Nicaraguan Developments, Summer 2008, Volume 24, No. 2

By Carlos Arenas
WCCN's Executive Director

As the NICA Fund closes in on the benchmark of ten million dollars lent out in Nicaragua, WCCN’s board and staff have started to seriously consider the possibility of expanding our microfinance operations to other countries. In this article, I would like to elaborate on the reasons why this kind of strategic move could be fundamental for WCCN’s future, and what countries look most promising for expansion.

I just returned from our June study tour of Nicaragua, which focused on women’s empowerment. While there, we witnessed the deterioration of the political situation, as it becomes more and more polarized. In fact, the institutional pact between the Sandinista Front for National Liberation (FSLN) and the Constitutional Liberal Party (PLC) has continued to erode state institutions and is severely damaging the democratic gains Nicaragua has made over the last 18 years. The latest action by the FSLN-PLC pact has resulted in the cancellation of the legal status of two political parties, the Sandinista Renovation Movement (MRS) and the Conservative Party (PC).

I’m pleased to write to you as the new president of the WCCN board. I joined the board and oversight committee soon after I participated in the 2000 study tour, and I’ve been very impressed with the talent and dedication of WCCN’s staff and volunteers. Many thanks to Dan Rodman for his years of service as board president.

The upcoming year will be an important and exciting period for WCCN. We’re considering adding new partners outside of Nicaragua, for the first time in our almost 25-year history. It’s certainly a major decision, and Carlos gives you more details in this newsletter. As we move forward with this decision, and others, my vision for WCCN is that we stay true to our fundamental mission of fighting poverty through sustainable economic development, while fostering greater understanding and goodwill among people. We can do this by taking advantage of our considerable strengths.

by Russ Rutter
NICA Fund investor and study tour participant

In January of 2008, my wife and I joined WCCN’s winter study tour to Nicaragua in order to learn more about the country and about the ways in which micro-loans help Nicaraguan people build better lives for themselves and their children. We paid a visit to an agency called Habitar, whose mission is to improve housing. There, our group watched a video that showed men, women, and children as, with minimal machinery, they built, moved, and piled up large wirework containers of rock called gabeones. The folks dwelling in this barrio had built gabeones, stretching for almost 500 yards down the river­bank, that hold back floodwaters—but that also bear witness to their desire to brighten the corner where they live.

by Cody Rothschild
Intern and study tour participant

Halfway into this year’s WCCN women’s empowerment study tour, group participants visited the rural town of Malpaisillo, Nicaragua, and the Xochilt Acalt Women’s Center. Xochilt Acalt, which was named after a powerful indigenous chief’s wife, works with women of all ages in surrounding areas to promote citizen participation so they can organize and campaign for their rights independent of Xochilt Acalt’s help. It also provides agricultural instruction and youth and adult gender training. Additionally, it runs a free clinic in the town center that offers gynecological services and family planning education.

Did you ever wish you could hear about WCCN's work and the latest news in Nicaragua and microcredit more often than every three months? Have you gone on a study tour and wanted to share what you learned with your friends and family? Or maybe you haven't had the chance to visit Nicaragua with WCCN, but would love the opportunity to see our work in action.

Join the Wisconsin Coordinating Council on Nicaragua as we visit Nicaraguan organizations that empower communities and improve the quality of life of thousands of people through alternative economic projects. Witness the effect of providing microcredit to small urban and rural producers, cooperatives involved in the fair-trade coffee movement, and organizations working with the urban poor.

by Susan Frisbie
Development and Marketing Director

In the early ‘90s, with the war behind them, the vast majority of Nicaraguans still faced an uphill battle in the struggle against poverty and injustice. In May 1991, WCCN sent a delegation to Nicaragua to learn more about establishing a socially responsible trade and investment program that would foster economic development. This led to our first steps into microfinance through a partnership with CEPAD, the Nicaraguan Council of Protestant Churches.

by Carlos Arenas
Executive Director

As part of a new initiative to help to incubate promising organizations with the potential of becoming NICA Fund partners, WCCN has recently established a partnership with the Humberto Aguilar Co-op. This co-op is located in the town of La Concepción, in the department of Masaya, only one hour outside of Managua. La Concepción is the main producer of fruits and vegetables in Nicaragua. WCCN believes that there is an enormous potential for the co-op to increase their services and take complete advantage of the unique agro-ecological conditions of its region.

by Susan Frisbie
Development and Marketing Director

Reina Narcisa Monge Velasquez operates a bakery in Tipitapa, a city 12 miles east of Managua. Its proximity to Managua and accessibility from the Pan-American Highway have made Tipitapa a major commercial center, employing tens of thousands in low-paying free-trade zone factories. Reina, a borrower of NICA Fund partner agency Prestanic, is thankful her family has been able to avoid the dismal working conditions of the free-trade zones due to the success of her business.