US Organization Brings Hope and Healing to Rural Nicaragua

LOS SALONOS, Nicaragua - March 31, 2014 - PRLog -- Springfield, Missouri - In one of the poorest countries in the world, one U.S. organization has been working to bring hope to Nicaragua by helping the people create sustainable communities and a habitable society for all.  The work has paid off for those living in rural Nicaragua.  People like Dory Luz who at 4 years of age had not walked, weighed less than 20 pounds and could not talk.  She was experiencing the severe complications of third degree malnutrition.  The Rainbow Network provided her the antibiotics and fortified nutrition she needed.  Today, Dory Luz is a happy, healthy 11-year old, attending a Rainbow Network school.  Dory and her family, like so many other families in the region, have been provided food, housing, education and economic assistance to help lift them out of extreme poverty.

The Rainbow Network, a not for profit development organization based in Springfield, Missouri, has been working in rural Nicaragua for the past 19 years to help alleviate the crushing poverty so prevalent in the country.   Nicaragua is the poorest country in Central America and the second poorest country (after Haiti) in the Western Hemisphere.

Since 1995, The Rainbow Network has:

-- Reduced malnutrition rates from 50% to 8% in the villages they serve

-- Moved approximately 6,500 people from a mud and stick hut to a new cement block home

-- Provided 60,000 people with microloans to help them learn a trade

-- Taught 30,000 children to read and write

-- Staff physicians conducted more than 650,000 patient consultations

And, in April, the organization will serve the 40 millionth meal provided since 1995.  The event will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday April 24, 2014 in Colonia de Paz in Los Salonos, Ciudad Sandino, Nicaragua.  Volunteers and media are invited to attend the event to see first-hand what The Rainbow Network team and the people have accomplished in the region.

Founded on the belief that people who are able to respond to the needs of the world’s poorest people have an obligation to do so, Keith Jaspers started the Rainbow Network after seeing the lack of proper healthcare, educational resources and housing in Nicaragua while doing volunteer work with Habitat for Humanity. The Rainbow Network is built on four core activities:  Housing, Education, Economic Development and Healthcare.  Intrinsic to the foundation’s core philosophy is the idea of working side-by-side with families for a generation or more in order to change habits, goals, lifestyles and futures.

“We are truly blessed to be serving the people of Nicaragua” says Keith Jaspers, founder of The Rainbow Network.  “We are pleased to see that our efforts have had and will continue to have a lasting impact in the regions we serve and are amazed that this year will mark our 40 millionth meal.  People should not have to suffer like they do in rural Nicaragua and we are here because its people need us.”

The Rainbow Network model utilizes community committees to guide programs within each of the 111 communities served.  The community committees are tasked with carrying out the plans of the community and 1,500 to 2,000 Nicaraguan volunteers work daily within their communities building homes, tending gardens, working within the Rainbow schools or participating in public health programs.  Thus, the organization has developed self-sustaining programs which can be carried out by residents within each community.  “These programs have been very effective in helping the Nicaraguan communities we serve to end the long-standing cycle of hunger they have faced for generations,” said Jaspers, “It can also eliminate the need for a feeding center in that community altogether.  The Rainbow Network partners with the Nicaraguan people to develop long-term sustainable solutions to poverty.”

The four core activities include:

Housing

The Rainbow Network builds safe cement block houses to replace the mud and stick huts common in rural Nicaragua.  Recipient families work alongside builders to construct their own home and are offered 20 year interest free microloans to pay for the cost of materials (approximately $4,800).  Homeowners are required to participate in the economic development program which provides a loan for them to establish a business they can operate out of their home.  This enables homeowners to make their monthly mortgage payments.

Education

The Rainbow Network operates several hundred grade schools (437) throughout rural Nicaragua as public schools are often too far from the rural areas.  Schools are not built, but rather classes are held in church buildings, homes or existing school buildings.  For those who wish to continue their education, The Rainbow Network provides scholarships to students to attend high school in one of Nicaragua’s larger cities.  To pay for their scholarship, high school students volunteer in the grade schools.

Economic Development

Microloans are offered to teach people entrepreneurial skills, provide a means for people to make a living and to jump start local economies.  The average loan is $250 for a six month period.  Successful businesses started with microloans include:  raising of chickens or hogs, sewing of garments, producing hammocks and food production via gardens.  Most families participate in several loan cycles over the course of several years as they do the work to change their own lives.

Nutrition/Healthcare

The Rainbow Network also meets basic human needs through a nutrition and healthcare program.  Feeding centers are offered to malnourished adults and children.  Once operating 220 feeding centers and serving more than 14,000 people daily, The Rainbow Network has reduced the need for the feeding centers due to the family vegetable garden program and the modest financial success of loan recipients.  Rainbow Network now operates 132 feeding centers which feed more than 9,000 people (mostly children age 12 and under) daily.  Because professional healthcare does not exist in most of the communities served by The Rainbow Network, 7 physicians are on staff.  Physicians travel to a different community each day to provide medical consultation, while volunteers in each community assist the doctor.

Volunteers interested in participating in the event can visit www.goandsee.org for information and to make travel arrangements.  To donate, call 417.889.8088.

The Rainbow Network invites the media to see the work they are doing in Nicaragua and to be a part of the 40 millionth meal celebration.    For more information, to set up an interview, or to participate in the celebration, contact Jackie Langdon at 417.887.2300.

Media Kit available online at www.rainbownetwork.org