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What We Do
Humanitarian / Disaster Relief
Hurricanes and flooding are a constant threat to the poor and isolated people of Nicaragua. After Hurricane Mitch in 1998, Peace and Hope Trust was the first organization to visit many of the affected villages on the Matagalpa River. While the direct hurricane damage was northwest, severe flooding and mudslides razed many villages to the east. In communities like Esperanza and Guadaloupe, a forty foot wall / wave of mud decimated their villages, destroying buildings, devastating crops and taking many lives. Peace and Hope Trust had the capacity to travel up river to these isolated areas and provide desperately needed food, medicine, transportation and other necessities such as lanterns and mosquito nets.
In October of 2005, the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua received damage from yet another hurricane, Hurricane Beta. Peace and Hope Trust responded with an emergency delivery of relief supplies within two days of the storm and helped with the evacuation of refugees.
In July of 2007, Peace and Hope Trust volunteers were some of the first responders to the catastrophic flooding on the Wawashang River. We delivered food, mosquito nets, clothing and other desperately needed supplies while the river was still so flooded that our teams and boats were navigating up the river through the tree-tops.
Infrastructure
Many of our projects and programs begin with the basic element of constructing facilities. Peace and Hope Trust has constructed and refurbished many schools, municipal wharfs, churches, community centers and hurricane shelters. Our beneficiaries benefit from access to central meeting places for religious, educational and social activities. Our infrastructure projects increase commerce, improve logistics and diminish risks in the event of frequent natural disasters such as hurricanes and flooding.
Along with building robust facilities, we work comprehensively towards effective water resource management through the provision and installation of rain water collection systems. While our target population has an extended rainy season, they also experience a very severe dry season, during which time access to water is dangerously limited. With the installation of water collection tanks we can help increase their capacity to catch and store rainwater that is used to sustain them through the dry season.
Child Rescue Program
In 2008, Peace and Hope Trust constructed an orphanage in the mountainous coffee growing region of Matagalpa. The orphanage is owned and operated by Celina Olivas and reaches out to the some of the neediest children in Nicaragua. Most of the children have suffered serious physical and emotional abuse and abandonment. Celtina and her staff currently care for 10 children at the orphanage. The orphanage was built by American volunteers and it continues to be supported by those same volunteers. A large and safe playground will be built in June 2009 and a larger orphanage for 20 children will be built in 2010. This is a powerful and life changing ministry.
Agriculture
Peace and Hope Trust is committed to food security and reducing the risks associated with rural life on the isolated Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua. In 2005 a moratorium was imposed on fishing for most of the communities in our target areas. These communities relied 100% on fishing for their livelihoods and food. In 2006, Peace and Hope Trust began an agricultural program to support and encourage the growing of rice on the Atlantic Coast. Our goal was to help our beneficiaries diversify and therefore reduce the risks associated with food security.
The rice milling program continues to be a great success. We are continually looking for donors to support the construction of more rice mills. We have built 2 large milling facilities with 3 rice milling machines in the communities of La Barra and Haulover / Pearl Lagoon. After an effective marketing campaign, the locals are now growing enough rice to sustain their families and to sell to other consumers. These facilities can mill up to 3,000 pounds of rice each day. The mills were built with a combination of volunteers and local labor and they are now fully managed by the communities.
Medical
Adequate medical facilities in many regions of Nicaragua are limited due to logistics, politics and location. The isolated nature of the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua is a strong contributing factor to their high incidence of disease and death. Generally, government-run public clinics have empty shelves and are under-staffed. In response, Peace and Hope Trust focuses on creating and supporting various projects through which proper medical attention and care can be extended to those communities most in need. In 2000, Peace and Hope Trust constructed a remote medical outpost in the village of La Barra Rio Grande. The clinic has been staffed and stocked for 8 years and we are now very thankful to announce that the regional ministry of health has built a clinic in La Barra to serve this very needy village. In 2005, we completed work on a clinic in the city of Bluefields which now provides health care for those families living in and subsisting on the Bluefields Municipal Dump.
We are always trying to push the envelope and reach out to populations that are increasingly isolated. These populations are hot-spots for Malaria and Dengue Fever. Through an annual program of distributing mosquito nets and medications, Peace and Hope Trust holds firm commitments to the prevention of Dengue and Malaria. The results are amazing and every year lives are saved by avoiding these diseases / infections.
Given the shortage of medical personnel and limited access to modern facilities in many parts of Nicaragua, Peace and Hope Trust incorporates the involvement of American and British nurses, doctors and dentists on many of our work teams. These skilled volunteers donate anywhere from two to six weeks of their time traveling from village to village offering free clinics, examinations and vaccinations. And when available, prescription medications, medical supplies and instruments are donated to local pharmacies and hospitals.
Renewable Energy
Our beneficiaries reside in some of the most isolated areas of Central America. There is no access to mainline electricity and the smaller villages we serve generally do not have access to power from generators. Such limited electricity impacts their lives in many ways. For example, they cannot read/study in the evening and they have no emergency radio capacity or electric lights. Their productivity suffers and their quality of life is not maximized due to their lack of access to electricity. Due to their isolation, propane and butane stoves and lanterns are cost prohibitive.
Peace and Hope Trust has a two pronged commitment to both reduced consumption of fossil fuels and rural electrification. We have installed numerous photovoltaic systems, as well as a hybrid wind turbine / PV systems. Renewable energy technology is well matched for the sunny and isolated populations with whom we work. From micro home systems to macro community charging stations, Peace and Hope Trust is continually looking for ways to remain active in the field of renewable energy. One such example is our Rural Battery Program in La Barra, whereby families can purchase small batteries for their homes, charge them to our Solar Power Recharging Station and return home to enjoy up to 3 weeks of electrical light on one charge.
Social Services
Our commitment to personal growth and development is steadfast. We believe that true and lasting development in any society must begin in the personal lives of individuals. By offering such ministries as counseling services for displaced families, feeding programs, literacy classes, and micro-enterprise opportunities, Peace and Hope Trust seeks to invest in the well-being of the individual.
We are very much committed to sharing the love of Jesus Christ through all of our projects and programs. This commitment is reinforced through numerous activities, some of which include the following:
the support of local churches
the implementation of Vacation Bible School programs
the distribution of Miskitu, Spanish and English Bibles
feeding programs in Bluefields feeding hundreds of children each month
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