One of Nuevas Esperanzas’ main goals is to empower communities. An important element of empowerment is the ability to take full advantage of the talents and resources one already has. Nuevas Esperanzas works to provide communities with the addtional resources, training and confidence they need to realize their potential.
Luis Tercero is beginning to enjoy new benefits from three things that he has had all his life: trees, rain and intelligence. Luis is a bright teenager from the small, hillside community of El Ñajo. Luis’ father passed away a number of years ago, and he and his brothers have been providing for the family since Luis was a young teen, growing beans and corn, and making a daily trip to gather water from the well, a quarter mile away.
Two years ago Nuevas Esperanzas built a 10,000 gallon rainwater tank at Luis’ home, giving his mother easy access to clean water all year. We’ve also started training Luis and his brothers how to beekeep. While the hills where they farm are not ideal for beans, their forest cover is an ideal environment for bees. There also happens to be an excellet market for Nicaraguan honey. Luis is one of our most promising beekeepers, and if he keeps it up, he could easily double his family’s income and help establish a whole new livelihood that will benefit his entire community.
It was never hard to see Luis’ potential. It just required someone to look.
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