Project

Cerro Grande and Castilla multi-school project

A staggering 46% of the 1,023 population of Cerro Grande and La Castilla are under the age of 15. There are five primary schools, attended by 495 students, but they were poorly equipped and unsafe. The aim of this project was to enhance three of those five schools to deliver a better education to the community.

The communities of Cerro Grande and La Castilla are situated 130 miles from the capital of Nicaragua, Managua. They are located within the buffer zone of the Natural Reserve of Cerro Kuskawás and both communities are dedicated to coffee growing.

Work at the three schools - Cerro Grande, 12 de Octubre and Luis Alfonso Velásquez - included four fully furnished new classrooms, three new kitchens and three new perimeter fences. New sanitation was provided, along with a fresh water supply and all of the existing classrooms were repaired and refurbished to a high standard.

There have been a number of programmes implemented in the three schools. A focus on nutrition through the provision of high protein snacks, and on mathematics through a successful partnership with the “Chispa” training programme which teaches maths to children using fun interactive methods.