They are watching their children suffer and die... literally.
With an area of Nicaragua suffering from more than 80% unemployment, people need to create jobs. Without jobs and with no social welfare, Nicaraguans are living without the basic necessities of life: decent housing, clean water, latrines, food, clothing, and medical care.
They are watching their children suffer and die... literally.
They are being driven to do anything to get money. Women prostitute, children beg, teenagers steal, and men work at odd jobs and ask for donations.
The desire to work is not a problem. When jobs are available a long day's labor earns less than $3.00 a day. Meanwhile a pound of beans costs $0.40, a pound of rice $0.25, and a gallon of gasoline more than $3.00.
When given half a chance Nicaraguans are very creative and hard workers. Examples are: children washing windshields at stoplights, people buying food or other items and reselling them for pennies more, walking the streets and selling goods at the stoplights, people trying to make crafts to sell for a little money... working, working, working and never, ever getting ahead.
In recent years, Nicaraguan banks have been making loans at 18 - 20% interest when the loan is made in dollars and 18 - 24% when it is in córdobas, the national currency. These loans are made primarily to big business and to big agribusiness. This "loan availability" was designed to strengthen large prosperous endeavors and still discourages the small, creative plans of ordinary hard working people, who find their loan requests consistently denied for lack of collateral in the face of exorbitant interest rates.
The CDCA has a revolving loan fund for these creative initiatives. We have funded various small businesses: motorcycle repair, small neighborhood stores, school uniform sewing shops, and freezers for neighborhood ice vendors.
Most recently, a small woodworking workshop, Slightly
Twisted Spoons, has been launched. It's proceeds return to the CDCA.
For information on larger loans see Sustainable Economic Development Projects.
We also sell local crafts in the U.S. when we travel on educational speaking tours. More and more of the crafts we buy come directly from the craft persons, allowing them to expand their businesses.
This may be our most important work... enabling folks to provide for themselves and their families.
All of the investors in the CDCA microenterprise loan fund have been repaid or have reinvested their money. Investments receive up to 5% interest. All donations to the microenterprise loan fund are tax deductible. Our dream is to have a revolving fund of $500,000!
How does the CDCA Microenterprise Loan Fund work? People bring proposals, budgets, and studies of their project ideas to us and if we have the funding and feel the proposal can be self sustaining then the CDCA loan is made. The signed loan contract includes collateral and payment schedules with penalties for failure to make payments. Most loans include a 5% interest charge.
Send your donation or loan by check or credit card. Simply let us know, if it is a loan, how long you want to invest and at what interest (up to 5%). We will send you a loan agreement contract for your signature and will send you yearly updates. All donations are tax deductible.