Santa Matilde: A Community Success Story

Santa Matilde is a community of over 326 families living on 72 acres near Chinandega, Nicaragua. The community boasts of a feeding center, health clinic and three elementary school buildings. Each family there owns a 452 square foot cinderblock house and a latrine on a small lot with room for an outdoor kitchen and a garden. Most of the families send their children to the school, where they receive a hot lunch each day. The community has clean water and agricultural wells on the premises. During the summer rainy season, Santa Matilde is covered in lush green foliage, a result of the rich volcanic soil beneath it. Life has settled down since the families were first resettled there in 2001.

When Hurricane Mitch struck Chinandega on October 30, 1998, Las Casitas Volcano overflowed its banks. Without warning, torrents of mud engulfed several small farming villages. Over 3000 people were killed and thousands lost their homes and livelihoods. The Nicaraguan government was not equipped to handle the many homeless families and placed them in “temporary” quarters next to the Chinandega city dump, sewage treatment center and slaughterhouse. The families lived in ramshackle plastic and cardboard tents. Their children ran loose in the adjoining dump, rummaging through the garbage for food. The stench of rancid waste pervaded the air. Summer rains brought streams of dirty water crashing through El Limonal, turning it into a swamp. Disease and bacteria were rampant. The hapless victims had nowhere to turn for help.

Father Marco Dessy was familiar with the Chinandega area, serving over 30 years there as a missionary and advocate of the poor. His benevolent foundation, Chinandega 2001, quickly formed an alliance with Amigos for Christ and its other partner organizations: Food for the Poor, The Houston Rotary Club and The American Nicaraguan Foundation. Together they planned and funded a new community for as many El Limonal families as possible, on land donated by the Nicaraguan government. Santa Matilde was born. Each of the 326 families provided 2 members to work on building the homes, thereby helping themselves and their neighbors and gaining valuable job skills.

Amigos for Christ continues its sponsorship of Santa Matilde in many important ways. We fund the school feeding program and employ a local team to maintain and upgrade the water system. We encourage and fund business cooperatives, such a communal vegetable farm. Due to the generosity of our donors, the Santa Matilde Centro de Salud (Health Center) is stocked with basic first aid supplies. A team of local women are trained to assist with the doctors and nurses who make regular rounds there.

Santa Matilde has been a stimulus for every missionary who has visited it through the years. We have made friends with many of its inhabitants, working side by side with them in the dust and heat. We are committed to continuing our support there by improving the quality of life with educational resources, business incentives and organized sports programs. We believe that with our help, they will overcome their past and embrace a productive future.