Project Schoolhouse

Improving Nicaraguan lives by building new, community water systems, and improving sanitation.

July 2025 Newsletter

Ensuring Sustainability: Navigating Challenges and Celebrating Solutions

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In our 18 years of building water and school projects, one of our key tenets has been to build sustainable projects that will last for generations to come. Thanks to the generous support of the Burdine Johnson Foundation, we are excited to continue this work on a bigger scale and visit every community where we’ve worked in past years to ensure the projects we’ve helped build are being cared for and functioning as intended. ​

Operating in remote rural areas presents unique challenges, from complex transportation logistics to ever-changing weather patterns. Leading the charge is our in-country Programs Coordinator, Norma, who treks through rain, mud, and mountainous terrain to visit communities like San José El Paraíso, where we built a school and water system in 2017.

Through this effort, we will be able to collect essential data, such as maintenance schedules and water quality test results, directly from the community water and school boards that are responsible for maintaining the infrastructure after project completion.

These insights will not only help us ensure the long-term success of our work, but help us learn how we can best support each community with guidance and expertise they may need. 

We look forward to sharing more updates in the months ahead as we continue this vital work across past project sites.

From left to right, our team in San Josè El Paraiso, Norma, Jairo, and Cristian

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Greetings From Our Executive Director

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Dear friends,

I’m writing to you today with a heart full of gratitude and a profound sense of awe for the incredible work being accomplished in rural Nicaragua, made possible by your unwavering support.

Our mission to build schools and water systems in these remote communities is more than just a construction project; it’s a testament to human resilience and hope. The work on the ground is arduous, demanding, and almost entirely manual. Every cement block laid, every pipe fitted, every foundation dug, is the result of immense physical effort.

At the heart of this effort are the community volunteers themselves. These dedicated individuals, often farmers relying on their small plots for their families’ sustenance, commit their precious time and energy to these projects. They spend their days tilling their land, ensuring food on the table, and then, with an inspiring vision for a brighter tomorrow, they join our skilled builders, digging trenches, hauling materials, and constructing the very infrastructure that will transform their children’s lives. Their hands, accustomed to the soil, are now shaping a future. They do this not for personal gain, but for the profound hope of a better education and a healthier life for the next generation.

Leading these dedicated volunteers are our skilled builders and head of construction, Manuel. Beyond managing the intricate complexities of massive infrastructure projects, they navigate the harsh terrain, the challenges of access during the torrential rainy season, and the delicate art of coordinating teams of unskilled but eager local labor. Their expertise, combined with their unwavering commitment, ensures that these vital projects come to fruition against all odds.

It is this extraordinary dedication, from the community members to our tireless builders, coupled with your generosity, that truly makes a difference. You are not just funding construction; you are empowering communities to build their own destiny, mile by painstaking mile.

Thank you for being a vital part of this transformative journey.

With deepest gratitude,

Sincerely,
Selina   

Community members collecting rocks to use in the foundation of this water system

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Ponsoña Project Update: Building toward clean water, one step at a time

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We’re thrilled to share the latest progress on our biggest water and sanitation project to date, one that will serve seven communities through a single, unified effort.

A project of this scale demands precision, hard work, and perseverance. It begins with tapping a spring with sufficient water and pressure to provide clean water to over 2,000 people. It continues with building a community-owned system that is durable and will last for generations to come. 

Thanks to our team on the ground and a dedicated group of 25-30 volunteers each day, we’ve reached a major milestone: the spring capture and the filtration system, also known as the filtro lento, are now complete. This filter is located at the top of the mountain, near the main spring capture. That’s where the journey of determination for life-changing water begins for our team and volunteers. 

Our team standing by the form for the spring capture

For the past seven months, rain or shine, volunteers have shown up to haul thousands of pounds of sand, cement, and rock, using off-road trucks, horses, and at the steepest parts, on foot. With sheer determination, they raced to move materials before the rainy season washed out the roads.

This project is about life-saving infrastructure that brings more than just water; it brings health, dignity, and a brighter future for families who have long struggled with water scarcity and waterborne illnesses.

Next up: Trenching the primary conduction lines to the system’s three pressure tanks, a crucial phase in this two-year project to bring safe water to all seven communities in the Ponsoña region.


This community project is made possible with the support of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and funded by Latter-day Saint Charities Australia. Thank you!

Hauling bags of sand by hand
Truck going uphill with materials
Hauling PVC pipes
Sand and materials for construction
Digging and building temporary roads
Building the foundation for slow filter

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