SEEDS FOR EL HATILLO

Hey everyone! Below is a message from my friend Danielle Costanza.  She is a good friend of my from UNH.  She recently entered the Peace Corps and sent this request via Facebook.  I figured that I would copy it and pass the message along to anyone I know.  i know help is needed in many places and in many ways, but I figured I could at least pass the message along to those who may be able to help out!

-Colleen

Hola! Greetings from Nicaragua,


I am writing this letter in hopes of acquiring some financial support for the small town of
El Hatillo, Telica, Leon. This will soon be my new home for the next two years, during my
time here in Nicaragua as a Peace Corp volunteer. I recently had the pleasure of visiting this remote northern village and meeting my future family and Nicaraguan counterpart. The community received me with open arms, and they are very hospitable and hard working people.


Delever Jose’ Juarez Machado, my counterpart with whom I will be coordinating projects, is a graduate of the University of Managua, with a specialty in seed engineering. He has worked in the fields all his life with his father, and is very knowledgeable and organized. We have brainstormed many options as to how to raise the standard of living in El Hatillo.
The most decisive and appropriate way would be to improve and increase farm production. The mission of the Peace Corp volunteer is to assist the town in initiating and maintaining improvements that are sustainable. There are no financial resources here to jump start this project which we have named, “Seeds for El Hatillo.” 


Delver and I would like to purchase the appropriate fertilizers and seeds ( fertilizantes nigtrogenados fertilizantes compeletos y semillas adaptadas) that are necessary for the planting grounds in order to yield an abundant harvest. The community will be brainstorming
their own ways of raising money for this cause, but the hard fact is that money is scarce and difficult to obtain.


Life is hard here and the poverty is heartwrenching. People do not have even the most basic needs. There is malnutrition among the children as well as the adults. Some families subsist on only one meal a day. The town does not have electricity, or a road that vehicles can travel on. People must walk or ride a bicycle (if they have one) to go to the next village.
Delver and I would like to address some of these problems by trying to elevate the state of nutrition, availability of food, and provide a source of income by planting crops. We anticipate we need about $ 400 to $ 500 to get started on this project, but the people of El Hatillo would be grateful for any donation no matter how small. Our goal would be to purchase the seeds and fertilizer by September in time for this year’s planting. However, realistically speaking, we see this as an ongoing project and we will use the resources for the following planting year if we can not meet this September time frame.


Please join us in solidarity with our friends in Nicaragua. Please give the people of El Hatillo an opportunity to help themselves and a chance to transform a barren earth into a garden of hope for the future. 


Donations or checks will be placed in a special bank account (Seeds for El Hatillo) at Meredith Village Bank. 


Checks can be made to ;
Danielle Costanza: Seeds for El Hatillo


Mailing address: Danielle Costanza
c/o Sara Costanza
PO Box 1048

Moultonborough, New Hampshire

03254



“To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven: A time to plant, and time to pluck up that which is planted;”
Ecclesiastics 3:2


Thank you for your generous giving and understanding. Please keep the people of El Hatillo in your prayers and in your thoughts. Thank you for all your letters, packages, well wishes throughout my training period. Your support has helped me immensely.


Peace and Love to you All, 
Danielle Costanza PC
Voluntario del Cuerpo de Paz