Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in Central America. It has 21 volcanoes and two of the largest lakes in the region. An overwhelming majority of the population lives in the west of the country, with coastal areas also being well-populated. Much of the urban growth is centered in the capital city, Managua. Nicaragua is the poorest country in Central America, and the second poorest in the Western Hemisphere.
Stories in Nicaragua
Fancisca has participated in Plan International workshops about girls’ and children’s rights. What she likes most about the workshops are the discussions around pregnancy prevention.
“I have been able to reflect on gender inequalities and the disadvantages girls face to study,” she says. “Sometimes boys make fun of us, because we go to the talks. They don’t see why girls of 13 or 14 shouldn’t get pregnant. It’s easier for boys to study if there are no girls left in class.”
Nicaragua has the highest teenage pregnancy rate in Latin America, with 28% of women giving birth before the age of 18. But joining Plan’s work, Francisca is working to reduce the number of teenage pregnancies in her community and is lobbying for girls to focus on education instead. And she’s hopeful for her own future.
“Since I was a child, I imagined wearing a nurse’s uniform,” she says. “I would like to take care of the sick and dedicate myself to health.”
After the program, she and two of her classmates set up a new business making and selling goods from recycled objects. Today, their growing brand called Unique and Ecological Designs is thriving and sustaining its environmental ethos. Mareling’s next goal is to expand to new national and international markets.
“My incentive to start my own business was my desire to study and not being able to do so because I lacked money,” she says. “That was my motivation.”
This year, Mareling will finish her university degree in psychology.
“When women have the economic freedom, they are able to see the world from another perspective,” she says. “You do not need to ask for money for a bus ticket or to go out to eat. Now I can buy things myself. That helps you feel stronger and empowered.”
Plan International has been working to improve children’s lives in Nicaragua since 1994.
Plan stats in Nicaragua
Office & operations
Plan Nicaragua’s country office is located in Managua, with program unit offices in Madriz, Caribe Norte, Chontales, San Rafael del Sur and Chinandega.
Technical areas
Early childhood development, protection, sexual and reproductive health rights, youth economic empowerment, and disaster response and risk education.
Number of sponsored children
As of June 2020, people like you sponsor 21,209 children in Nicaragua through Plan International.
When you sponsor a child through through Plan, you form an incredible friendship.
But that’s just the beginning. With Plan, you also have the unique opportunity to:
Send her birthday gifts and cards.
Give her special holiday presents called Little Treasures.
Subscribe her to Plan’s educational kids’ magazine, Sunny Days.
— Visit her (when travel restrictions are lifted), with individual travel assistance from us.
Each gift offering is safely hand-delivered by us, and given to your child with personalized cards from you. It’s likely that the child you sponsor will have never seen anything like these gifts, and they’re available year-round to make the bond between you and your sponsored child even stronger.
Meet a child to sponsor