Peter Lambert

Professor Peter Lambert is Associate Dean (Learning and Teaching) in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences of Bath University, is a specialist on Paraguayan politics and teaches Latin American history and politics.

Having graduated from Birmingham University he moved to Paraguay, where he worked for four years in an NGO in the field of popular education and political research. He also taught EFL, gaining the RSA TEFL Diploma in 1992 and branching out into language teacher-training. He completed his doctorate on democracy in Latin America at UWE Bristol, where as a Lecturer he helped set up Latin American Studies. He joined the University of Bath when Spanish was re-launched in 2000 and was Spanish Section Coordinator from 2000 until 2008.

Peter has taught on all of the Spanish language units and on many others including Latin American culture and the MA in interpreting and translation. Currently he teaches Latin American politics and history in years 2 and 4.

He has published widely on Paraguayan and Latin American contemporary politics and society, including themes such as authoritarianism, nationalism and democratic transition, and his research has been awarded British Academy support on a number of occasions. He has also worked as a consultant on democracy and governance in Paraguay.

   Alix Hughes

Alix Hughes is a founder member of Bristol Link with Nicaragua and has been involved in social justice and solidarity with Central America for thirty years. He has visited the region several times and is a member of the Environmental Network for Central America. His day job is to help develop the seven twinning relationships that Bristol has with Bordeaux, Hannover, Oporto, Tbilisi, Puerto Morazan, Beira and Guangzhou.

   Roz Payne

My involvement with Friends of Morazan started in 2000. I was running a small Montessori nursery school, The Clifton Children’s House, and I was approached by Alix Hughes, Bristol Twinning Officer, who wondered if I or any of my staff would consider applying for a British Council grant for a teacher exchange visit to Puerto Morazan. Friends of Morazan had been supporting several preschool teachers, one of whom had expressed an interest in Montessori education.

There followed various exchange visits, in all seven preschool teachers from Puerto Morazan visited our nursery school over the next 12 years and I visited their preschools four times.

The Clifton Children’s House parents were fantastic, raising money each year through various fundraising events which enabled us to pay for Montessori teacher trainers from America, Mexico and England to visit Puerto Morazan to give workshops and for four Nicaraguan teachers to go to Costa Rica for further training. In addition, enough money was raised to supply three classrooms with Montessori materials.

The enthusiasm and motivation of the preschool teachers has been amazing. Conditions are hard and the climate unforgiving, and yet they have remained cheerful and totally committed to the children in their charge and to helping each other and sharing ideas.

Charities have to be sustainable and I believe that this project has provided something that can carry on and grow on its own, given the proven commitment and dedication of the Nicaraguan preschool teachers.

Now that communication with Puerto Morazan is so much easier than it was in 2000 let us keep this link vibrant as I know it is valued.

   Elspeth Reid

Although my appointment as a trustee of Friends of Morazán occurred just recently, my connection with fund raising for Nicaragua started in 1972, when the earthquake in Managua destroyed huge parts of the city. While at school, we baked and sold cakes in aid of the reconstruction effort that was so desperately needed by the 250,000 people who were displaced as a result of the earthquake.

My more recent involvement with Friends of Morazán happened almost by accident – a chance conversation with a friend about Bristol Link with Nicaragua’s (BLINC’s) Copa Sandino football tournament made me realise that while I knew about the politics of Nicaragua, the geography of the country and its people remained a mystery to me. An Internet search yielded all I needed to know – a country full of picturesque lakes, powerful volcanoes, lush rainforest and so much more. A few hours later, I had booked my first three-week trip, which I took in December 2011.

To say I fell in love with the country while I was there would be an understatement – the country and its people had me enchanted from the moment I arrived. Upon arriving back in the UK, I quickly booked my next trip, which I am taking in December this year.

Baking cakes as a child has translated into baking cakes as an adult too – I’m still raising money for the charity by selling the cakes I make, along with other activities – I took part in the Bristol 10k run earlier this year, and have already signed up for the same run in 2013! Over the course of the coming years, I am looking forward to strengthening my ties with the charity and becoming even more involved with helping the Nicaraguan people.

                                                    Tom Hore

Tom discusses FoM’s support with FoM teacher Ana Julia

Tom Hore is a founder member of FoM and has kept the charity going with support from his friends and family. Tom volunteered in Nicaragua in the 1990s and has supported solidarity work in Nicaragua and El Salvador for decades. He has a Masters in Development Studies from the University of Bristol and works for Bristol mental health charity MIND.

Simon Tepper

I am the newest of FoM’s trustees (joining in 2017) and by comparison with other trustees my interest in Nicaragua is also recent, though I closely followed from afar the events of the 1980s and the country’s struggles to achieve justice and democracy.

As a family we visited Granada and the surrounding area, and the Isla de Ometepe in 2016, and were immediately enchanted with the country. Everything about it called out to us – the people, the history and culture, the landscape and wildlife. I decided there and then to see if there was a way to stay in touch with this wonderful country. I remember standing on a balcony overlooking the Plaza Colón in Granada and searching online for links with Bristol, and finding the Friends of Morazán and BLINC websites. On my return I immediately contacted them to see if I could help out. I am now delighted to serve as a trustee for Friends of Morazán and to sit on the BLINC committee.

My professional background is in managing adult education and work-based learning, and I hope that in the coming years I can use my experience to support the work of my colleague trustees.’