We are excited to be writing you with news from Nicaragua and the latest happenings with the Casa Ben Linder. The Ben Linder House is currently filled with energy and ideas for strengthening the English-speaking solidarity community, both here and in the U.S., to serve as an ally to the people of Nicaragua in their struggles for social, economic, and political justice. Thanks so much to all of you who have given your time, encouragement, and money in the last year to feed our growth thus far.

One struggle that neoliberal policies have rekindled in Nicaragua is the defense of land. For more than a decade, a number of wealthy landowners, often sporting US citizenship, have threatened to further impoverish small farmers by illegally commandeering their property. In January 2001, Vicente Padilla, an organic farmer, witnessed a group of armed men invade and take over a portion of his land in the Matagalpa region. Vicente and his family have been the legal owners of the property for over 12 years. Though a court ruled in April that the land belonged to Vicente, the wealthy landowner behind the invasion has refused to vacate the property, and local police are not taking any action. Earlier this year, Vicente spoke at a Casa Ben Linder meeting and told us, "We've been working alone for five years against this landowner. We think that if you make us more visible through your contacts we will have a better chance of keeping our land."

For the last three years our friends and partners in the Nicaraguan Communal Movement have provided active accompaniment for Vicente and his family. Recently the Casa Ben Linder community decided to partner with the Communal Movement as another ally in Vicente's struggle. CBL members have visited the farm to hear from eyewitnesses and meet with the local police. CBL members have also sent letters to the national newspapers to generate publicity and to pressure the authorities to take action. As Vicente's case continues on, so will our accompaniment, ever striving to illuminate injustice for the sake of change.

Taking action on this case is only one of the manifold activities that CBL has taken on this year. We have also:

• Challenged the US government's decision to deny Dora María Tellez a US visa, through a meeting in the US Embassy and a letter to the editor . In March the US refused to let Dora María accept a fellowship invitation from Harvard University on the grounds that her involvement in the Sandinista revolution constituted terrorism.
• Hosted 47 educational talks given by anti-privatization activists, a World Bank representative, the architect of Nicaragua's literacy campaign, workers from the world's only worker-owned free trade zone, political party leaders, economists countering neoliberalism, women from a soy foods cooperative, and many others.
• Inaugurated Movie Night to view and discuss political films and documentaries.
• Gave the Ben Linder house a functioning library, a new coat of paint, working toilets, and a freshly-cleared garden area through two community Work Days.
• Constructed a large, steel shelter that provides a much-needed meeting space during the rainy season and a site that can be rented out to other groups. (Our previous wooden shelter had collapsed after being eaten by termites.)
• Organized an open house amidst Nicaragua Network's Sister City Conference, in which over 200 people came to the house to eat, listen to local musicians, and hear the legacy of Ben Linder.
• Began refurbishing the house's fading murals in partnership with FUNDECI, the Nicaraguan organization that shares the house's space.
• Launched website with photos, updates, and reflections at www.casabenlinder.org.
• Raised over $6000 and built a database of people connected with Casa Ben Linder.

Thanks to donations from many of you, the physical condition of the Ben Linder House today is worlds better than the dilapidated state in which it stood a year ago, though it still has some definite maintenance needs. As we look towards the coming year, we have decided not to use all of our resources to completely renovate the house, but to simply making the physical space more functional for the community it serves. Meanwhile, we look forward to bolstering our political and educational programs throughout this next year.

While our newly-formed Political Action and Construction committees plan and guide these projects, the FUNraising committee is seeking money to make all of this happen. We need your support to expand our services to those in solidarity with Nicaragua and to deepen our accompaniment of Nicaraguans themselves. We plan to use your contributions to:

• Monitor and expose any US meddling in Nica's upcoming presidential elections
• Engage in more intensive accompaniment of Vicente Padilla as his case heats up
• Accommodate dozens of weekly educational talks and other ongoing events
• Repair Casa Ben Linder's dysfunctional plumbing, electricity, and roof
• Transform the house's small library into a vibrant resource room
• Set up a museum to remember the history of Ben and the US-funded contra war
• Hire a part-time coordinator to develop and manage our various projects

If you wish to support any or all of these efforts, you can now easily make tax-deductible donations thanks to fiscal sponsorship by the Foundation for Sustainable Development. To securely donate online, go to here, click on "Donate Now using Just Give" halfway down, enter the amount, enter "CEPHRI" as the designated donation, and click "Add to Basket." You may also make checks payable to "Foundation for Sustainable Development," write "CEPHRI" in the memo line, and send them to:

FSD
870 Market Street, Suite 321
San Francisco, CA 94102

In addition, we would like to hear your suggestions and thoughts about the work of Casa Ben Linder. Please contact us at casabenlinder@gmail.com . And be sure to check out our new website at www.casabenlinder.org.

We hope you accept our invitation to join us in the Casa Ben Linder community with your ideas, perspectives, and funds! May you have a solidarious holiday season.

Sincerely,

Millie Brobston, FUNraising Committee
Penn Garvin, President of the Board

On behalf of the Casa Ben Linder community