Project Chacocente

Project Chacocente rescues families who live in the garbage dump of Managua, Nicaragua and teaches them the life skills necessary to be self-sufficient. At the city dump thousands of people scavenge for food along with vultures and stray dogs. Many of the children suffer from lead poisoning, parasites and malnutrition and if they aren’t careful will be crushed by the fast moving garbage trucks.

Project Chacocente is located in rural Masaya where the clean air and fertile soil are the perfect place for the families to heal their bodies and learn life changing skills. The families sign a contract to participate in the program for five years and when they graduate they will receive the house that they built and two acres of land.

Becoming literate is mandatory and all of the adults attempt to graduate from sixth grade and many go on to high school or vocational training. The adults learn construction and farming skills and each family opens a small business before they go out on their own. In addition, the women learn how to make crafts for the increasing tourist trade.

Nicaragua is the second poorest country in Latin America. Fifty percent of the population lives in extreme poverty which means that they don’t know if they’ll have any food today. Project Chacocente is dedicated to helping the families change their lives so that they can be a part of society again and help change the cycle of poverty.

Right now, seventeen members of the church are in Managua, Nicaragua to develop a partnership with Project Chacocente. Planning will begin for Phase II of our involvement with the program.

For more information please check out the website www.outofthedump.org for more information and feel free to email or call the church office.

UMCOR

Through our monetary contributions, our church supports the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) and missionaries in the United States and 43 countries. UMCOR works worldwide in the areas of refuge ministries, disaster response and hunger ministries.