You are Training Tomorrow’s Leaders
You are Training Tomorrow’s Leaders Ebelín is a mother and community leader in the village of La Providencia. Before your support for her training, she was shy and mostly stayed in her home with her family. She is now helping her community by improving the roads and transforming empty land into gardens. They have recently solicited […]
Impact of Leadership Training
The 40 villages currently receiving leadership training from CEPAD, (and made possible by you), are in their third year of accompaniment and have already received two trainings in 2017. In addition to identifying their biggest problems they have looked for funding for different projects to improve the quality of life for members of their rural villages. Below you can see the types of projects that received funding thanks to your gifts!
Projects Funded in 2016
From Farming to Tech Jobs: Computer Training with Your Help
Nicaragua is one of the poorest countries in the Western hemisphere. Minimum wage is barely $170 per month—with 48-hour workweeks. Thanks to your help, youth in Matagalpa have hope for their future. Your funding has supported computer training which has allowed youth to access college majors and job prospects they may not have otherwise. Thank you!
Forty-nine students graduated on Thursday, October 6, from the Computer Training Program run by CEPAD in Matagalpa. The training program consisted of over 120 hours of hands-on coursework. The courses were taught by professors from local universities, and were made available to everyone with an interest in learning more about computers. The program has graduated over 270 students over the past five years.
The Village of Sompopera Now has Running Water
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.
You Can Help Community Leaders in Nicaragua
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.
The Village of Buena Vista Faces a New Problem
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.