Bordered by the Pacific Ocean on the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east, beautiful Nicaragua has a population of 6.625 million (World Bank 2020). It’s the largest country in Central America, but also one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere, with limited access to education, employment, and resources such as sanitation facilities and medication. Forty-one percent of Nicaragua’s population lives in rural areas (World Bank 2020), many living on less than $1 a day.

WE Charity’s history in Nicaragua goes back to the late 1990s, when we were able to construct or rehabilitate many classrooms and schools in the country. Since then, we have partnered with several communities in the Central Pacific Region to implement community-led, holistic and sustainable programming across our five-pillar development model. This holistic model starts with education, usually building or renovating schools or school rooms (including classrooms, libraries, kitchens, teachers’ accommodations, and school offices), that are then supported by other infrastructure needs key to breaking the cycle of poverty, from clean water to improved health care.

While education is free in Nicaragua, there are many barriers to children accessing education, especially in rural areas. Damage from frequent extreme weather conditions has limited economic growth and the government’s ability to make improvements throughout the country, especially to the education sector. Access and quality are poor, particularly at the secondary level. Thousands of primary-age children do not attend school, or drop out after only a few years, and many children are involved in child labour.

Weather is also a barrier to children accessing education. During Nicaragua’s rainy season, the rain creates dangerous conditions on their routes to school. Due to this, building safe and properly landscaped schools has been one of our priorities in Nicaragua.

Together with communities and in partnership with the Nicaraguan government, WE Charity has supported building and renovating education infrastructure, school programming and teacher training over the long-term. We also provide students with resources such as pens, notebooks, classroom furniture, books and more. Additionally, students can join school clubs, helping enhance their education and build their confidence.

We have also partnered with a local organization called “Libros para Niños or “Books for Kids” that promotes reading, particularly for students in rural areas. The organization supports our team in setting up pop-up libraries, giving kids access to a wide variety of books and the chance to particulate in a storytelling program.

School gardens are another important part of WE Charity’s education projects in Nicaragua. The Nicaraguan government runs a food program for public schools across the country, with snacks served every morning such as rice, beans and cereal. Our programming includes school gardens to grow fruits and vegetables to complement this program and give kids additional nutrition. The gardens make use of recycled tires re-purposed as planters, which helps combat soil erosion and other challenges presented by the uneven ground.