WOMEN'S EMPOWERMENT CENTER & CARITA FELIZ SCHOOL - Support Women's Causes & Elementary School Education

Granada, Nicaragua

Purpose: Support Women's Causes & Elementary School Education

Start Date: March 2019

Funding Level: $25,000

Lives Directly Impacted: 485

SUMMARY

The Inti Raymi Fund visited and supported two local community projects in Granada, Nicaragua. The first project was the Women's Center for Self-Empowerment and the second project we supported was the Carita Feliz Kinder School.

CENTRAL AMERICA'S PAINFUL HISTORY:

If you want to fully understand most of the reasons for the poverty and crime in Central America and in Nicaragua, this requires you to revisit history and familiarize yourself with the past colonizations of Central America by Spain from roughly 1521 up until independence in 1821. By the late 1800's a new economic colonizer, United Fruit, helped by the US government and its military, appeared and swindled most of the Indigenous Peoples and Mestizos ("mixed people") out of their native lands and their future economic sustainability by creating "Banana Republics" in Central America. These enormous land grabs turned the Indigenous Peoples and Mestizos from land owners/operators into peasant workers on lands which previously were owned by them. United Fruit attempted to mask its "identity and vile past" by creating multiple subsequent subsidiaries like Chiquita Banana. These prolific land grabs and genocides, caused the Indigenous and Mestizo Peoples of Central America to not have a chance at individual prosperity and hope. This perpetual 400 year marginalization and oppression by Spain then indirectly by the USA with its unscrupulous businessmen of United Fruit, caused the Central American People to lose all hope. Out of desperation, some resort to crime and violence, and many resort to mass illegal migration to the USA as their only coping mechanism.

WOMEN'S CENTER OF GRANADA, NICARAGUA:

The Inti Raymi Fund visited Granada, Nicaragua to find a great project to support but we accidentally found two! After visiting both of these organizations, we determined that the best solution was to divide our $25,000 grant among these two excellent communities with the goal of furthering each of their efforts in Granada.

The first project we visited was the Women's Center (aka "AMNLAE") which is run by the gracious and honorable Maria Lydia Mejia Meneses who has tirelessly advanced the causes for women in Nicaragua with her volunteering of time, political office influence, and a significant amount of her personal financial resources.

The Women's Center's emphasis is the "Self-Sufficiency & Women's Empowerment" for the women in the communities surrounding Granada and the self-sustainability of their households. The Women's Center has extremely diverse directives in serving the young girls and women of Granada which include among other things, facilitating governmental grants and loans for new and or improved housing, computer training, eye vision testing and corrective eyewear, legal advocacy support, vocational sewing classes, hair styling lessons & training, construction lessons, environmental awareness and local support, construction of restrooms outside their homes, reading awareness and books, food production systems and even a coffee shop approach with listening and learning time for these energetic women.

WHAT DID THE INTI RAYMI FUND DO FOR THE WOMEN'S CENTER:

The Inti Raymi Fund provided $12,500 into the Women's Center of Granada, which shall be used for the following projects:

Construction of two modest cement and block homes for two families in need. These homes will be significant upgrades from their current plastic and sheetmetal sheds with dirt floors which they are using currently.
Financial support for two new teachers in the El Fortin & Barrio Paz neighborhoods, which currently educate 62 children.
Financing for a new bakery to be started, which will integrate and train 12 new bakers who will learn a valuable vocational trade.
Financial support for the main campus, with funds being used for utilities over the coming 2019 fiscal year.

If our message resonates with you and you wish to donate directly to this wonderful organization which we personally visited and supported, or you wish to visit and do volunteer work, please contact Maria Lydia Mejia Meneses below:

CARITA FELIZ KINDER SCHOOL:

Situated in the eastern lower-income suburbs of the antique colonial city of Granada, is the wonderfully run elementary school called Carita Feliz Kinder. Currently, there are approximately 400 children which are enrolled in the school, divided equally between 200 morning classes and 200 afternoon classes due to space limitations. The head of the school is the warm and compassionate, Meylin Busto, who took us around, showed us everything and answered all of our questions. In addition to providing the children with either a significantly discounted or free education, the Carita Feliz School also provides breakfasts and lunches to these children which often are the only balanced meal they receive from home.

WHAT THE INTI RAYMI FUND DID FOR THE CARITA FELIZ SCHOOL:

The Inti Raymi Fund provided $12,500 into the Carita Feliz Kinder School towards their general education fund used for teachers, supplies, and some new school equipment such as library shelving etc. We are so delighted to have visited and supported this warm and encouraging school in Granada, Nicaragua.

The financial backbone of this school is provided by the well run non-profit organization based in Spain, called Fabretto. Their mission is to empower underserved children and their families in Nicaragua to reach their full potential, improve their livelihoods, and take advantage of economic opportunity through education. Currently, Fabretto provides education in nine facilities across Nicaragua, including Carita Feliz of Granada.

If our message resonates with you about this wonderful school and it is something you are interested in financially supporting as we have done, or visiting for volunteer work, please reach out to them directly at:

TEAM MEMBERS

Chris, Raul, Meylin, Chimu

COMMUNITY & INTI RAYMI FUND'S INVOLVEMENT

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