Xochilta is 8 years old. A first grader living alone all day long. Her parents are gone. She lives at her aunt's house, but her aunt is at work during the day. No child should live like this.
Nicaragua is a beautiful land that masks deep poverty and despair. Eighty percent of the population lives on less than $2.00 per day and almost half on less than $1.00 per day. Women in Nicaragua face a particularly difficult life not only due to economic conditions but also societal mores. Girls face exploitation, assault and sexual abuse at very young ages. Most families are headed by women as men frequently abandon their families after the birth of children.
Austin Samaritans is dedicated to making a difference for all Nicaraguans with particular attention to the needs of women and children. We sponsor schools, health clinics, feeding programs, orphanages and safe homes.
Golf Benefit for the Women of Nicaragua
- Monday, September 29, 2008
- Riverside Golf Club
- Austin, Texas
Southwest Christian Men have answered the call to impact the situation in Nicaragua. They are sponsoring a Golf Benefit for the Women of Nicaragua to assist Austin Samaritans to fulfill its mission. Three ministries will benefit from funds raised by broad participation
- Casa Esperanza
- Mercado Oriental Women’s Shelter
- Villa Esperanza.
Casa Esperanza
Casa Esperanza serves women involved in sex work in Nicaragua. Many have been subjected to abuse and violence. Others turn to prostitution to feed their children or because they possess no skills and have limited education.
Casa Esperanza offers a way out of the sex trade to a safe and productive life. Austin Samaritans provides funding for medical care of the women and their children.
Currently medical care is given in a temporary room at Casa Esperanza. Proceeds from the golf tournament will go to construction of a permanent medical clinic to be staffed by doctors and nurses funded by Austin Samaritans.
Mercado Oriental
Mercado Oriental, the Eastern Market, is where many of Managua’s homeless congregate. Al Centro de Ayuda Esperanza serves the homeless of Mercado Oriental. Austin Samaritans supports the feeding ministry at the center, evangelism and an adjacent medical clinic.
Many women and their children wander the streets at night where they are subject to assault and rape. Already this year three women have been severely beaten and two have died. Mercado Oriental Women’s Center will provide a safe haven for women and children.
Funds are needed to acquire the land as well as to construct and run the center.
Villa Esperanza
La Chureca, the Managua Municipal Dump, is home to approximately 1,300 people. More than 2,700 people from la Chureca and the surrounding community eke out a living by digging through trash for recyclable items.
Families live in disparate conditions and often give their young daughters to the truck drivers or trash diggers in exchange for the opportunity to dig through a pile of trash first. The going rate for a trick is 10 Córdobas; less than 50 cents in US currency.
Villa Esperanza is a project devoted to assisting girls at risk of being forced into the sex trade. The girls will receive education and life skills training as well as medical care and psychological support as many of them have been abused.
Austin Samaritans has sponsored one of nine planned group homes and is committed to providing support for the eight girls who will be living in our home. Funds are needed to support this effort.
