Background

sea In 2005, Co-Executive Director Lyndsey Rosevear decided to go to Nicaragua on a volunteer mission. Avoiding the structure of paying an organization to volunteer, she decided to help out where she could to help make a difference in the impoverished country. With no formal plan or organization in mind, she didn’t realize that it would be a life changing trip. Lyndsey’s Nicaraguan host family turned out to be active volunteers in the region and introduced her into the international volunteer community. This community provided the necessary link and ideas to start a project.

Seeing first hand the rampant levels of poverty and the subsequent manifestations, she returned home to collaborate with good friends (Angela Clay and Kristin Fedorak) to determine how to make a difference. They turned an idea to start their own international project into a reality by partnering with Rotaract, a part of Rotary International for youth aged 18-30. They gained the support necessary to start a project of this nature. Rotaract’s members held fundraisers, generated awareness and networked in Calgary for ideas and support. This adoption by Rotaract and its members has been vital in providing the energies, tools and leadership to make this project work.

Now the multi-faceted project relies on the thoughtful, generous, committed individuals who make up the executive committee for the smooth running and for the future of the project.

Starting the First Preschool by Lyndsey
The first year I was in Nicaragua, in 2005 I was approached by a girl named Maria Orozco from a small community called Ojochal. Maria, 17, asked for support to start a preschool in her community and she wanted to be the teacher. I loved the idea but had no organization and no funding to support this initiative. Not to be deterred, I collected a few of my friends and we wrote up letter outlining our initiative. Luckily, that day a cruise ship docked and sleepy San Juan del Sur was bustling with Norwegian tourists. These tourists supported our idea and donated their change to our cause and a week later we had painted an abandoned building in Ojochal and started our first preschool, “Amgios de Ojochal.” Maria, now a mother, still teaches at the school and is supported by Project Nicaragua and we are now really good friends five years later.

Starting the First Preschool
by Lyndsey

The first year I was in Nicaragua, in 2005 I was approached by a girl named Maria Orozco from a small community called Ojochal. Maria, 17, asked for support to start a preschool in her community and she wanted to be the teacher. I loved the idea but had no organization and no funding to support this initiative. Not to be deterred, I collected a few of my friends and we wrote up letter outlining our initiative. Luckily, that day a cruise ship docked and sleepy San Juan del Sur was bustling with Norwegian tourists. These tourists supported our idea and donated their change to our cause and a week later we had painted an abandoned building in Ojochal and started our first preschool, “Amgios de Ojochal.” Maria, now a mother, still teaches at the school and is supported by Project Nicaragua and we are now really good friends five years later.