Nicaragua

Children in Nicaragua.

My name is Patricio Cranshaw. I’m Progressio’s country representative in Nicaragua.

Since independence in 1821, Nicaragua’s people have lived through a series of civil wars, several US interventions, and a period of local dictatorship which was confronted by the national hero Sandino. However, in the years since, the continued presence of the US has held back democratic development and polarised the population, increasing dependency and reducing the social achievements of the Sandinista revolution of the 1980s.

The last two decades have been characterised by increasing social and political intolerance and serious impacts of climate change. The Sandinistas came back to power in 2006 with a different approach and in the framework of neo-liberalism.

Through all this, Nicaragua has remained one of the poorest countries in the western hemisphere – and the poorest Spanish-speaking country in the world. Most people here live on around $3 a day.

But ours is a beautiful country with a strong agricultural history, of which we’re justly proud. So Progressio’s been working with farmers’ organisations to safeguard the environment, promote sustainable agriculture, and help people grow the food they need and make a living off the land.

Getting people involved, working together with them and helping them find a voice after years of being voiceless, has also been really important. We work with lots of community groups to influence national policy on big things like development and the economy.

And we work with local people on the issues that affect their day-to-day lives, like raising awareness of HIV, and promoting choices and opportunities for women and young people.

Empowering people is key to what we do – whether that is supporting people in responding to HIV, helping build and improve local economies and livelihoods, or working on environmental issues like water rights, food security, and the impact of climate change.