Bamboo Shelter for Battered Women in Nicaragua

The CO2 Bambu initiative to build a safehouse for battered women in Muelle de los Buyes has accelerated since reaching the $4,000 mark.  We have met with the Director and two women teachers from the local primary school, who are working informally as the volunteer caseworkers for women in their community.  To date, they have worked on 80 distinct cases and they confirmed the urgent need for a safe house of their own.  In the absence of a single private setting, they are forced to meet with women in public places, not ideal for matters that require privacy.   CO2 Bambu took the initiative to broaden the scope of our support, beyond the building of the structure, by connecting these women to the national organization "Casa de la Mujer", a network of 17 field offices, with a broad and deep experience in setting up and running women-centric programs in rural communities.  The land has been identified and donated with the Oficina del Gobierno, which means that construction can start once we reach the minimal threshold of $8000, which corresponds to phase 1 of the "progressive house" that will eventually have 3 bedrooms, in addition to the main consultation area and office space.  Our immediate focus is to facilitate the creation of a formal Casa de la Mujer, with the help of the national organization, so that these women are not only given a physical structure, but a programmatic infrastructure that will enable them to reach the full potential of the services they aim to provide in their community of Muelle de los Buyes.  Acceptance as part of the Casa de la Mujer national program will open up the door to identifying further funding sources to complement the Global Giving initiative.

Links:

• CO2 Bambu Website

The building of the Casa de la Mujer shelter is, again, on hold.  Some 80 local women have organized formally as an association and as a result, have rethought their program priorities.  No longer looking for a shelter, but rather a communal space that can be multi-purpose to support not only a shelter, but also a training facility for local women and a meeting space to sell their products.  The project will now require completion of the initial estimate of $11K to meet the Casa de la Mujer objectives.  We invite all prior donors to "double up" and help us make this possible for the women of Muelle de los Buyes.