Boren permanently moved to Nicaragua in 2002 but periodically returns to Wisconsin to spread newsabout her work and advocate for those in need. The Shepherd Express highlighted Boren’s work in 2007 and 2008 andrecently caught up with her again. According to Boren, the focus over the pastyear has been on training “brigadistas,” young men and women who volunteer tobe the primary health resources for their villages.
“Before we had our first brigadistas trained, welost an average of four children to pneumonia in the nine villages wherebrigadistas serve,” Boren says. “In the last five years, we have not lost onechild.”
Boren says she has learned a lot from working withthe Nicaraguans. “You start to discover how much they can help us to rediscovervalues that are on the decline in a society that is so dominated by ourcapitalistic orientation,” she explains. “When you become involved working withpeople who live in abject poverty, but are joyous despite this, it makes youquestion what poverty is, and if perhaps our obsession with material thingsdoesn’t define us as truly poor.”
At Next Chapter, Boren will discuss books thatinspire her. “I continue to be touched by our present-day heroes and seek outthe inspiration of those that take the courage and risks to make this world abetter place,” she says. “Books like ThreeCups of Tea with Greg Mortenson, a man who fights for peace and againstterrorism through education, and MountainsBeyond Mountains with Dr. Paul Farmer and his fight to bring basic healthcare to the under-served in Haiti, help inspire and encourage me in my work inNicaragua, and let me know I am not alone in my dreams of making a difference.”
Author/attorney David Ellis also visits Milwaukee this week toread from his latest novel, The HiddenMan, on Tuesday, Sept. 15, at 7 p.m. at Mystery One Bookstore. Ellis quickly earned praise and awards fromthe literary community after debuting his first novel in 2001. And as chiefcounsel to the Illinoisspeaker of the House, he served as lead prosecutor in the trial of oustedIllinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. The HiddenMan, the first in a series set in the Midwest,is a novel of law, murder and revenge that is filled with gripping story linesand thrilling characters.
