Cause For Hope | Chinandega, Nicaragua



	Choluteca, Honduras

	Comayagua, Honduras

	Chinandega, Nicaragua

	Managua, Nicaragua

	Masaya, Nicaragua

	León, Nicaragua

	San Miguel, El Salvador

	Quetzaltenango, Guatemala

	Retalhuleu, Guatemala

Chinandega Project Manager

Jose is married and has three children. He is a convert to the church and is currently serving as the stake president in the stake in Chinandega. Jose has his own business selling automobile parts including oil. He is very much involved in his community and is well know by the people.

Summary of Status of Programs

Program	Status as of September 2007
Micro-credit and small business training	445 individuals participating in village banks.
Vocational loans	85 individuals recently completed or currently enrolled in training. 16 individuals currently in English classes.
Economic development and job creation	131
Pre-mission assistance	67 missionaries have received assistance and are currently serving missions. Many others are now preparing.
English Class	6 individuals are participating

Chinandega Economic Condition

The city of Chinandega has a population of approximately 156,000 inhabitants. The LDS Church has one organized stake in the city and the stake has 7 wards and branches. There is a smaller city called Leon , that is about an hour from Chinandega and the church has a district their with 7 branches.

The economic needs are very great in this area. They are still suffering somewhat from Hurricane Mitch that caused much damage in 1999. The poverty level is very high and so is the unemployment.

The CFH History in Chinandega

The area was opened in 2003 and Rodrigo Lopez was employed as the manager. Our programs were stared immediately and are doing well. Initially the work in Chinandega was very slow. However, in recent months the work has increased measurably. We are beginning to see great success.

In the area of Micro Credit and small business training we are seeing a marked increase. We currently have 85 people in our village banks and when you consider the families of these individuals we are improving the lives of between 500 and 600 people, and we continue grow. We have new people continually coming into the program through the small business training classes and preparing to organize more village banks.

In the area of vocational loans we currently have 44 people who have completed there classes or are studying right now. Those who have completed have found or are looking for employment. In addition we have 20 people enrolled in our English classes. Many others have now completed our course.

We have assisted 17 young men and women go on missions for the LDS church. There are many more who have expressed a desire to our mangers and that they will need help in preparing to serve.

CHINANDEGA OFFICE

Esquina de los Bancos 3 C. al sur,
75 varas al este
Chinandega, Nicaragua
T. 505-340-2467

José Maravilla - Manager