Saturday, October 17, 2009

Trip to Nica
















It’s about that time of year again…time to travel! This time, the foundation brought us to beautiful Nicaragua. Not many people know that Nicaragua is the second most impoverished nation in the Western Hemisphere. Once in Nicaragua it was hard to imagine that in such a beautiful country, 27% of its population is suffering from undernourishment. Despite seeing all the hardship, we had a very worthwhile trip. During our short week, we managed to meet with three organizations: Bridges to Community, Empowerment International and Caritas Feliz (featured on October 13).

Bridges to Community is a non-profit striving to create a world where basic needs are treated as human rights: shelter, nutrition, education, healthcare, and employment. Thanks to Miranda and Kevin who graciously toured us around amazing projects including community education, sustainable housing, small loan projects and leadership programs. Thank you to Miranda, Kevin, Jarred, Bonnie and many other community members for sharing your wonderful stories and for welcoming us into your homes and communities. Please check out the Bridges website to found out more about their amazing work in Nica http://bridgestocommunity.org

Empowerment International’s mission is to break the cycle of poverty before it is transferred to yet another generation, by building more educated and productive communities. Their vision is to enable every child to go to school and achieve the level of education they desire. One of the great things about EI is that they encourage the communities to make EI program their own and then empower them to raise their voices and tell their own stories. This is a great approach with working with communities – empower them to make the change! Thank you Deepa for meeting with us (twice!). Check out EI online at http://empowermentinternational.org/

We are now working with these great organizations on the possibility of future projects and we hope that through these projects, we will help empower the future of Nicaragua.