Overview

CUC’s newest mission, Agua for Nicaragua, is working with the nonprofit organization El Porvenir to provide safe drinking water and sanitation improvements for 405 people in the tiny village of El Tanque (pronounced “el TANNkay”), Nicaragua. The people are members of 68 families who relocated to El Tanque after Hurricane Mitch and a landslide destroyed their homes and village. They walk almost two miles several times every day to carry contaminated water in 5-gallon buckets — on their heads — to their homes. Women spend much of their time hand-washing clothes at the distant water source. A few decrepit latrines in the village are overflowing or falling apart. And of course, there are no showers. Many villagers, especially the children, suffer frequently from diarrhea and other diseases caused by contaminated water and unsanitary conditions.

Agua for Nicaragua will change all of that. The project includes a new clean- water well and pump, 69 latrines, a lavandero (laundry station) with showers, hygiene education, and seedlings for reforestation.

El Tanque include map

El Tanque is located in a remote agricultural area northeast of Managua in the Boaco Department (region) of Nicaragua. The 68 families living in El Tanque are subsistence farmers. In 1998, a landslide destroyed their homes and farms in their original village nearby. They relocated to El Tanque. Today the nearest well—which is a hole in the ground one mile from the village—produces muddy water and cannot be repaired. Nicaragua is the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. About 80 percent of the population lives on less than $2 per day. Natural disasters and civil war have destroyed infrastructure, drained resources and derailed economic development.

(Source: El Porvenir 2008 Annual Report)

El Porvenir

El Porvenir is a nonprofit organization based in Nicaragua and modeled after Habitat for Humanity. Since its incorporation in 1990, El Porvenir—which means “the future”— has completed more than 600 projects serving more than 70,000 Nicaraguans. El Porvenir’s goals are to help Nicaraguans build sustainable water, sanitation and reforestation projects that will improve their lives and health. Such projects are also designed to instill community-based initiative, lessen the physical burden on women and children, and preserve watersheds. El Porvenir recently opened it’s two-person headquarters in Denver. Projects are managed through the organization’s six offices in Nicaragua. For more information, visit El Porvenir’s Website.

Project Overview

Agua for Nicaragua will help El Porvenir provide

• A new hand-dug, gravity flow, clean-water well and pump will be built in El Tanque in the village by the families. The well’s simple crank-system is easy for both children and adults to operate. It will be enclosed in a concrete casing and set on a concrete pad with a drain.
• 69 latrines, one for each family and one for the school, will also be built.
• A lavandero (laundry) building with enclosed shower stalls will be built near the water source so that women can wash clothes in the village.
• Sanitation education will improve the villagers’ hygiene and health and reduce water-borne disease.
• The villagers will select local representatives to manage and maintain the well, latrines and wash station. All the families will help build the facilities.

Time frame

• November 1, 2009           CUC meets its $10,000 fundraising goal
• January, 2010                  Target construction date
• January 2012                   Target project completion date

Project Costs

Budget
$36,644   For construction materials, labor, and administrative expenses

Funding

$10,000   CUC’s commitment, $9,500 for construction materials and
$500 for reforestation.
$10,000   The SG Foundation matches our commitment
$3,000     El Tanque villagers
$13,644   Contributions from other El Porvenir supporters

How you can help

Opportunities to Support Agua for Nicaragua

• Pledge a one-time donation of $20 or more.
• Buy a Chocolate Therapist chocolate bar for $3 to help fund the project and enjoy a delicious—and healthy—treat. Julie Pech has donated every penny of chocolate sales to the El Tanque project. Purchase them at the Mission House or at Julie’s shop, The Chocolate Therapist, 2560 W. Main St., Littleton. Tel: 303-795-7913
• Buy a 36-ounce poly-pure royal blue water bottles, imprinted with the CUC Agua for Nicaragua logo, for $10 each. Available at the Mission House, the super strong, spill-proof bottles made in the USA of PETE plastic are a BPA-free alternative to polycarbonate. They’re great for hiking, traveling, or taking to school or work.
• Join the Agua for Nicaragua water mission team to assure the project’s success. A CUC work brigade trip to El Tanque will be planned when the project gets underway.
• Join a work brigade trip, organized by El Porvenir, to El Tanque and  help dig the well, build the laundry station and latrines, plant seedlings and get to know the El Tanque families. See the You Tube video about an El Porvenir work brigade trip to Nicaragua.

Project Updates

Ecumemo articles

Contact Us

Agua for Nicaragua Team

Kay and Jack Dunn

Sharon May

Judi Buehrer

Laura and Blair Hamill

John Crozier

Steve Anundson

Dan Parker

Julie Pech

Susan and Bill Zeeb

Alice Silver

Jeff Steffen