Nicaragua project profile

Aguas Azules ADP

Education
Although there are four primary schools in the ADP, 23 per cent of pupils never complete the school year. This is partly due to problems with transport, as children have to travel by boat, but the cost of uniforms and schoolbooks and the need to help parents fish or farm are also factors.

The ADP financially supports preschool teachers in five communities and provides primary and secondary school students with scholarships to pay for school uniforms and study materials. As there are no organised recreation activities for young people, the ADP arranges after school folk dance, guitar and weaving classes to encourage children, help them develop their skills and raise awareness of basic child rights.

Health
In the past people often had to travel outside the ADP area to get medical assistance as the area has few health facilities. Malnutrition is common.

World Vision has set up first aid posts and the Ministry of Health has trained volunteers to diagnose problems and dispense medicine. The volunteers also learn about hygiene and sanitation, disease and HIV prevention, child development and family planning, and help organise events that raise public awareness of these issues.

Mothers who have well nourished children teach others in their communities to prepare nutritious meals with locally available ingredients. Vegetable gardening is also promoted to improve nutrition.

Economical portable water filters are proving effective in removing 90 per cent of the impurities from lake water, which is polluted by industrial waste from a nearby city. With the addition of chlorine tablets, the filtered water is safe to drink.

World Vision drills boreholes and digs open wells, It helps families install proper latrines to improve sanitation, and establishes and trains water and sanitation committees to maintain water resources, avoid water-borne diseases and improve household sanitation. These committees are responsible for developing community guidelines for water use and sanitation.

Income generation
Fishing and horticulture are the predominant occupations, although most of the people have only small plots of land. Lake Nicaragua and Mombacho volcano provide potential for ecological tourism.

The ADP pays for boat repairs and provides fishing nets and hooks, tree seedlings and livestock, such as cattle, chickens and pigs, to help families make a living. Farmers have opportunities to attend workshops and field trips to other areas to learn the value of improved agricultural methods.

Young adults are trained in the skills necessary to work as tourist guides. Women can join business development training to help them establish small businesses to supplement the family income.

Community leadership
World Vision helps children and adults form focus groups in health, education, ecology, farming, emergency response and administration. The ADP trains members to plan, carry out and evaluate development initiatives.

Children’s co-operatives have been formed with the objective of learning leadership, business, and marketing skills. One such co-operative of teenagers obtained a loan from the ADP to open the first grocery store on their island. They repaid their loan and reinvested the profits in their small business.

Sustainable development
World Vision and the people of Aguas Azules envisage that by 2012 the community's capacity to access resources for ongoing development will be at a level that no longer requires World Vision assistance. We will keep you updated on their progress.