Nicaragua

A safe environment for children and young people

In Nicaragua, in the area around Estelí, girls and young women are particularly affected by physical, psychological and economic violence. Together our local partner organisation FUNARTE, we make young people’s voices heard by giving them better access to services and information in the areas of sexual health, violence prevention and psychosocial support.

Hear from the people on the ground

“I can express my feelings better when I paint. Since I’ve been attending the project, I no longer feel lonely. I know that there are people who are there for me.”
Mädchen Funarte 5078

Damaris Valeria Martínez Arayo
14 years old

Background

Access to healthcare is severely restricted in the region: only two of the five communities have health centres and they have limited capacity. Youth-friendly services for sexual and reproductive health and contraceptive methods are largely absent. Sexually transmitted diseases are a major risk. The macho culture promotes male dominance and violence, which leads to unstable relationships. Girls and young women are stigmatised in families, schools, churches and health centres, and face judgmental moralism.

Project goals

The aim is to create a protective environment for young people in Estelí that reduces violence and early pregnancies and enables sustainable change.

Project activities

  • Courses. We run courses for young people on topics such as violence and sexual and reproductive health and rights.
  • Educational art workshops. We offer drawing and painting workshops where young people can express their problems in a creative way, share ideas and reduce stress.
  • Workshops on audiovisual production. We organise workshops where young people can learn technical and communication skills, develop messages and share them via social networks.
  • Awareness-raising. We raise awareness among parents and guardians and decision-makers in schools, communities and churches to ensure that children and young people affected by violence are supported.
Unsere Partnerorganisation setzt kunsttherapeutische Ansätze ein, um die Jugendlichen mit psychosozialer Unterstützung zu fördern. terre des hommes schweiz
Unsere Partnerorganisation setzt kunsttherapeutische Ansätze ein, um die Jugendlichen mit psychosozialer Unterstützung zu fördern.

Beneficiaries

In the last project phase, 2,000 young people and young adults benefitted from our work.

Our partner organisation

FUNARTE (Fundación de Apoyo al Arte Creador Infantil) is a non-profit, non-governmental organisation that has been active throughout the country since 1989. Our partner organisation’s team consists of psychologists, art therapists and social workers. terre des hommes schweiz has been supporting the work of FUNARTE since 2010.

Project location and phase

Estelí is located in the north of Nicaragua and is the capital of the department of Estelí. The current project phase covers the years 2024–2026 with an annual budget of CHF 80,000.