Imagine tasting filtered water for the first time in your life, or walking onto the basketball court in the municipal league final with 600 friends, relatives, and fans cheering behind you. Imagine eating tomatoes from your school garden that you planted together with your classmates and new friends from 3,000 miles away. These are the experiences that Comunidad Connect facilitates and you support.

Contributions from people like you have helped us purchase “the most important physical asset in our organization,” in the words of Dariel Potoy, our Assistant Executive Director and our first staff member, hired in 2006. The company truck has served in bringing environmental conservation to rural areas around San Juan del Sur, where for the first time residents aren’t burning their plastic bottles but recycling them. More recently we have used it to bring water filters to more than 50 families in our new community called Los Robles in the Nicaraguan highland region. By having the truck we were also able to provide recycling services to the TV show Survivor when it was filmed in San Juan del Sur last year, which was a source of income and publicity for our young organization. In a word, the truck has been essential to expanding our capacity to contribute to sustainable development in our communities.

What we have done…

There are many achievements that I would love to share with you. In 2007 we started the first municipal recycling program in San Juan del Sur. This program united the most prominent hotel in town with the municipal government in the first official public-private partnership. In our first year we hired 10 people and began diverting as much as two tons of plastic from the landfill per month. In 2009, with the help of donors like you, we purchased a truck and engaged several rural communities, residential developments, dozens of businesses, and all the schools in San Juan del Sur in what has become a movement more than a program.

Hundreds of young people have volunteered their time with Comunidad Connect, and have come away with life-changing experiences. They have worked alongside their Nicaraguan hosts building bus stops and trash cans, painting murals, planting school gardens, and teaching everything from English to soccer. They studied Spanish and grew to understand the Nicaraguan culture. Most importantly, they learned of their privilege and the responsibility of being a world citizen.  

From cracked cement and broken bottles to hosting national boxing events and international volleyball exhibitions, the story of our Sports Park is a story of the positive effects of international philanthropy. With small and large contributions from donors like you, we created one of the most important and visible community assets in San Juan del Sur. Under the lights and with music blaring dozens of young people run up and down the court in our municipal leagues for soccer and basketball. Playoff games draw upwards of 500 people to the Park, about 10% of the town’s population.TestimonialMy time with CC was such an incredible eye opening experience.  it had a lasting impact on both my personal and professional development" - _{Jesse Festa, one of our first volunteers, 2007}

And where we are going …

The success of the past gives us confidence to meet more needs of the people of Nicaragua. We recently launched a collaborative project with Proyecto NicaAgua, delivering water filters to families in the Los Robles community near the city of Jinotega. With just $30 a family can have clean water for 10 years or more. To “purchase” a filter, each household volunteers 16 hours in their community. We believe in this approach because it builds ownership rather than dependence. We have already delivered 200 filters, but another 3,000 people are in need of clean water in this community alone. In addition, there are six families on the waitlist for replacement roofs in the same community. With $200, together we can provide a safe and comfortable space for a family for many years. Another exciting initiative is our school garden and composting program. We have the vision of supplementing students’ simple diets of rice and beans with school grown vegetables. We have already planted two such gardens with the help of volunteers and the support of donors, but many more are needed. A $300 contribution can pay for 80 plants, soil and organic compost, and a gardening workshop for the students.

Becoming a piece of the puzzle…

We all know that life is not easy no matter where you live. But it is particularly difficult in places with few resources. Comunidad Connect supports Nicaraguan communities by matching social, economic and environmental opportunities with local and global resources. You can help our mission as a global citizen. Please visit our new website: www.comunidadconnect.org to donate online or fill out the attached form to donate with a check. If you have ever considered visiting Nicaragua, now is the best time. You will fall in love with this country the same way we have. There is no better way to appreciate its beauty and welcoming people than a Sustainable Tourism trip with CC. Finally, please spread the word about our work. We are a small organization with big dreams. You, your friends and your family can help make these dreams come true.