The Sister Islands contingent, the majority of whom were Ometepinos, was the largest at the U.S.-Nicaragua Sister Cities conference.

Also, BOSIA health activist Trisha Hennessy participated in the Annual Colloquium on Nicaraguan Health in Managua.

Hennessy and Esterberg both returned to share a picture of contemporary Nicaragua that was hopeful – based on grass-roots efforts such as the Coop and the autonomy movement on the Atlantic coast – and grimly precarious: Nicaragua was the most indebted country in the world proportionate to its population and Contra activities and conflict still terrorized the North. As Kim concluded, “I realized the good fortune that our fellow islanders have being somewhat isolated from the political tensions that grip much of Nicaragua today. It was another reminder that our window on Nicaragua and the developing world is a gentle one, and that we should use it to look still farther into a world struggling for justice.” .