Nicaragua

The North Atlantic Autonomous region, located on the Caribbean coast, is one of Nicaragua's most isolated areas. Extreme poverty and violent crime are widespread. The road to reaching everyone here is steep, but we have already begun to make a difference.

What does WaterAid do in Nicaragua?

Since 2011, we have helped to make clean water and decent toilets a normal part of daily life for communities here. We train local people to install and maintain pumps and wells, rainwater catchment systems and composting toilets in schools and homes. And we help map access to water and toilets, so as to identify those most in need. 

With continued innovation and investment, we will make a lasting impact on the lives of even more communities. Together, we can reach everyone in Nicaragua.

Water supplies in Bilwi are poor. Installing good quality pumps and toilets is expensive and many of those who want to do it have to take out a loan.

That's why we work with local organisations on a micro-finance and training scheme. One of our partners, Pana Pana, reviews the loan applications, and the successful borrowers pay them back at low interest. The installation is then carried out by supervised teenagers who have completed a plumbing course with our other local partner AMEC.

The young people who take the course tend to come from neighbourhoods where opportunities are limited. They've usually been identified as 'at risk' by the local police and have had some involvement with gangs and petty crime.

As well as receiving technical training, the students learn how to set up their own plumbing businesses, and take part in counselling sessions with a psychologist to address some of the social problems they face. "There has been a change in my self-confidence, self-esteem," says Bessy, an AMEC alumni. "If others in the neighbourhood received the same training, the same intervention, maybe that would help them."