The work of CEPAD has touched many lives.

Here are just a few examples:


MARIA HAYDEE CONDE

María Haydeé Conde is a pastor of the Church of God located in the community of San Juan-San Jorge, about 150 km northeast of Managua. She first got involved with CEPAD in 1995 when she went to a training session for pre-school teacher education techniques. The training was provided for volunteers working in the Children's Community Project pre-schools supported by CEPAD.

Since that time, María Haydeé has participated in numerous CEPAD training seminars.

"During the years that I have been working with CEPAD, I've gone to twenty training events," María Haydeé comments. "I've learned to plan and administrate a patio for hen, pig, and sheep production. I also know how to vaccinate animals and prepare organic fertilizer, among other techniques, thanks to the knowledge that I have acquired through talks and seminars that CEPAD's Holistic Family Development Program has carried out."

María Haydeé has to walk several kilometers to get to a main road. This shows her dedication.

She has also learned about disaster prevention and has participated in workshops about different laws such as the General Environmental and Natural Resources Law and the Consumer Defense Law. When the clerk in the country store does not give her the correct measurement, María Haydeé now protests.

"My pastoral knowledge has been strengthened with the seminars I have received through the Theological Extension Education Program," María Haydeé continues. "We study different topics such as the Book of Revelations, Self-Esteem, the Protestant Reformation, among others."

"The training on community leadership has served me greatly. Now, as a leader of the Community Development Committee, I can say that we have been able to apply for financing for community projects from the city and state government and from non-governmental organizations."

"I've felt that since I began to volunteer in projects facilitated by CEPAD, I have prospered spiritually and materially, because today I have my house and patio project. I have the hope to have an income, and the most important thing for me is that I can share my experiences with women from other communities."


MARTA LIGIA SANCHEZ

Marta Ligia Sánchez is from the Church of the Nazarene and a member of the CEPAD Women's Ministry Committee in Jinotepe. Motivated to serve her community, in 1997, she decided to finish her high school diploma by participating in CEPAD's Extension Education Program in Jinotepe. Marta Ligia graduated in 1998.

Marta Ligia says that this experience was a great blessing to her because through it, she could spread the Word of God through the devotionals that were done at the beginning of each class session.

After graduating, she continued her studies and became a professional nurse in the National Autonomous University in Jinotepe.


SAMUEL AMADOR LOPEZ

Samuel Amador López is a pastor of the Church of Christ in Leon. Samuel says that at his age, he never expected to get his high school diploma, since when he was a young man he was never able to study. He graduated at the age of sixty-five and then studied in an English language school in Leon.


THE COMMUNITY OF CASA BLANCA

In 1999, after eleven months of struggle and the pain of losing their homes due to heavy rains caused by Hurricane Mitch, twenty-one families in Casa Blanca, Pueblo Nuevo became homeowners once again.

These families' dreams were made a reality with the help of CEPAD; the mayor's office of Pueblo Nuevo, which donated the land; and the National Union of Farmers and Ranchers (UNAG), which contributed zinc metal roofing.

The community itself provided the labor to build their homes, together with service delegations from the United States.

"The first organization to help us out was CEPAD, which got us organized and gave us food," comments Ramón Olivas, President of the Community Development Committee. "First we asked the city office for land, and later CEPAD sent people to train us, and we began to dig the ditches and build latrines".

"While we were living in houses of black plastic, four North American Protestant service delegations visited us and helped us out with the labor," says Sofía Castillo, the coordinator of the CEPAD patio project in Casa Blanca. "The most important thing that they gave us was encouragement and hope to finish the building." Click here for information about the Nehemiah Program