Welcome to the Sweet Water Fund in Nicaragua!
A non-profit organization focused on empowering women and communities through job opportunities, a healthy lifestyle and the arts.

kassidy mefford with kids of Playa Gigante nicaragua

The Sweet Water fund is a foundation committed to positively guiding the small fishing village where it was founded as it becomes a traveler hot spot in the ever changing and growing in Popularity, Nicaragua.
The village is Playa Gigante, a town of around 450 locals where the two biggest resources are fishing and tourism.  Just in the past two years, it has hit big on the traveler circuit due to it’s proximity to world class surf.  The people of Gigante, who were once un-privy to such things as ipods and the English language, are now rapidly being influenced by the american way.

woman cooperative nicaragua empowering localsThe Sweet Water founder, after personally witnessing the influx of tourism and the already positive and negative effects it can have, took it on herself to try to embrace the visitors properly and prepare her neighbors for what could be great opportunities for them financially, healthfully and educationally.  ”We want to help direct the locals in a positive direction where they can benefit from the tourism, versus the all too common path of drugs, theft and personal distruction.  This is our way of giving back, as foreign travelers to these beautiful cultural beaches.”   This is a win win for everyone, locals and tourists.

_________________________
“Treat people as if they were what they ought to be, and you will help them become what they are capable of becoming.” -j.w. von goethe
_________________________
The life here is hard, the people struggle just to live.
• The average Nicaraguan worker makes five dollars a day or less.
• The average Nicaraguan woman is unemployed.
• Most have five or more children to feed.
• Most never made it past the fifth grade. Most girls are pregnant at sixteen.
• Most people can’t find jobs. Most have no skills.
• Most can not even write their own name.
• Most people think they will never amount to anything better.
• Most don’t even know where to begin, to BE better.
…
Welcome to the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, Nicaragua.
A place of unparalleled beauty, poverty, and ignorance.
Many of you have either been here, want to go, or plan to visit places like these.
Tourism can have an inspiring effect, or a devastating effect on a struggling country.
You have the power to choose how you will leave your mark.
The children here still smile here, but the people focus on just surviving, not thriving.
Think of what they could have and do with just a little bit of
encouragement and knowledge.
Think of how they could prepare themselves better for their future,
starting with the children.
Think of how they could educate others in the community and beyond.
Think of the possibilities of giving someone a life they never thought they’d have.
Think of your next tropical vacation and how you could have a made a difference in the lives of those locals who came before you, who helped you.
And these places become better for everyone.
…
No more petty theft, no more begging, no more loss of youth with infinite potential to drugs, poverty or teen pregnancy.
A win win effort. A small ripple that could infect the rest of the world.
A possibility that could become a reality with just a little help.
This is our goal, our hope.
WWW.SWEETWATERWORLD.ORG

 

Comments are closed.

Set your Twitter account name in your settings to use the TwitterBar Section.