Intern or Volunteer with a Grassroots Women's Empowerment Organization in Nicaragua

  Nicaragua

• Other Cities in Nicaragua: 
Masaya,  Jinotepe,  Ciudad Sandino

Term: Academic Year, Fall, Spring, Summer, Throughout the year, Trimester, Winter 
Durations of Program: 1-2 weeks, 2-4 weeks, 5-8 weeks, 9-12 weeks, 3-6 months, 7-12 months and 1-2 years
Typical Duration of Program: 9-12 weeks
Dates: See FSD Website

Description: Examples of how you can support Women's Empowerment Initiatives in Nicaragua:

* Support women running in popular elections and/or help to nominate them into public offices. Assist political lobbying for women's economic and social demands in government institutions, political parties and civil society as a whole.

* Work in a women's health clinic focused on reproductive health counseling, prenatal and postnatal care, and breast-feeding promotion. Support the pediatrics division focusing on hydration, vaccinations, and methods to prevent malnutrition in children.

* Provide psychological help through counseling and intervention for those overcoming addiction and intra-familial violence.

* Conduct workshops and awareness campaigns that foster equal rights between sexes and encourage women to assume more positive roles at home and in the community by helping them first learn to value themselves and their decisions.

* Support expansion of an FSD project that is building a women's community market for local entrepreneurs.

* Resource women with legal education, support, and awareness of their rights in order to combat intra-familial violence.

* Offer training modules for women and their families on topics such as nutrition, hygiene, diarrhea-prevention, and contraception while promoting empowerment.

For more women's empowerment opportunities in Nicaragua, visit our website or contact us directly.

About FSD

The Foundation for Sustainable Development (FSD) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization founded in 1995 to support underserved, international communities in a collaborative and sustainable manner. Our model incorporates three overlapping programs:

1. Sustainable Development Training Programs for Interns and Volunteers
FSD provides comprehensive training and immersion programs for interns and volunteers seeking hands-on experience in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Program participants come from countless professions and more than 300 universities worldwide to collaborate with our partner organizations on community-driven projects that reflect sustainable practices.

2. Grantmaking to Projects and Initiatives Led By Our Partner Organizations
Donations and grants given to FSD are used to support projects and initiatives implemented by our partner organizations, site teams, interns, and volunteers.

3. Sustainable Development of Community-Based Organizations
Our professional field staff, consultants, and program participants provide on-site technical training and capacity building to more than 200 community-based organizations.

Highlights: Development Issues Addressed by FSD in Nicaragua
Nicaragua has some of the most pressing gender-related problems in Latin America. In the agriculture-based economy, women are largely in charge of the laborintensive tasks of maintaining the household – carrying water, collecting fuel wood, childcare, agricultural production, and market work. These necessary duties receive little cultural respect and social resources. Intra-familial violence and sexual violence are rampant, so that in 2005, there were 55,000 reported cases of violence against women. However, it is known that many cases remain unreported and unresolved due to social stigma and legal inaction that is attached to this type of abuse. Health and reproductive rights are another huge issue for women in Nicaragua. Teen pregnancy rates are so high that one in four female adolescents becomes pregnant. In addition, the maternal mortality rate is one of the highest in the hemisphere, mostly because of a lack of pre-natal care.

To combat violence, support gender equality, and promote economic balance, both women and men need gender awareness and equity education beginning in childhood and lasting through adulthood. FSD interns and volunteers assist in a broad range of education, awareness and empowerment campaigns to provide services for families affected by intra-familial and sexual violence. FSD supports agencies with services that include legal aid and counseling, psychological support, health programs, shelters, job training, micro-enterprise workshops, and loans to begin or sustain micro-enterprises. These initiatives aim to offset cultural habits that are decaying Nicaragua's culture and its people.

Minimum Education: High School

Cost in US$: Depends on Program Selected; See FSD Website

Experience Required: no

Typical Volunteer: FSD supports participants who boldly wish to initiate the change they believe is necessary in the developing world. Interns are passionate about sharing their practical knowledge, heart-felt enthusiasm, and economic resources with communities abroad that suffer unnecessary hardship. They wish to gain hands-on, grassroots development experience because they believe change is most powerfully cultivated on a community level. The aim is to experientially learn how their work can empower the community toward applying sustainable development solutions, rather than increasing reliance on foreign aid. Participants choose FSD because the program structure enables them to design and implement their own sustainable projects in collaboration with their host organization and the FSD Site Team. They are able to test their ideas and theories in the most direct way possible, giving them the experience and knowledge they seek. The flexibility of the host organizations allows for participants at all stages and levels of experience in international development to participate, thus opening the programs to a diverse group of capable applicants.

Age Range: 18-75

This Program is open to Worldwide Participants. This Program is also open to Couples and Individuals

Participants Travel to Nicaragua Independently

Typically Participants Work Independently or in Groups of 3-10

Application Process Involves:

• Letters of Reference
• Phone Interview
• Resume
• Written Application

Post-Program Services Include:

• Alumni Network

Foundation for Sustainable Development's Mission Statement: FSD supports the efforts of grassroots organizations in the developing world that are working to better their communities, environments, and the economic opportunities around them. We believe community development is only sustainable if it empowers the people to effectively use and cultivate their own resources in a conscious manner. Through our programs, we aim to raise international awareness of the economic challenges in developing countries and to support cross-cultural communities in finding more effective solutions to development issues.

Year Founded: 1995