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Empower Nicaraguan Entrepreneurs

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For the past eight years, Community Empowerment Solutions  (CES), known locally as "Soluciones Comunitarias, " has worked to empower Nicaragua families, schools and communities. Our Nicaraguan team facilitates programs that provide a combination of the tools, knowledge and motivation needed to empower community groups, youth leaders and small-scale entrepreneurs. As you may have heard, Nicaragua is currently experiencing a sociopolitical conflict. We write today to ask you, as a former consultant, volunteer or supporter of Soluciones Comunitarias and CES, to consider supporting our organization as we push through this difficult phase.

What exactly has happened? In April of this year, Nicaraguans began peaceful protests against a recently-passed law that stated citizens would pay more, but receive less, from their social security. These protests were quickly met with police violence. After this appalling response by government forces, marches continued. However, protesters are no longer defending their social security payments. Instead, they march for their basic human rights that are being repressed and for a desperately necessary positive change. However, police and paramilitary groups have continued to respond with excessive violence to demonstrations. Since April, over 350 Nicaraguans have died and thousands have been wounded. A significant percentage of the population lost their jobs as tourism dried up and the economy began to sink. Thousands have decided to leave the country, moving to neighboring Central American countries and other places around the world. Learn more in this video! 


Students of San Carlos, Nicaragua, build towers of spaghetti, tape, and cups during a Youth Leadership workshop - the tallest tower that can support the weight of marshmallow wins!

Due to this complicated situation, Soluciones Comunitarias cannot receive consultants and volunteers at this time. While hosting volunteer groups through Social Entrepreneur Corps is just a small portion of what Soluciones Comunitarias does, it provides us with the income we use to run our year-round programs and pay our staff for their hard work. We are asking for your help to carry us through Nicaragua's growing pains. Despite the socioeconomic crisis, our three Nicaraguan regional coordinators, Alexander, Alvaro, and Herenia, continue to support our field partners where possible. During this time of instability, financial planning skills and leadership skills provided through our programs are an increasingly appropriate solution to counter the difficulties the country is experiencing.


Alexander smiles while performing a skit about customer service for our grassroots consulting client, Estrella del Pacifico, a fisherman and tourism cooperative in Poneloya, Nicaragua.

In addition to the benefits provided by the Soluciones Comunitarias team in the field, CES is also leading up a newly-founded collaborative network between 10 non-profit organizations to leverage the assets of all to increase impact of each and develop our teams professionally. To date we have had four encounters and continuing to push forward, strengthening our collaboration as we go. We are also setting up a new intiative to connect small-scale artisans with markets in the United States, a link that is now essential given that the tourism that previously drove their sales no longer exists.
 
While many organizations and businesses have had to let their employees go due to losing their typical source of revenue, CES wants to avoid letting our staff go at all costs. Every dollar received during this campaign will go directly to the salaries of our Nicaraguan team members and the programs they lead. Your donation will allow Alexander, Alvaro and Herenia to support positive change in their communities while retaining their jobs and monthly income. We appreciate your generosity and donations of any amount will help create stability and ease during these uncertain and unsettling times. Donations can be made through this GoFundMe page.

Are you interested in learning more about our empowerment through entrepreneurship programs? Check out our latest Impact Update. 

Local and international staff members Alvaro, Grace, Alexander, Herenia, and Alyssa pause for a picture during their regional operations planning session in Managua, Nicaragua. 
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Donations 

  • Darien Dixon
    • $20
    • 6 yrs
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Organizer

Alyssa Hopun
Organizer
New York, NY

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