifica Golf Club Golf event and the Braddigan Charity Concert that took place in March.
The first event was the concert which raised funds for the CHESS, Hope and Development Foundation, and the Love, Light and Melody Foundation. The CHESS project directly benefits more than 1,800 children in Villa El Carmen and Love Light and Melody concentrates its efforts to help children living in La Chureca, Managua’s trash dump. Our many thanks to Kara Westermann and Lindsay Stenberg, who were part of the intern group last year, for their commitment and dedication to the success of the concert. We look forward to making this a yearly event and also to having both of them back here again soon again. (Link here to photos and details of the event link below).
The second event was a celebration of the near completion of the Pacifica Golf Club course at Gran Pacifica. Tommy Haugen and his team have been hard at work transforming the rolling seaside terrain into a world class golf course utilizing the ocean and many other natural features. Roger and Carolyn Keeling, of Milagro del mar Beach Club, co-sponsored a closest to the pin and hole-in-one contest on hole #4 of the Emerald Nine. Numerous prizes were awarded including golf clubs, golf wear, and a big screen, flat panel TV. Over 150 attendees participated in the days events which raised $1,500.00 for the Hope and Development Foundation.
Also, we would like to share with you the link to watch the documentary "The Other America" aired on BBC WORLD as a five-part series conceived by the Netherlands Cooperation Service (SNV) together with Rockhopper Productions from London. This series is being produced to raise awareness about how private companies with sustainable models can help reduce poverty in Latin America. Video link: www.rockhopper.tv/programmes/226# .You will need to choose "Episode #3" once you land at the Rockhopper site. Gran Pacifica was presented as the best practices example in the region due to its business inclusivity program, which is being developed in partnership with SNV (http://snv-la.org/?idioma=english).
Gran Pacifica Director of Government Affairs, Adiak Barahona, supported the production of the Nicaraguan portion showing examples of how Gran Pacifica work with the local community as business partners, in addition to its philanthropic programs. By talking to workers, farmers, heads of corporations, as well as award winning experts and business persons, this series want to raise awareness about the ingenuity of the people from Latin America. Gran Pacifica is committed to communicate to the local and international public the positive results of its sustainable and business inclusive tourism model.
We hope you enjoy this edition and until the next issue, best regards,
Michael Cobb
Chairman and CEO
