ANF and CB Richard Ellis (CBRE- global real estate services company) worked together to build 62 homes that benefited 434 people in Nicaragua.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLIOcRDtofg

This video shows the desperate conditions people live in before receiving a new home, the construction process and the finished project.

I ask you to join us in thanking CBRE for making this possible as well as spreading the word so other companies can join in efforts just like this one. Let us know if you can.

Vote for ANF

Today ANF asks for your help in bringing computers and internet access to poor students in Nicaragua and all you have to do is click here.

ANF has been selected to be one of 12 organizations to receive a grant for development projects in Latin America, Asia, and Africa.

Part of the decision making process is an on-line popular vote. This is where you can make a difference. Click on this link and vote for the project in Nicaragua. We are the fourth box from the top, titled "Fortalecimiento de la educación tecnológica de dos escuelas vulnerables en Nicaragua."

TOGETHER, WE CAN MAKE THIS HAPPEN.
Thank you for getting involved, spread the word and help make this project a reality.

Bertha Calderón

Bertha Calderón Women’s Hospital is often a last resort. Patients come from all over Nicaragua. Cases that cannot be diagnosed or that are deemed incurable elsewhere in the country are referred to Bertha Calderón. Thus, the importance of this hospital is immense. For many women it is a last chance for treatment. I was fortunate enough to tour the facility on my trip to Nicaragua last May.

Women arrive at the hospital with diverse needs. Pregnant women, many still in their teens, wait for appointments in the maternal clinic. Beds in the oncology wing are full of patients. Nurses and doctors hurry in and out of the operating room, clad in green scrubs.

Bertha Calderón is a paradox. The building is nearly forty years old. The hallways are dark from low lighting. Patients appear tired, anxious, and gloomy. Yet, despite the darkness, the hospital buzzes with life. The staff rushes from room to room. Doctors exit and enter with charts. Carts with pharmaceuticals roll down the halls. As I move through these scenes, my tour guide, a director at the hospital, explains the range of work the hospital does. Women receive medical services, which would otherwise have been inadequate, if offered at all.

Places like the Bertha Calderón Hospital benefit directly from ANF. Our mission to support the poorest people in Nicaragua shows real results here. Without the Bertha Calderón Hospital, many women would suffer from lack of adequate healthcare—one of the hallmarks of underdevelopment and poverty.

Bertha Calderón depends on support from ANF. We can only continue giving that support with your help. Join us in helping the women of Nicaragua continue to receive necessary healthcare. Donate today.

A New Perspective

What is the danger of complacency? We can easily become callous. The more we see of what perturbs us, the more callous we are. Everyday scenes of poverty should serve as reminders of the need but in their repetitiveness, they become more elusive.

That is terribly ironic.

When I took the post at ANF, I worried that my inexperience in Nicaragua (and Latin America in general) would hinder my effectiveness. I am not a Nica. I do not speak Spanish. The culture and history of Nicaragua is not my own. However, upon returning from a trip to Managua, I realized the inexperience that originally concerned me might be my most valuable asset. Unfamiliarity with Nicaragua leaves me unhindered to see the full extent of the poverty.

I am an outsider. My trip to Nicaragua at the end of May was my first time in Managua. Everything I saw was a first—the dusty streets, the steep volcanoes, the expansive lakes, and the poverty. It was moving to see people living in houses constructed from whatever was found scrounging. The ANF staff reminded me that “These are working-class people—they have jobs”.

If this is how working-class people live, how do the unemployed live?

I come from a world with social welfare, low unemployment, and a high standard of living. Of course, not even America is immune to homelessness and poverty. But in no way does it compare to what I saw in Nicaragua, both in scale and level. I have no callous to the poverty in Nicaragua. I did not grow up around rampant underemployment. What I witnessed was raw; this was my first impression. Through inexperience, I sensed a need greater than I have ever seen before.

Coming into contact with the poverty in Nicaragua made clear why ANF exists. While I saw tremendous need, I also saw a response. Children were in schools sponsored by ANF. A waiting room to a clinic and pharmacy supported by ANF was full with patients awaiting care and medication. Makeshift housing areas were giving way to ANF housing projects. I saw ANF providing answers to a country with seemingly countless questions.

After my first month of working here, it is clear that this foundation does much to improve lives in Nicaragua. It is equally apparent that there is always much more to do.
I am not callous to the poverty in Nicaragua. My initial trip thus served as an inspiration to bring change. From an outsider’s view, this is a country that needs support.

For positive changes to come, we cannot become callous to the need.

The End of Poverty IS Possible

I wanted to share this video with you where Hans Rosling, a Swedish health expert and researcher (also founder of Karolinska Institute and Gapminder), makes a great impression of the state of the world.

2 things you take from it:

The impossible is possible...we can improve the lives of so many people in poor nations.
and
Who said statistics was boring?

Miami Staff is back from Nicaragua

We just returned to Miami from Nicaragua. Although we are still tired from the trip, it gave us the opportunity to "recharge our batteries" as far as motivating us to keep helping the people in our country.

We visited many projects and spoke to many beneficiaries as well as people who have not received our help yet. The contrast between these two groups is truely amazing. People benefiting from ANF have a great appreciation towards donors and a positive outlook on life. Of course, knowing someone cared about their situation and knowing they are now accomplishing things for themselves, will inspire hope in anyone.

One lady, called Maria, at El Menco community, got teary eyed when she was expressing the importance and impact of our work. Now 2 of her children are even attending University! She is very proud and so are we. I will definitely share more of her story in a future post.

For now, please take a look at some of our mission trip pictures here. And let us know what you think!

What's your Donor Personality?

Last month I read a new report released by Convio, Edge Research and Sea Change Strategies (see article) that says that we, non profits, are missing out on getting the "wired wealthy" to donate online.

They found that half of major donors surveyed prefer to give online. I think that like those surveyed, our donors are also starting to get more use of our online giving and more confident about it - finding out that we do not share their contact information and use Verisign to protect their payment process.

Another interesting point in the report is they found 3 personality types:


29% are Relationship Seekers - Relationship seekers put the most stock in how a charity web site forms a connection with them. They tend to skew younger (under 45) and are most likely to engage in social activities with the charity. 2/3rds of relationship seekers say that a charity's web site plays a role in whether or not they give money.

41% are Casual Connectors - Like relationship seekers, so-called casual connectors also seek a connection with the charity. However, for them it is less personal -- they're more interested in things like how efficiently the charity is using their money and want easy access to that information.

30% are All Business - The all business set doesn't care about feeling connected to the charity, rather they want the donation process to be as easy and painless as possible. They also tend to give the most money.

So I ask: What personality are you? How would you like us to treat you online?

Staff Mission Trip

This is a map of Nicaragua. The entire country is a bit smaller than the state of New York and it is the largest in Central America. But it only has a population of around 5.5 million. 80% of which live in extreme poverty (live on less than $2 a day).

Our entire staff (including USA and Nicaragua) will be traveling to visit some of our projects the first week of April. I have circled where we're headed, as you can see on the map.

We are very excited and hope to come back with many compelling stories and pictures to post here.

Is there any information, specifically, that you would like us to bring back and share with you?

We finally did it!

Our first blog post! We at ANF are very excited to have this platform where you will be able to read about our field stories, thoughts and ideas that come out of the work we do for the people in Nicaragua.

In an effort to improve our communication with you, we invite you to reply with any comments you may have in reaction to our posts.

We hope this blog not only motivates and inspires our public, but also allows us to grow internally with new ideas coming directly from you that can help us continue expanding our supporter base to help us reach our fundraising goals.

Subscribe to the blog, communicate with us and spread the word!