Visit to Schools in Bonanza, RAAN

Guest Post by Indira Vallejos – ANF’s Event Coordinator

About two weeks ago, I visited a part of Nicaragua I had never been to before – the North Atlantic Autonomous Region. To get there, I flew non-stop to the community of Bonanza along with a representative of the Coca-Cola Company. The purpose of the trip was to coordinate the inauguration of 2 reconstructed schools, which were funded by the Coca-Cola Foundation.

During my stay, I noticed that, even though it’s a part of Nicaragua’s mining triangle, Bonanza’s social development is only of interest to a mining organization that operates there and is otherwise forgotten by the rest of Nicaraguans. Witnessing the unsanitary conditions, poor economic circumstances, and unsafe environment in which the inhabitants of the community live, I realized that the Atlantic coast of Nicaragua is so completely different (and in so much more need) than the Pacific coast where I have lived my whole life.

My experience in Bonanza had a profound impact on me and left me with the desire to continue to help these coastal communities and their people to grow and find a more dignified way of living.