Nicaragua Initiatives

COMMUNITY AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT INVESTMENT

Water For People–Nicaragua works to develop the capacity of each community to sustain projects without additional financial support from other aid agencies. In order to do so, Water For People–Nicaragua requires contributions from local communities and government for each project. This contribution helps to create local ownership and allows communities to understand the true costs associated with these projects. With this knowledge, water committees establish appropriate user fees that are significant enough to finance repairs. Water For People–Nicaragua also leverages funds from the local government and so does not absolve local governments of their responsibility to finance projects, but rather builds their capacity to fulfill this important mission. This year, the Wiwilí municipal government signed an agreement to contribute 15% of the infrastructure costs of each project.