Where our children live

Our children live in Nicaragua in the city of León and its suburbs.

El Tamarindo

El Tamarindo is a salt-producing village situated over 20 kilometres from the centre of León. Most inhabitants make their living from salt extraction. It is a meagre existence as there is only work for six months of the year and pay is poor, around € 0,75 a day. When people are ill they have no income and illness is common as there is no potable water in El Tamerindo. All the salt in the area makes the inhabitants prone to dehydration and villagers of all ages suffer from almost continuous kidney infections. Many children also suffer from anaemia due to chronic malnutrition. In the rainy season the village turns into a mud bath and every year many fall victim to malaria and dengue fever. Despite all these difficulties the population of El Tamarindo is highly motivated, they hardly complain and are very grateful for the opportunities MPowering People provides for their children. They make sure their kids study hard and get good report cards. Every year they show their appreciation by putting on a theatre performance.

Adiact

The neighbourhood Adiact in León, named after an old indian leader, is one of the poorest and most violent slums in the city. Domestic violence and violence on the street are part of daily life for most women and children. Boys who receive little attention at home grow up spending most of their time in gangs called pandillas. Most girls get pregnant before they are 17 years-old. Many turn to glue-sniffing, alcohol or drugs to forget their troubles. Children earn money begging or guarding cars while mothers wash clothes in the river for 1 córdoba (€ 0,04), bake tortillas or go into prostitution. There is an enormous lack of self-esteem among the people in this neighbourhood. After years of hard work we are now noticing from both positive and negative events that the children and their families are gaining in confidence in their own capabilities and in MPowering People. We are regularly invited to baptisms and we also work as advisors and confidants in cases related to upbringing and divorce and sadly also to cases of incest and domestic violence.

El Centro

The area el Centro consists of several neighbourhoods surrounding the centre of León. These are the suburban slums Subtiava, Guadalupe, Nuevo Horizonte, Ruben Dario, Zaragoza, Fundeci, Rigoberto Lopez Perez and the rural communities La Ceiba and Jalapa de Palo. Every neighbourhood has its own specific problems but poverty is the common denominator in the often broken homes of this area. The children in the suburban slums are faced with hunger, drug and alcohol abuse and insecurity. Children from La Ceiba and Jalapa de Paloare are less likely to be confronted with these situations but have the problem of having to walk for miles on an empty stomach to get to school.