In 2025, Project Schoolhouse launched the most ambitious infrastructure effort in our 20-year history: a unified water and sanitation project serving seven communities in the La Ponsoña region of Matagalpa, Nicaragua. At the heart of this effort is a single mountain spring with enough flow and pressure to supply clean, potable water to more than 2,000 people — leveraging one water source to multiply impact across an entire region.
For an entire year, 25 to 30 community volunteers showed up each day, rain or shine, working toward the dream of clean water in their homes. Construction began with transporting materials up the mountain by truck and on foot, and in the steepest stretches, mules carried what trucks could not. Community members cleared the work site by hand and carried thousands of pounds of sand and cement up the mountain. Boulders dug out of the river were used to form the foundation of the filtration system
2025 Water Project Accomplishments
- Mountaintop spring capture completed
- Slow-sand filtration system built at summit
- Three pressurization tanks installed along the distribution route
- Chlorination units added to ensure water safety
- Primary conduction lines trenched from the summit to the pressurization tanks
- Distribution lines trenched (by hand!) to reach 74 family homes
- 74 families in 4 communities now have clean water in their homes and at their schools!
This completed mountain-top water infrastructure forms the backbone of the entire regional water system — serving the four Phase 1 communities now and laying the foundation for Phase 2 expansion in 2026.
Sanitation: A Foundation for Health & Dignity
Clean water alone is not enough. Project Schoolhouse’s comprehensive approach to building life-saving infrastructure ensures that every community we serve also receives the sanitation systems needed to protect the watershed and the health of the families in the community.
Community members, including children, took an active role in building their own latrines. This hands-on participation is central to Project Schoolhouse’s model: when families help build a project, they take ownership and maintain it well into the future.
2025 Sanitation Accomplishments
- 74 sanitary latrines constructed for homes in four communities
- 2 handwashing stations installed at community schools
- Every family served trained in proper latrine use and maintenance
- Every family served trained in proper latrine use and maintenance
- Community hygiene education classes provided to families and school children
We particularly want to appreciate the partnership of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Latter-day Saint Charities Australia for trusting in Project Schoolhouse to deliver progress towards our shared mission, supporting our neighbors in need.
