Habitat for Humanity Nicaragua promotes national volunteerism and young professional growth

Local university students in Nicaragua contribute to the cause of adequate housing and receive professional experience in return.

MANAGUA, Nicaragua (October 11, 2011) – During fiscal year 2011, Habitat for Humanity Nicaragua solidified various partnerships with local schools and universities, in order to promote national volunteerism and the involvement of college students in Habitat-related activities. In the first semester of the fiscal year (July through December), the American Nicaraguan School and Lincoln Academy created campus chapters through the motivation and initiative of students who have been part of volunteer work teams and have organized fundraising activates within their schools to promote volunteerism with the organization.

Furthermore, Universidad Centroamericana (UCA), and the National Engineering University (UNI) have consistently provided interns from the departments of architecture and civil engineering to do their internship credits in Habitat’s programmatic areas. The students have contributed significantly with the work they have done at Habitat, including budgeting, house design, project design proposals, technical supervision and the gathering of technical data in zones where Habitat and its allies intend to intervene. On the other hand, students from UCA participated in adobe block production as part of their training in environmentally friendly construction systems. Habitat is still in the process of finalizing and signing agreements with two other universities.

The Habitat for Humanity’s Volunteer Mobilization department hopes to double the number of volunteers for fiscal year 2013 through these types of strategic partnerships, which not only collaborate with labor, but also contribute to raising awareness among Nicaraguan youth about the problem of inadequate housing in the country.

About Habitat for Humanity Latin America and the Caribbean
Habitat for Humanity first opened its doors in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) in 1979, and has since helped more than 100,000 low-income families to access adequate housing in the region. Headquartered in San Jose, Costa Rica, the Latin America and Caribbean regional office coordinates the efforts of 16 national organizations, as well as unique partnerships throughout the region. For more information, visit habitatlatino.org.