Nindiri

The large community of Guanacastillo is located in the municipality of Nindiri, along a major trading highway, near the Bridges projects in Masaya. Many solicitations have been made to Bridges over the years for similar housing projects in Guanacastillo. In 2007, we begun just such a project, with a dedicated full-time staff. Guanacastillo serves as the first community with which Bridges can form new relationships in Nindiri.

The majority of Guanacastillo's 1500 residents work in the nearby garment factories. Few people are able to farm what little land is available and many work as security guards. With little opportunity for employment outside of the large factories, many residents are also un/under employed, living on little more than $2.00 a day. There is only one primary school in Guanacastillo, while high school students must pay for public transportation to attend the secondary school in a neighboring community. With almost 70% of the school-age population not studying, the literacy rate is very low.

Guanacastillo has neither a health center nor a pharmacy. For basic health care, a center three kilometers away is used though there is rarely a medical professional available. Community members with medical emergencies must travel to Masaya fifteen kilometers away. Other major health risks have been greatly minimized, however, through the donation of a well by the Japanese government. Among the almost three hundred families in Guanacastillo, 72% of houses and 39% of latrines are in terrible conditions. Many houses contain dirt floors and corrugated iron for walls, posing many health risks. Where latrines do exist, many are past a usable age.

Located between the capital city of Managua and the Artisan capital of Masaya, Nindiri is comprised of eighteen different communities. The principal town of Nindiri was one of the first towns founded in Nicaragua and is home to an impressive four hundred year old temple, now a national monument. While Nindiri town has preserved much of its colonial flare in the layout of the streets, many of the surrounding seventeen rural communities lack even basic infrastructure and are wrought with poorly maintained paths at best, for driving and walking.