The Future of Nicaragua


FEATURES
•	In the News
•	September 8th 1st Annual FON Golf Tournament

Early Beginnings: Mazatenango Project
It all began back in 1992 when Dr. Steven B. Hopping and his wife, Julia S. Hopping, embarked on a series of missionary travels to Central America. Their purpose was to deliver medical equipment and provide reconstructive surgical services to the underprivileged people of Mazatenango, in Guatemala. This experience instilled in them a passion for humanitarian service, and every year they returned to this small little town to restore smiles to babies born with cleft lips and palates and to disheartened burn victims. Their visits also brought them face to face with the impoverished health care conditions of third world countries, and they made a personal promise to offer their experience and assistance to the less fortunate and disabled. Dr. Hopping and his staff now make regular visits to Nicaragua, Mrs. Hopping's homeland, another poverty-stricken country that faces equally challenging medical and economic situations.

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Dr. Hopping and members of his office surgical team, at times working with local healthcare providers in Nicaragua, make regular visits to Nicaragua to perform surgery, particularly cleft palate and lip procedures; teach new techniques to young surgeons; provide scarce, basic medications to existing clinics; and hold one-day clinics at pre-schools to foster preventative healthcare and to treat existing health problems. This work compliments the healthcare mission of the Foundation and the Foundation’s support of hospitals through donation of modern equipment and supplies brought from the United States and other nations.

Wheelchair Contributions & Distribution
Joining forces with renowned philanthropist Kenneth E. Behring's Wheelchair Foundation , and David Richard's Wheels for Humanity , Dr. Hopping, Julia, and her children began raising funds to acquire and deliver special wheelchairs to disabled men and women in Nicaragua . They held a successful benefit event at the Organization of American States in 2002 and ultimately traveled numerous times to Nicaragua to personally hand-deliver thousands of wheelchairs in various regions throughout Nicaragua . This became the first humanitarian mission of the Future of Nicaragua Foundation and its success was undeniable. Not only did it alter the lives of many who had never before benefited from such technologically advanced equipment, but it also paved the way for further medical assistance in Nicaragua . President and Mrs. Bolaños gave their personal blessing to the volunteered efforts of the Hoppings and their rescue team, and have assured all assistance to the Future of Nicaragua Foundation in the fulfillment of its objectives. The Foundation continues to this day to bring quality of life to many Nicaraguans through the donation of wheelchairs.

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Inaugural Gala
(View Event Details)

October 24, 2002
Organization of American States Building, Washington D.C.

On October 24, 2002, the Future of Nicaragua Foundation hosted a gala/dinner at Washington's prestigious Organization of American States Building. The ceremony served to introduce the Foundation's plans and strategies as it strives to raise awareness and improve the adverse social and economic conditions facing Nicaragua today. The event also extolled the spirit of the Nicaraguan people and honored special guests who embody the best of Nicaragua's traditional values and its future hopes.

Dental Health Missions

Project or event description forthcoming.

The artistic community has always come together in times of difficulty, and Nicaraguan artists are no exception. In what may be considered a historic event, a cast of highly popular and prestigious performers from Nicaragua sang as one in the anthem, Volver a Nacer , a musical statement of hope and solidarity that also serves as the Foundation's official theme song. Executively produced by respected Latin songwriter and producer Rodolfo Castillo and co-produced by Gabriel Traversari and Carlos Mantica , Volver a Nacer incorporates the ideals and wishes of the Future of Nicaragua Foundation and hopes to deliver its message of goodwill to all Nicaraguan people. The song, which was written by Traversari, was recorded in Nicaragua and Miami and involves the amazing participation of personalities such as Luis Enrique, Cristyana, Carlos Mejía Godoy, Luis Enrique Mejía Godoy, Katia y Salvador Cardenal, Gabriel Traversari, Keyla Rodriguez, Norma Helena Gadea, Macoya, Evelyn Martinez, Philip Montalvan, Engel, Adolfo Membreño, Foundation Executive Director Mario Sacasa, Carlos Luis Mejía, Carlos Mantica and the Choir of Voices Gethsemane of Masaya . Mantica, who is also a highly respected television producer from Nicaragua, has produced the musical video and behind the scenes special of the making of the song, which premiered on October 24, 2002 at the Foundation's Gala celebration in Washington, D.C. Proceeds from the sales of this single are to be used to create cultural programs in Nicaragua.

Although the Foundation plans to launch long-term projects in Nicaragua , its also desires to reach the Nicaraguan people in tangible, immediate ways. There is definitely a need for more medical, educational and cultural centers in the country, but there is an even greater necessity for basic day-to-day supplies like clothing and shoes. Nicaraguan children are obsessed with shoes. In 2003, Mario Sacasa, Gabriel Traversari and friends of the Foundation like Evelyn Martinez drove through the poorest areas of Managua and its surrounding towns knocking on doors and handing out t-shirts, shoes and Foundation pens to needy families. They sat and spoke to the men and women they met and discussed with them urgent issues. What are the major concerns, fears and dreams of the average Nicaraguan? The experience made it possible for the Foundation to better understand the difficulties confronting so many people in Nicaragua , it gave the underprivileged an opportunity to be heard, and, most of all, it brought a smile to those who need and cherish simple tokens of support and appreciation. The Tocando Puertas campaign has grown with further assistance and sponsorship. The Foundation's goal is to organize volunteer teams that will travel across the country delivering good will and immediate answers to those that most need it, a goal that is being realized with the Foundation's Water Projects.

Hope for Orphaned and Underprivileged Youth

The Foundation advances its health and education missions, among other ways, through the support of needy but existing programs and schools that seek to help impoverished Nicaraguan youth. Currently, the Foundation is partnering with another organization to provide food, drinkable water, clothing, blankets, healthcare, and other basic support to Hogar San Jose El Protector, an orphanage that lost its financial backing. This organization for homeless youth provides a place for 30 children on a ten-acre plot of land in Tipitapa, Nicaragua, ten miles outside Managua. Through its joint effort with Fundacion Nueva Vida, the Future of Nicaragua Foundation hopes to increase the capacity of Hogar San Jose El Protector to 90 children. In addition, the Foundation is assisting in the development of a home and preschool for single mothers called Guarderia y Pre-Escolar San Martin de Porres in Managua, along with support for a boarding school for grade-school girls established by Sor. Ligia Sevilla, Casa Nazareth. The students at Casa Nazareth learn useful vocational skills, such as typing, cooking, and salon training, with the hope of providing these students a better future.

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This component of the Future of Nicaragua Foundation was created in order to mitigate the high social impact that results from the lack of drinkable water in more than 60% of the rural schools in the country.

Taking into account that the United Nations has determined that today about 2 billion people in the world do not have access to water, and that in the year 2025 it is predicted that around 50% of the world population will have similar problems, the Foundation is working, within its means, to correct the devastating effects of these findings.

We are well aware of the magnitude of this problem, and we know that this is a challenge for all of Nicaraguan society. We are committed to collaborating as much as we can. For this, the Water for the Schools project has a clearly defined mission and set of goals.

• Bringing water to the schools in rural areas utilizing the innovative technologies developed by the Department of Renewable Energy of the Future of Nicaragua Foundation.

• Installing modern metallic greenhouses manufactured by us with the dual purpose of seeking reforestation using a variety of trees and to manage small projects from the schools with the belief that this will become a food source.

• Educating the children from an early age – in conjunction with their teachers - in the modern method of indoor planting with excellent conditions for germination.

• Involving the children in the reforestation of their micro-water sources and giving them, through their teachers, the training and the means so that they can develop in the future while respecting the environment.

• Installing where we feel necessary, small irrigation systems to benefit the parent groups in order for them to be part of this joint effort.

These five objectives serve as a guide to the efforts of the Future of Nicaragua Foundation in response to deforestation, and we hope that through these efforts, little by little, the nation can regain the health of its micro-water sources and be on track for assisting in the creation of a rural environment more in tune with the ecology, fostering a tangible increase in the productivity of the rural areas.

Project or event description forthcoming.

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Hoops for the Future, Nicaragua 2004

In August 2004, the Foundation brought health and hope through the country’s first professional basketball clinic. WNBA basketball professional, Murriel Page, a player for the Washington Mystics, and former WNBA and European professional player, Taylor Walls, along with current and former college basketball players visited various locations in the Greater Managua area to perform impromptu mini-clinics on basketball fundamentals. This culminated in a first-of-its-kind basketball skills clinic for hundreds of Nicaraguan youth, supported by the Mayor of Managua and various sponsors. The event was a huge success, and the Foundation hopes to build on its experience with its second annual HOOPS FOR THE FUTURE in 2005.

Barbarena Brothers Art Exhibit

Centro Cultural Antiguo Convento de San Francisco

Granada, Nicaragua; August 2004

The Barberena de la Rocha brothers, Robert, Cesar and Carlos, were born in the hauntingly beautiful 480-year-old colonial city of Granada, Nicaragua, where for the first time in their extensive careers, all three exhibited together in a retrospective of their prolific artwork. Guests (close to 1000) filled the enormous venue to capacity on opening night and the brothers generously donated fifty percent of all sales that evening to the Future of Nicaragua Foundation. The brothers have received countless awards and recognitions and their pieces can be found in private and public collections throughout the world.