Intern or Volunteer with a Grassroots Micro-Enterprise Organization in Nicaragua

  Nicaragua

Ciudad Sandino,  Jinotepe,  Masaya

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 Micro-Enterprise in Nicaragua:

* Offer strategic coaching and other consulting services geared toward the successful management of micro-enterprises run by women. Holistically address accompanying personal and health issues that affect these women and their families.

* Assist in the assembly of borrowing groups that support each other's micro-enterprises and take financial responsibility for each other's loans.

* Provide business training programs and workshops geared toward the needs of poor, under-educated women who either need vocational skills, operate a small business, or would like to open a new micro-enterprise.

* Provide logistical support to micro-credit borrowers so that they understand the arrangement and terms of their loans, are able to maximize the use of these funds, and utilize various savings strategies.

* Conduct research that analyzes the successes and failures of a micro-lending program, a business development center for vocational training, and other topics related to micro-enterprise development.

* Support the distribution of international grants toward effective projects and trainings for the cultivation of microenterprises and micro-credit programs for marginalized
communities.

For more micro-enterprise 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 is the poorest country in Latin America and the second poorest in the Western Hemisphere. In the 1980s, the Nicaraguan government privatized its previously public services in an attempt to combat poverty. Unfortunately, this move had little effect on the extremely high rates of inflation and unemployment. Historically, even those with jobs in Nicaragua receive dismal pay so that today, over fifty percent of the 5.5 million residents are living below the poverty line. As a whole, Nicaraguans lack access to the work and borrowing ability that is needed to build a strong economy.

In Nicaragua, many nongovernmental organizations have begun to utilize microfinance as a way to address Nicaragua's poverty. Currently, nearly twenty percent of the country's population is either a direct or indirect user of microfinance services. Work produced by FSD partner organizations is rooted in client empowerment, allowing impoverished citizens to create and run their own businesses. Interns have the opportunity to be engaged in a variety of activities at the forefront of the struggle. Whether you are teaching workshops in strategic management to local artisans, facilitating youth entrepreneurship programs, or negotiating loans for women's micro-enterprises, the work will immerse you into local culture and expose you to the challenges and current solutions Nicaragua faces in micro-economic development.

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 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