From the Center for Development in Central America (CDCA), Feb 2019 newsletter
Tremendously impacting our work here is the ongoing strife. Although the political situation has stayed predominately calm, the U.S. State Department has not lowered its travel alert level. This means that universities are not allowing delegations to travel to Nicaragua. 2019 was heavily booked with volunteer delegations coming to the CDCA and most (not all, thank you Alaska folks!) have cancelled. Loss of delegations means loss of $100,000 in revenue for the CDCA, and $50,000 worth of donated medications for the clinic.
The high alert level also means tourism has taken a big hit. Nicaragua is looking at a 2% loss in its economy that had been steadily growing for six years. Also, the U.S. signed the NICA ACT into law, blocking international loans coming to Nicaragua. Nicaragua is the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and cannot withstand more hardships.
Pope Francis has called for dialogue and for a halt to the violence in Nicaragua. With some Catholic bishops calling for a violent overthrow of the government, we hope the Pope’s statement will bolster calls for dialogue again.
With the NICA ACT sanctions coming from the United States and the loss of tourism and business, poverty will increase substantially.
CDCA (Center for Development in Central America) is based at the Jubilee Community House in Ciudad Sandino, just outside Managua. The CDCA mission is 1-listen to communities iterate their needs; 2-work to build leadership within communities to become self-sufficient, sustainable, democratic entities; 3-orgnanize international support for communities’ development projects. CDCA works to connect Nicaraguans with others from around the world who have access to all types of resources: financial, professional expertise, time & energy, creative problem-solving, and physical assistance. CDCA projects include sustainable agriculture, sustainable economic development, appropriate technologies, health, and education.
