Dr Hooker: "URACCAN is strong, each of us is a fighting spirit."

Even though, to visit the municipalities of Waspam and Puerto Cabezas right now is an odyssey because of the floods of rivers and multiple obstacles caused by the onslaught of the two hurricanes that passed recently, Dr. Alta Hooker Blandford, rector of URACCAN, could not contain the courage and spirit of solidarity, and decided to venture to the North Caribbean Coast to give words of encouragement and hope to the university community , as well as direct reconstruction and educational continuity actions.

On the morning of this Monday, November 23rd, Hooker and a team met with officials and officials from this university campus, where he urged them to continue working to restore the work of this house of intercultural higher education. "URACCAN is strong, each of us is a fighting spirit, URACCAN remains the ultimate, if that wasn't true, we didn't have a university that started out of nowhere," he told the university community.

The rector also stated that this alma mater is made up of a strong staff, because walking from the university has been a complicated process, but with the strength of the university community, it has been rebuilt with the help of all. Hooker also recalled that, in 2007, the university was hit severely by Hurricane Felix, and now in this November 2020, it was destroyed by two hurricanes, ETA and IOTA.

Odyssey on Managua's journey to the North Caribbean

Hooker and his team struggled to get to the campus facilities well so they could talk to all the staff. "The Wawa is completely full, the snout is not yet available, but not only did I have to pass that, there are all the people who bring the help, they are companions who come looking for their relatives, so the situation is complicated," she said.

Hopeful messages from the authorities

Dr. Alta Hooker told the staff present at the assembly that this is not the first time that the university has struggled, however, with mutual help and willingness has been lifted. "We have been able to walk, we have been able to walk with the word of our ancestors, we have been able to walk looking head-on, without fear, aware that we will and that we will do well," he said.

In addition, URACCAN's highest authority shared that various institutions, on the part of the National Council of Universities, other Nicaraguan and other universities have clashed with the entire university community of the First Intercultural Community University in Latin America. "URACCAN is our great hope, URACCAN is the hope of the Caribbean Coast, we are here and we will continue to push it, we will continue to rebuild it, and that URACCAN will continue here," Hooker concluded.

For his part, Enrique Cordón, PhD, vice-chancellor of the Bilwi compound, explained that the assembly aimed to reorient the actions to be taken after the passage of the two devastating hurricanes, in addition, it is intended to continue with the school year 2020, "as we rehabilitate some spaces continue with the classes and continue with what is pending this last semester of the year".

With regard to damage to the infrastructure of the enclosure, Cordón emphasized that they are between 80 and 90% losses. "We don't have the conditions yet, the damage is very significant, we are in a damage assessment process, but also to make a budget projection for the immediate reactivation of the venue, for now we are trying to identify some spaces in the city of Bilwi, and some small spaces that we have here in the venue to restart the classes, probably next week we are restarting the classes" , the vice-chancellor ended.