The home of a Rainbow Network partner in Nicaragua.
We often get a lot of questions about why we are working in Nicaragua. With so much attention being focused on other parts of the world it is easy to forget about the poverty so close to home. So what is the situation in Nicaragua?
Nicaragua by the numbers: Nicaragua’s population consists of approximately 5.1 million people – 53% of those people are below the age of 18. The per capita gross national product is about $453. According to UNICEF (The United Nation’s Childrens Fund), a break down of income distribution in Nicaragua shows that about 45% of all income goes to the wealthiest 10% of society while only 14% of income goes to the nation’s poor – approximately 2.3 million people (831,000 live in what has been classified as “extreme poverty”).
What does that kind of poverty and wealth disparity mean for the people living in Nicaragua’s poorest rural villages? Well, it contributes to the fact that 1 of every 3 children in the entire country suffers from some measurable level of malnutrition. Poverty contributes to the fact that still today Nicaraguan families live in a world where one or two of every 1,000 women to give birth will die in the process; even while teenage pregnancy account for 1 in 4 births nationwide. Poverty contributes to the fact that only about 29% of Nicaragua’s children complete their primary education and that even for those who are able to complete this basic training, it takes on average 10.3 years to complete a 6 year curriculum.
Poverty also contributes to fostering the darker side of human life. The Nicaraguan government has been unable to pay the bill required to remove the estimated 76,000 landmines still in place from the civil war fought in the 1980’s. Environmental degredation is contributing to the hardships faced by Nicaragua’s poorest people.
There is much to be done in Nicaragua.
And yet, we do not simply work there because of the problems. The Rainbow Network is committed to the people of rural Nicaragua who are committed to making a real difference, a real change in their lives and the future of their communities.
To date, Rainbow Network serves 50,000 people. That is 6% of those living in extreme poverty – those with the greatest need. With your help, we could bring that number to 12% or 18%. Can you imagine the impact that lifting 18% of a nation’s poor out of the depths of poverty would do for the future of that country? That is not fantasy, our Nicaraguan staff and leaders have the know-how and the drive. All we need is the drive and determination to make it happen.
So, why Nicaragua? Because here in Nicaragua we find desperate need, but also the incredible opportunity to change the future not only of some of God’s poorest children, but also the economics of an entire nation.
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