Orange News | October • November • December 2022

Organizational

World Vision distributes humanitarian aid after Hurricane Julia

After the impact of Hurricane Julia, World Vision Nicaragua - as part of its permanent response to emergency situations - distributed immediate recovery kits among 1,441 families in 9 municipalities across the country.

Donations were distributed from November 28th through December 03rd 2022, in the departments of Jinotega, Matagalpa, Estelí, Boaco and León.

Video here

Employees of World Vision benefited a community preschool

During 2022, employees of World Vision Nicaragua raised funds to provide the Amor y Alegría community preschool with play and learning materials.

Number charts

Assorted foam sheets

Balls Pencils

Sets of acrylic markers

Colored pencil boxes

Reams of colored paper

Reams of white paper

5 48 2

4 24 2 10

Crayon boxes

Playdoh boxes

Plastic shelves

Following a year of internal donations made through payroll giving, the organization distributed: Video here

Plastic rolling storage boxes

White board

Voice recorder with built-in USB

20

3 24 3 24 1

5

5 100 1

Jump ropes

Jigsaw puzzles

Letter charts

Let’s live the gift of Christmas: Let’s celebrate a Christmas with a cause, this is the new campaign of World Vision Nicaragua

• In this Christmas, World Vision Nicaragua asked to be joined in prayer so that every girl and boy may have life in all its fullness.

• With the support of Grupo Roble, this campaign received messages and prayers for children at the Reading Clubs supported by the organization in the different departments.

On Christmas Eve, World Vision Nicaragua launched the campaign: Let’s Live the Gift of Christmas: Let’s Celebrate a Christmas with a Cause, lwhich urged Nicaraguan families to take ownership of the cause of children and reflect on the importance of protecting children and adolescents across the country and join in prayer the most vulnerable households.

In turn, the campaign enabled these families to have the experience of exchanging a symbolic gift and messages of hope with children and adolescents at the reading clubs supported by the organization.

In order to prepare this symbolic gift, participating families took an adornment and a Christmas card to decorate them and wrote some Advent messages. Then, these these adornments and messages will be sent to different reading clubs that are part of World Vision’s Technical Program of Spirituality, Protection and Education. This activity was carried out in December in a location provided by Metrocentro Shopping Mall.

“As a Christian organization of humanitarian aid, this campaign is aimed at reminding Nicaraguan families that the meaning of Christmas is the birth of Jesus as God’s priceless gift to mankind, and with a grateful heart let’s share messages of hope with children from the vulnerable communities we serve.”

We feel very excited that children at our reading clubs receive an unexpected message of faith and enthusiasm in this Christmas season, because many children are going through hardship,” expressed Estela Medina, Specialist in Corporate Fund Management.

Metrocentro, Grupo Roble; let’s live the gift of Christmas

Thanks to the support of Grupo Roble, a special location was provided in Metrocentro during the second week of December for those families that wanted to participate in the activity to approach the location, take their adornment and Christmas card to exchange them. Similarly, tables, chairs, marker pens, colored pens and decorated paper were provided to prepare their Christmas cards. In addition, participants took a Christmas decoration to their home.

The play and learning space was located in Metrocentro shopping mall from 10:00am to 05:00pm. It was attended by volunteers, and WV’s employees who provided assistance throughout the entire process.

Similarly, the campaign Let’s Live the Gift of Christmas: Let’s Celebrate a Christmas with a Cause developed a website for people who wanted to participate in the initiative might unload the Christmas decoration designs, cut and place them in their Christmas tree.

Let’s Live the Gift of Christmas: Let’s Celebrate a Christmas with a Cause and let’s offer up a prayer so that every girl and boy may have life in all its fullness.

World Vision presents a study on forced migration of children and adolescents in Central America

In the context of the migratory crisis that affects the Central American region, World Vision offices in El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, and Nicaragua (CA4) joined forces to conduct the study entitled “Triggers of the migratory flows of Children and Adolescents in Central America.”.

The objectives of this study were to analyze, disseminate, and act upon the reasons that motivate the forced migration of Central American families before and during the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, and in the aftermath of tropical storms ETA and IOTA.

A total of 1,526 surveys were administered by telephone and face-to-face to immediate relatives or people related to migrants. 81.2% of the surveys were administered in rural areas, and the remaining 18.8% in urban areas.

Some of the relevant data of the study indicate that the main reasons that motivate children and adolescents to migrate are:

Improving their living conditions

Reuniting with their relatives

Preventing domestic violence or criminal groups

68% 11% 7.9%

On the other hand, one of the most alarming data obtained from this study is that most of the migrant children and adolescents (45.4%) travel accompanied by a human smuggler (coyote), followed by 40% who travel accompanied by a relative. 4.9% traveled alone, while 1.3% (traveled) in caravans with one or more relatives and 0.9% traveled in caravans alone.

In connection with adult migants, it was observed that:

• 77% of the respondents migrated irregularly.

•The main occupation of migrants is farming.

• 73% of the adult respondents reported having relatives living abroad.

Similarly, the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the economy of Central American families is shown as follows:

•34.7% reported that they lost their job.

•28.4 % did not continue earning an income.

•15.7% reported a lack of food/ food insecurity.

Additionally, in the wake of hurricanes Eta and Iota, 25.9% of adult migrants stated that they lost their crops and 9.3% (replied that they) lost their job. The consequences of natural disasters have a direct relation as a push factor.

Disclosure at interorganizational level

The results of the study were disclosed in a virtual forum held on October 27th, 2022. The forum was attended by panelists Jeanneth Martínez Cooper, head of the IMO office in Nicaragua; Efraín Sánchez, Child Protection Officer at UNICEF Guatemala; Rita CrowleyOmelas, Protection Officer at ACNUR El Salvador and Sally Valladares, Expert at International Migrations Honduras. And the moderator was Mishelle Mitchell, Director of Advocacy and Communication in Latin America and the Caribbean at World Vision.

During this forum, each panelist analyzed in more detail the different approaches of the study of forced migration and contextualized the characteristics of this migratory crisis at Central American level.

Video here

World Vision celebrates 10 years promoting tenderness in Nicaragua

World Vision celebrates a decade promoting tenderness among the families it serves through its direct work for the most vulnerable children across the country, and it includes this component in the different methodologies implemented by its technical development programs.

In order to commemorate this organizational milestone, a photography workshop entitled A Gift of Tenderness for my Life was held. 13 children and adolescents from Tipitapa Area Program participated in this workshop. They made a visual tour through the different stages of its lifespan to identify the gift that tenderness has given them.

Similarly, the Education with Tenderness forum was held as part of the celebration of a decade promoting tenderness in the different spaces for social impact. The event included the participation of Ana Alvear, National Advocacy Coordinator, who shared the timeline of the different actions undertaken by World Vision Nicaragua with target groups. Furthermore, participants in this event included Laura Baltodano, National President of the Commission of Christian Education for the Baptist Convention of Nicaragua (CBN in Spanish) who shared the experience of how CBN has taken ownership of Tenderness in their interventions.

“After a decade developing methodologies, campaigns and actions aimed at promoting tenderness, we have seen behavioral changes that demonstrate that a better future is possible. We have seen that community children and adolescents are experiencing harmonious relationships with their parents, less physical punishment is used against them, and children feel closer to their parents.” Tenderness promotes emotional and assertive communication to strengthen the parent child bond. Children share the experience of childrearing with tenderness with their peers,” Ana Alvear stated.

A decade promoting tenderness in Nicaragua. From its tenderness approach, World Vision has developed different child protection methodologies aimed at promoting the deconstruction of violence-based childrearing practices, such as physical punishment, humiliating treatment in order to replace them with childrearing practices based on love, respect, and tenderness.

Some of these methodologies include Childrearing with Tenderness, School of Tenderness, Channels of Hope and Paths of Protection and Tenderness as well. Furthermore, child protection-based communication campaigns have been launched in recent years, including Tenderness Starts at Home, Space for Tenderness and Clarito, Clarito.

The acceptance of these child protection methodologies and approaches have been adopted by Worl Vision’s strategic partners such as the Ministry of the Family, Ministry of Education, the Educational Pastoral in Estelí and Matagalpa, Casa Hogar Madre Albertina and churches as well.

“Childrearing with tenderness has been adopted by parents and caregivers, and they have recognized and learned how to support, listen to, talk to and approach with tenderness. Through the process of deconstruction of violence-based childrearing practices they have learned to take care of community children.

Religious leaders have produced a multiplier effect through their congregations as a result of the strengthening of their capacities in the School of Tenderness,” concluded Ana Alvear.

Protection, Education and Spirituality

Girls and boys in Central America present their dreams and wishes for Christmas

For the second consecutive year, World Vision - through the Movement of Churches in Central America - held the virtual forum My Christmas Dream, where eight Central American children shared their reality, dreams and hopes with faith-based leaders.

“The main objective was to promote an event with the participation of children of the CA4 in order to raise faith-based leaders’ (from different evangelical and catholic denominations) awareness of the reality of children in Central America, their dreams and hopes, as part of the birth of Jesus,” added Ana Alvear, National Advocacy Coordinator at World Vision Nicaragua.

The virtual forum My Christmas Dream was held on December 20th, and participants included two girls and spokeskids from Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua, and two moderators from World Vision El Salvador. In turn, watched videos featured participating children singing Christmas carols and sharing their dreams for Christmas and the things that they would like to get better in their family dynamics.

Some of the most (commonly) mentioned dreams included: family unity and that families were able to celebrate Christmas together in harmony. Concerning this topic, migration became relevant for children.

Furthermore, dreams about living a Christmas free from violence and eventually that all the families may have access to food and an adequate nutrition stood out.

“Holding this type of events is very important for World Vision because they enable us to listen the opinion of children and adolescents, who – as part of the birth of Jesus – share their views, dreams and hopes which turns into a powerful awareness-raising message for those who listen to them in connection with key topics and topics related to the well-being and comprehensive protection of children,” concluded Ana Alvear.

Video here

Social, Environmental and Economic Resilience of Children and their Family

World Vision Nicaragua provides entrepreneuring youth with training on digital media strategies

The Digital Empowerment project has a training program on innovation and digitalization which is launched together with Impact Hub. The first stage of the project is aimed at strengthening competencies of 25 youth who will take on the role of mentors for other 75 adolescents and youth served by the project.

The objective of the Digital Empowerment project is to strengthen technical and digital competencies of adolescents and youth aged 16 – 29 years in order to expand their innovation, entrepreneurship and education opportunities in new digital markets, stated Fanny Mendoza, Technical Specialist in Entrepreneurship of the World Vision Nicaragua’s Digital Empowerment project.

Video here

Gifts in Kind

152 children of World Vision’s Child Sponsorship program receive donated bicycles

Throughout fiscal years 2022, the GIK coordination team together with the Program Management office benefited 152 children of our Child Sponsorship program with donated bicycles. These bicycles were donated by Costco Wholesale to World Vision U.S. support office. Subsequently, they shipped them to World Vision Nicaragua country office.

“This has contributed to improve their quality of life because nowadays they are able to move from their house to their school and vice versa.”

This has also helped their families to save the money they used in bus fare to cover other basic needs of children. We would like to thank our donor Costco at USA for this donation,” expressed Enrique Villegas, GIK Coordinator at World Vision Nicaragua.

Video here

A gift from heaven: Ficohsa bank and World Vision distributed food packages in San Lorenzo

The food packages distributed by FICOHSA bank in partnership with World Vision Nicaragua to 101 families in San Lorenzo Boaco were regarded as a “gift from heaven.” This was part of the emergency response to the passage of Hurricane Julia in the zone.

Firstly, I feel grateful to our Lord Jesus Christ, to the brothers at FICOHSA bank and to you for having blessed us with this food It has been a ‘gift from heaven’ because you have no idea how the river flooded my house taking everything but, look how great is God because now, I have food to eat and share with my family,” stated Blanca Alvarado, aged 60.

The 101 food packages distributed by Ficohsa bank to World Vision Nicaragua were the result of an initiative undertaken by its Corporate Social Responsibility department, in which the bank’s employees, driven by their desire to help affected families, raised funds to purchase food items.

“Our employees contributed to this initiative donating their holidays or g iving an amount that was deducted from their payment. The excitement of our employees for being part of this noble cause was observed in this invitation. They even brought themselves to take food packages to the drop-off center where they were received by World Vision Nicaragua with whom we have been working over the last two years. They are our partner when bringing aid to those places we cannot reach,” stated Betania Alaniz, Coordinator of the Corporate Social Responsibility department at Ficohsa bank.

On December 23rd, the food packages were distributed to target communities including El Sinchal, Miramontes, San Antonio, Rosa Cerda and Germán Pomares in San Lorenzo municipality. Food packages included:

16

Pounds of red beans

13.2 12.6 2

Pounds of white rice

8.8

Pounds of cornstarch

Pounds of white sugar

80gr. Butter bars

5 3

Sardine cans Liters of (cooking) oil

2

400gr. Salt bags

1 1

Large loaf of whole wheat bread

Packaging for storing butter

The households that received this donation were selected by the personnel and volunteers of World Vision Nicaragua in the zone. Considering that it was a humanitarian donation, beneficiaries were selected according to their level of need.

“As an humanitarian aid organization, we are called upon to serve families during emergency situations, and since late September our organization has been distributing food and hygiene packages for families affected by Hurricane Julia; however, thanks to the support of FICOHSA bank we have reached 101 additional households,” stated Estela Medina, Specialist in Corporate Funds at World Vision Nicaragua.

World Vision is a Christian relief and humanitarian organization with presence in over 90 countries worldwide. In Nicaragua, it has over 30 years of experience, time in which it has provided assistance during disasters caused by hurricanes Juana, Mitch, Felix, Iota and Eta, including the Masaya’s earthquake, and the recent Covid-19 pandemic.

Currently, through its three programs, it supports eight departments, 500 communities, and directly it supports 34,309 children and adolescents.

34,309 children in 500 Communities and neighborhoods in Nicaragua

Learn more about World Vision’s work in Nicaragua. Help us to transform children’s lives.