Nicaragua Initiative For Community Advancement Inc

NICA's goals are to cause lasting change for rural coastal towns on the Pacific Coast of Nicaragua. Our specific goals include improving the quality of education offered to children, educating the community on responsible litter disposal and environmental responsibility, creating jobs for adults, and teaching English to all those who want to participate.

We put the recipients in charge of the change that happens in their town and own lives. We create programs that offer opportunities to students and teachers and adults not enrolled in school. Teacher and students are offered opportunities to learn more, teach better, and improve education over all for residents in El Transito. Adults, mainly women, are offered community service jobs that create lasting change in their town as well as in their own private lives. They are paid in construction materials and those materials positively impact their entire family. Giving people the responsibility and ability to change their lives by providing only opportunities is the key to ending the cycle of poverty for future generations.

After 10 years of operating in El Transito, we have learned a lot. We have failed and we have had victories. Through this process, we have become very capable in creating lasting change in a rural community. Through trial and error, we have learned what works and what does not. We have developed a great network of people on the ground and in Managua that work together to deploy our programs. Locals know the ins and outs about what works and what doesn't. We have many locals on our team, and with their direction and guidance, we are capable of overcoming any obstacles.

We haven't scaled to the level we thought we could have after 10 years of operating in Nicaragua. We have accomplished way more than we thought we needed to. We had no idea how many layers we needed to peel back to get to where we are today. We are proud of the progress we have made because we know it will be long lasting. Changing cultural norms and educating children is not a quick fix project, it takes time. We are please with the changes we have seen about making education a priority, litter prevention, and improved housing options. We are most pleased that the residents themselves chose these changes. Their choices will begin to impact future generations and disrupt the current cycle of poverty in rural areas in Nicaragua.