The Village of Sompopera Now has Running Water

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Pedro and Yanira used to have to carry water for their family, their crops and their animals. Every villager in Sompompera struggled after wells dried up due to a prolonged drought. After your support for training, village leaders ran over 5 mile of pipes to bring water from a mountain spring. Life is now different in Sompopera, all thanks to you.

 

For the last 30 years, Pedro Herrera has farmed his land in the mountains of Pantasma, in the northern region of Nicaragua. His large mustache parts to reveal a set of silver-plated teeth as he greets us at his porch. “People from CEPAD are always welcome at my house,” he says.

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Rodolfo’s Home Garden Changed His Life

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Resting on a hand built reclining bench sits Rodolfo Pineda and his young daughter Katherin. A young boy races past the porch lined with flowering plants. The front of Rodolfo’s house is a little “pulperia”, a local name given to a small store with daily need items.

Rodolfo greets us warmly and explains he was part of the CEPAD program during the previous five-year cycle in his community, Sompopera. Though the work that you made possible is officially over, he and the other community leaders continue to work together to improve their community. Rodolfo is eloquent and talkative. He immediately begins sharing about his five-year experience with CEPAD. All the benefits Rodolfo has for his family were provided by you. This is just one family in one town, your gifts make similar things possible for families all over Nicaragua. The following is a transcript of what he said:

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The Beautiful Hues of Relationship

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PC(USA) Mission Co-Worker, Justin Sundberg, serving with CEPAD, reflects on the word that he feels best summarizes the work of the organization and asks you to reflect as well.

by Justin Sundberg

In Jinotepe, to the south of Managua, CEPAD has worked for 8 months in the community of, “Los Encuentros” (the Meeting Crossroads).  When I visited there last month, I left nearly ecstatic considering its future after meetings its CEPAD-trained leaders.

During my encounter in Los Encuentros, leaders described what they had been learning.  One woman, Glorieta, rushed in late to our meeting. She had not personally been to any of our trainings, but a friend of Glorieta, trained by CEPAD, had trained her.  Glorieta was beaming as she pulled necklaces, bracelets and earrings from her pockets. In Spanish, she burst, “He ideado unos!”  In English, her statement could be rendered, “I’ve created some of my own unique designs,” shared modestly, but proudly.

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Fresh water for two brothers

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After driving out of Teustepe, (a town in Northern Nicaragua), for 45 minutes on a rocky path and crossing a couple dry rivers, we finally arrived in the small, dusty village of Agua Caliente. The landscape looks bleak due to the past two years of drought. A few underdeveloped crop fields are visible through the breaks in the trees.

Two small boys were among the first to run up to the pick up truck to greet us. Jose and Joan were soon met by more children who walked with us to the small unpainted quarry block house.

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Sugeyli and her two sons

“You Have Given to Us and Expect Nothing Back”

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Come in to see our chancha!” Oscar and his older brother Witer ran ahead of us as their mother excitedly invited us into their house to see their large pig which had recently given birth to 12 piglets.

We followed, expecting to walk out the back door after entering the house, but the two brothers turned into the small, smoke-filled kitchen. There she was, their pride and joy, snout to the hard dirt floor, hunting for food with her 12 little pink piglets.

For Sugeyli, this family of pigs living in her kitchen eases her worry about her sons not having enough to eat. These pigs give her hope for their future.

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Thank You for Your Support in 2015!

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Thank you for your prayers, donations and accompaniment of rural villages in 2015. You have truly made a difference for so many. Our staff have a special message to thank YOU for your support.

 

A Message from Our Director

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Thank you for your tremendous support.

As the end of the year approaches and we patiently await the joyous celebration of the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, we in Nicaragua are giving thanks for your continued friendship, love and prayer.

2015 has been an exciting year as we have begun our first year of work in 42 new villages. Through my visits I have felt the hope and excitement of people who are being empowered to see pathways out of poverty that they had never thought were possible.It has also been a year of challenges. El Niño has greatly affected the villages we work with, making hunger an even bigger problem as farmers are no longer able to feed their families. Children are especially vulnerable as the most basic diseases combined with malnutrition can be life-threatening.

I would like to personally invite you to make a contribution today.  It will help us begin 2016 with a solid financial base and allow us to carry out our work with great energy, expertise and love.

Please make your gift a generous one. Thank you again.  For you!  Without your support, our work is not possible. Feliz Navidad to you and your family.

In Christ’s love,

Damaris Albuquerque

Executive Director, CEPAD

You Can Help Community Leaders in Nicaragua

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Donald Orozco is a taller-than-average man for Nicaragua. He does not talk very much in the community leader meeting… until he is out in the dried-up fields of his community.

Rain has been scarce. The river that has sustained this community of farmers for generations is lower than it has ever been.

As they walk through the corn stalks with tiny, underdeveloped ears of corn, Donald hold his shy 10-year-old son’s hand and explains that he never went to school. “I don’t think the same way that other farmers do. I know how important it is for my children to go to school.” However, it is hard for him to send his children to school because the little money he can get is going to be used to buy food for his family.

For his kids to go to school they need uniforms, books and supplies. With the drought Donald can’t afford those things for his children.

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Meet Juana. Her Life is Better, Thanks to You

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Despite only having studied through sixth grade and with few resources for her 4 children, you give Juana Figueroa great hope for the future. She is involved in CEPAD’s community banking program and is the President of her village’s Community Development Committee. She has already benefitted from your support of CEPAD’s patio gardens and is now growing fruits and vegetables.

CEPAD: Can you tell us about yourself?

Juana Figueroa: I work on the farm with my husband, we rent two manzanas to grow corn and beans. We also grow oranges, mangoes and malanga on our patio at home.

CEPAD: Tell us about your children. I heard you have a 15-year-old daughter in high school and a 5-year-old in preschool. Do you have any others?

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