The Village of Buena Vista Faces a New Problem

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We recently updated you on a great story from the community of Buena Vista, where leaders were trained and were able to get a well dug in their community! Previous to this families had been carrying water from up to one-quarter of a mile to their homes. (To read this story, click here.)

Today, Buena Vista the leadership of Buena Vista is facing a new challenge, how to combat a severe drought affecting their community.

The average, the rainfall in August is usually over 40 inches, however in August they only received 1.5 inches of rain. The rain in September was also close to a record low. This means that farmers lost their first cycle of crops and there are increasing concerns that the second (and last) crop cycle of the year will be lost as well.

Most farmers rely on their crops to feed their families. Without a harvest, their families have nothing to eat.

Families in the area have been selling their cattle and other farm animals for money to buy food.The spike in farm animal sales has caused their price to drop, while at the same time, the price of basic grains has increased.

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Una nube de testigos: Reflexiones del encuentro internacional del CEPAD 2015

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Para tratar la pobreza, tenemos que discutir acerca de ella. Las brechas son tan altas para millones de personas Nicaragüenses a quienes no podemos cubrir las necesidades básicas. Nosotros recordamos las formas en que experimentamos pobreza espiritual y también en las relaciones. Por unos pocos días en Managua, 75 compañeros de comunidades rurales de Nicaragua, Los Estados Unidos/Inglaterra y miembros del CEPAD hablaron honestamente sobre la pobreza, sus consecuencias y el rol de las relaciones personales en la ejecución del trabajo. Representaron 14 hermanamientos, algunos de ellos tan recientes como desde hace 3 años y otros con mas de 20 años de experiencia.

Nos reunimos en la mesa como personas iguales, cada persona con una perspectiva única de como la pobreza afectaba sus vidas, sus comunidades y el mundo. Juntos reflexionamos en Hebreos 12:1-2. “Rodeados por tan gran nube de testigos, corremos la carrera con perseverancia con nuestros ojos puestos en Jesús”. Hablamos sobre esa nube de testigos – Los lideres que han estado antes de nosotros, aquellos que están comprometidos ahora y esos que vendrán después de nosotros para continuar el trabajo. Debemos trabajar duro hoy y prepararnos para pasar el bastón a alguien mas. Este es un maratón, no una carrera corta. Con paciencia y perseverancia lograremos mucho.

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CEPAD Partners Create A Great Cloud Of Witnesses

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This month, welcomed 56 partners from Nicaragua, the U.S. and Canada to Managua for the International Encounter. This event, which we host every two to three years, is a chance for those partnerships with longterm commitments between individual international churches/organizations and individual Nicaraguan communities/associations to reconnect, share with other partners and learn more about CEPAD. Together, we created a declaration of our experience, and you can read it in English and Spanish below! Thank you to these awesome partners, whose longterm commitment to CEPAD and Nicaragua teaches us so much about sustainable development and accompaniment.

A Cloud Of Witnesses: Reflections From The 2015 CEPAD International Encounter

To address poverty, we have to talk about it. The stakes are so high for the millions of Nicaraguan people who cannot meet their basic needs. And we remember the ways that we experience poverty of spirit and in relationships. For a few days in Managua, 75 partners from rural Nicaraguan communities, the U.S./ England, and CEPAD’s staff talked honestly about poverty, its consequences, and the role of personal relationships in development work. We represented 14 international relationships, some as young as three-years-old and others with more than 20 years of experience.

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You Have Made a Lasting Impact on the Lives of Troubled Youth [with video]

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Fatima Cruz stands in front of her humble stone house with her two children, Harry and Alicia who participated in youth programs through CEPAD and are now more outgoing as they learned new social skills through playing soccer.

With your support CEPAD began working in El Guineo in 2009 and youth volunteers from the community identified many needs for children ages 7-12. They determined that soccer was one of the best ways to reach out and help these children overcome their challenges.

Fatima is excited to see the changes that CEPAD’s program made in her children. “They used to be shy, they didn’t like talking with other children, but now they are more outgoing with other kids and are doing better in school.”

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You Made Miracles Happen in Santa Maria!

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It’s hard to remember quite how tough things were in Santa Maria five years ago, said community leader Antonio Hernandez. They lacked electricity and water, and the condition of the road made it impossible for vehicles like ambulances to enter.

Life is different now. When CEPAD arrived in Santa Maria, they formed a Community Development Committee to seek support from the local government and NGOs. After CEPAD’s training, they began work to make their infrastructure goals a reality.

“We had been trying for three years to get electricity here and couldn’t get answers from the government,” Antonio said. “One year after CEPAD came, the project was underway. In 2013, we turned the lights on for the first time.”

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Santa Fe Dreams Big with CEPAD

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In Santa Fe, Nueva Guinea, community leaders wiggle with anticipation. They are just beginning a five-year process of accompaniment with CEPAD. They’re not quite sure what to expect, but they are ready to push the opportunity to its fullest. They are now organized into the four different areas: Strengthening Families, Sustainable Community Organization, Food Security and Environmental Protection, and Pastoral Leadership Training. We talked with Pastor Alexander David Valdivia Masiz, the vice president of the Community Development Committee in Santa Fe, and with Dorys Gonsález, who will be learning to grow a small vegetable garden and learn crafts and skills so she can earn money to support her family.

CEPAD: What are some of the biggest challenges you face in Santa Fe?

Alexander: We need to learn how to help the young people involved in drugs and gangs. We hope this will happen both in the youth leadership program and through pastoral training, because there have been a lot of problems.
Dorys: I agree. We also need to expand our education and help youth get involved in better activities.
Alexander: The other biggest challenge is, simply, poverty. There are months of the year when no one has enough to eat. It is so important for both men and women to learn how to grow better crops and also learn how to make some money in other ways. Read more

Women Take First Steps Toward Economic Security with Community Banks

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Women in rural Nicaraguan communities have many skills, including sewing, cooking and more. With CEPAD’s community bank program, they learn to turn those skills into businesses so they can make money for their families.

For many this will be the first time they have earned money for their families and represents a transformational shift in their self-esteem.

CEPAD is working with 35 women from seven villages near Matagalpa, to set up a new community bank in each village. CEPAD funds the bank, and the women run it to ensure accountability and a productive use of the funds. The goal is for every member of the bank to start a small business, such as selling food, tailoring clothes, or setting up a small store to sell household goods.

Each woman starts with a small loan, between $20 and $100, and pays it back over four months. With time, the size of the loans will increase to match the capacity of her business. Read more

News Roundup: The Nicaraguan Interoceanic Canal

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As news of the Nicaraguan Interoceanic Canal begins to get more international attention, we know it can be difficult to keep up with every update. Between conflicting environmental reports, news of protests, and potentially positive indicators about the economy, there is much news to follow. And, soon we’ll have more information for you on how the canal is impacting CEPAD’s work in southern Nicaragua. We’ve already had to cease work in one village in Nueva Guinea because the people there were unwilling to work with outsiders after negative interactions with government employees related to the canal. As a non-political organization, CEPAD’s work does not directly address the canal, but we are aware of its impact on the people we work with.

Here, we’ve compiled 10 English-language articles that examine different political, environmental and cultural questions about the canal. We hope this will be a resource you can look to and share! As always, we’ll post major news about the canal and other events in Nicaragua on our Facebook page, and we look forward to having more information from the Nicaraguan government and HKND about the feasibility and environmental studies they have conducted, as well as official plans.

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Calling all Donors to Travel!

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We are excited to announce the opportunity for supporters of CEPAD to travel to Nicaragua to see, first-hand, the programs you make possible. Click the link below to download a brochure to learn more, we hope to see you soon! Donor Trip 2015 Brochure