Madrid, Spain, Sep 3, 2006 / 22:00 pm
The Catholic foundation Manos Unidos, based in Valencia, has launched project to help 160 poor farm workers—mostly single and illiterate mothers—to acquire new business skills and start small businesses.
The program will be offered in the region of Chinandega in western Nicaragua, where illiteracy is around 50% and sanitary and living conditions are poor. More than half of the residents in the region are young mothers, many of whom are heads of households as well, with six to eight children under their care.
The funds for the program from Manos Unidos, requested by the Chinandega Women’s Network for Life Foundation, will be used for the purchasing of equipment and materials to educate the women in ecological agriculture and other related fields.
The program will also teach participants how to make better use of natural resources, insecticides and how to cultivate family gardens rich in vitamins. Likewise participants will learn how to improve their crops to sell them at local markets.