Country Profile
Colonized by Spain in the sixteenth century, Nicaragua declared its independence in 1821. The Sandinista revolution in 1979 touched many aspects of Nicaraguan society. Land reform, health, and education advances were made. The left-leaning tendencies of the Sandinistas during the Cold War polarized them toward the Soviet Union and Cuba and alienated Nicaragua from the United States. In the early 1980s, the United States financed and backed a rebel movement against the Sandinistas from bases in Honduras. Known as "Contras"--the conflict sparked ten years of civil war for the country. Steps toward democracy have been taken, but the process has been slow, with the political pendulum swinging between socialist and conservative forces. Nicaragua also is vulnerable to natural disasters, in 1998 Hurricane Mitch caused significant damage. Nicaragua once again made international news when Hurricane Felix, with its category 5 fury, barreled into Nicaragua in September, severely impacting several provincial towns and hundreds of rural communities.
CRWRC has been working in Nicaragua since 1973. Today, CRWC works with five national Christian partner agencies. A primary focus is the continued development of the Nehemiah Center impacting numerous churches, businesses, Christian schools, and communities through intensive leadership training and networking. CRWRC also works along side Partners Worldwide trying to connect the CRC constituency through Farmer-to-Farmer program.
Fast Facts
Population: 5,666,301 (July 2011 est.)
Area Comparative: slightly smaller than the state of New York
Literacy Rate: 67.5%
Life Expectancy: 71.9 years
Population below the poverty line: 48% (2005)
Gross Domestic Product per capita: $2,900 (2010 est.)
Religions: Roman Catholic 72.9%, Evangelical 15.1%, Moravian 1.5%, Episcopal 0.1%, other 1.9%, none 8.5% (1995 census)
Languages: Spanish 97.5% (official), Miskito 1.7%, other 0.8% (1995 census)
note: English and indigenous languages on Atlantic coast
(From the World Factbook. Click here for more information on Nicaragua)
Partners in Nicaragua
YMCA of Nicaragua (ACJ)
ACJ is a Christian organization whose mission is to organize youth to come alongside community leaders and make a difference in poor communities. ACJ is working 9 communities in the central part of Nicaragua. ACJ’s specialty is promoting community health and sustainable agriculture.
Christian Medical Action (AMC)
AMC is a group of Christian medical professionals that work in poor communities to improve the health of women, children, and adolescents. AMC currently is working with CRWRC in nine communities in the central part of Nicaragua and 28 communities on the Atlantic coast. AMC’s specialty is promoting community health and sustainable agricultures. AMC also puts a lot of emphasis on promoting human rights and in particular, training communities to participate in Municipal affairs.
Christian Center for Human Rights (CCDH)
CCDH is an organization of volunteer lawyers who promote and protect Nicaraguan human rights. This is done primarily through civic education and public advocacy. CCDH has set up a network of ‘houses of justices’ throughout Nicaragua that serve the communities by providing legal advice and mediation at low cost.
Nehemiah Center
The Nehemiah Center’s seeks to teach people how to integrate a Biblical worldview into every area of life. It does this by promoting Christian individuals, families, schools, churches, businesses, and governments to work together and share a common vision. The Nehemiah Center provides training to church leaders, teachers, business people, and community leaders from five clusters of communities. As a result local churches are growing and reaching out to their communities, and community leaders are taking responsibility for community problems and progressively resolving them. Nehemiah Center also is involved in HIV Aids and domestic violence prevention as well as a pilot project in raising awareness about human trafficking awareness.
Luke Society Foundation of Nicaragua
The Luke Society Foundation of Nicaragua is an independent affiliate of the Luke Society International that has had its roots in the reformed tradition for many years. The local Nicaraguan affiliate began to operate in 2005, moving from the traditional clinic model to a community development approach. The focus of its work is empowering ‘campesino’ families in 10 rural communities. In addition to health and food security, the other program interventions include children at risk, gender, and community participation in disaster risk management.