Updates

June 18, 2007

Though the project has seemed “silent” over the past few months – it’s been far from idle. It all started in January of this year when we hired Josh Nagler to assume responsibilities of Program Director for the project. Josh was a Peace Corp Volunteer until November of 2006 and has a special interest in job creation. He is familiar with the challenges of Nicaragua and joins us with great ideas and high energy. He is a HUGE added benefit to this project and lives 15 minutes away from Empalme in Boaco, in the city of Boaco. He is newly married to a Nicaraguan with one step-child.

We led a 15 person work trip at the end of Feb to do some remodeling of the medical clinics in the Boaco area. We cleaned and painted the gynecology and birthing units, repaired the bathroom facilities, and installed a new water system for the surgery room at the Boaco hospital. We then moved to the community clinic in Empalme where we once again cleaned and painted the entire interior, replaced part of the roof, fixed the bathroom, and brightened up the faces of the staff.

Of course, in between these projects were community meetings – updates on the progress of the community, the housing project, the playground, and the education program. The group was content, happily tired at the end of each day, and no one got sick!

During one of these meetings I made an important announcement – I was preparing to sign a joint agreement with the government to build a new Secondary school in Empalme de Boaco. I was expecting some excitement, some polite applause. What I received was a raucous wild response from the 200 members in attendance. After decades of promises from local officials, we were finally going to build them a new school – and they knew WE were serious!

We took the time to have two nights of Board Meetings with a group facilitator (James Bourke) to identify our 2007 goals. The biggest conclusion we came up with is: we will not be building any new houses in 2007, rather wait till 2008 and let he current project take a rest and learn how to live in their new surroundings. The next phase will be our FINAL 24 homes and we want to make it perfect. Most see it as their last opportunity to receive a new house and we want to make sure everyone is educated in the process – we don’t want anyone to miss the opportunity. Our plan is to start with the houses in early 2008, after the rains stop, and we will keep you informed of the progress.

The other big decision we made is we will Not be holding our annual Fund Raising event in October. Once again, we want to wait a year while we invest the money we made last year in homes, community center, school and most importantly Job Creation. We will be having another event in late October 2008 – but we want to impress you with our progress and our successes at that time. You will be impressed.

So while you might think we have been quiet, we have not been idle. Great things are happening in Empalme de Boaco. With the help of Josh and the consistent work of our Board of Directors. We are making some great progress and turning up every rock to find employment opportunities for this region. We thank you for your continued support.