Update from Nicaragua

ICC Nicaragua’s Vamos a Estudiar program benefits local families

Editor‘s Note — Even though ICC’s children’s village in Nicaragua has suspended operations because of government policies, our directors, Felix and Angelica, continue to do great work within the local community. Here is an edited excerpt from an update we received recently…

Dear friends of International Children’s Care, we want to tell you how wonderful has been the providence and care of our Creator for our staff and our small but very significant work in these difficult times.

In this new stage the program we call Vamos a Estudiar (Let’s Study) continues to be our main work, although we are also carrying out other smaller tasks such as education on healthy living and timely help for some unforeseen needs or situations.

The objectives we set at the beginning of this project in this new stage are being achieved, perhaps quite slowly, but you can see the positive changes in each of the 48 children who benefit directly from this work as well as the families to which the children we support belong.

The facilities of the Casa Hogar have been very important for the support of our work. This year we have had an overproduction of lemons. We sold more than 30,000 and took another 5,000 to the hospital. We distributed about 8,000 among the families we support. We have had a good production of bananas, and we hope to have a good harvest of sorghum. The tractor that you helped us to buy has been one of the greatest blessings we have received.

We visited the schools where the children who participate in the program study. The children of this program received a school package containing a pair of shoes, school uniforms, notebooks, pencils, and a nice backpack. Every month we visit each family, and each one is given cleaning materials, a bag with food, and fruits grown on the farm of the Casa Hogar.

In April, several young people from the program and other young volunteers built a simple room for the mother of one of the students in the program. This helped her to be protected from the rains. We also continued the nutrition classes for low-income mothers. In these classes, they are taught the basics of nutrition and the preparation of nutritious and healthy meals based on what is produced in the area. This is done in coordination with the Adventist church.

An important thing when working with the families we support is that we do not only give them welfare support, but we also think about the sustainable development of each family. We seek to find each family an economic opportunity that will be a source of income that will allow them to stop depending on social assistance in the not-too-distant future.

We do this almost always by means of activities that they already carry out, improving their conditions or providing them with a means of work in better conditions. We gave one man a tricycle to work transporting people since he was renting one to carry out his work. Other families we have given an industrial stove with a tortilla griddle, tables, and stand to sell vegetables, etc.

As you can see, we have been very busy, and with God’s help, we will continue to work for the less fortunate trying to be God’s hands in this place. Thank you very much. God bless you and remember that we always have you in our prayers.