Facing Challenges


Throughout the years, Nicaragua has experienced a series of disasters--natural, political, and economic. Due to earthquakes, hurricanes, dictators, revolutions, corruption, and economic crises, Nicaraguans have endured countless setbacks. Depending on the source quoted, from 72% to 82% of the population now lives in poverty; of those, from 48% to 52% live in extreme poverty.


The most dire yet interconnected problems facing Nicaragua today are extreme poverty, lack of basic education past the sixth grade for a majority of people, unemployment, and government corruption. Together, these problems impact the daily lives of Nicaraguans in ways unimaginable to most North Americans. In spite of the difficult daily reality these intertwined problems create, one senses a pulsing hope in Nicaragua for the future, as its people are its most powerful resource. Their deep desire to discuss and address these problems permeates their society from the most poor to the most wealthy.