Organization Objectives

RN-RAI is an international nonprofit organization that aims to improve the socioeconomic conditions of rural communities through participation and organization. Its goals are to:

• Promote comprehensive community development projects
• Offer microcredit and microenterprise support through community banks
• Help families with the construction of livable homes
• Support the educational goals of marginalized youth
• Offer health services to low-income individuals
• Conduct health outreach to local communities

 

Program Information

 

1. Medical Assistance

Although some patients visit RN-RAI, many receive services in their homes by the health professionals who offer direct medical attention, especially for children, pregnant women, and the elderly. The most common problems include respiratory infections, renal infections, arthritis, and cardiovascular diseases. A staff dentist and support team also operates alongside the doctors to provide dental care. The doctors and nurses charge 10 córdobas per appointment (roughly $0.60 USD) which keeps the health program self sustainable and covers the 20 percent of patients who cannot pay this fee.

 

Opportunities

• Work in health centers with a focus on children, pre- and postnatal care, respiratory illnesses, family planning, and chronic illnesses
• Observe and assist doctors on house visits
• Support RN-RAI’s nutritional project for children, the elderly, and pregnant women

 

Requirements

• Intermediate to advanced Spanish
• Background or interest in health, medicine, and/or related topics
• Prepared to assist with multiple projects
• Patient and willingness to work in a small village

 

2. Public and Community Health Care

This program deals with specific and ongoing health education campaigns and projects. Examples from 2005 include: prevention of respiratory illnesses, dengue, malaria, and parasitic infections awareness; HIV/AIDS and STI education; nutrition; and pediatrics (such as childhood vaccination campaigns). Outreach healthcare workers (brigadistas) conduct door-to-door house visits, organize neighborhood meetings, and lead community workshops that focus on self-care, public health, and prevention techniques.

 

Opportunities

• Develop educational materials for public health campaigns
• Teach seminars on preventative health and hygiene
• Facilitate meetings with brigadistas to work with elementary school teachers in rural communities
• Create workshops on public health and human rights issues, including but not limited to:
  • Domestic violence
  • Women's empowerment
  • Self-esteem and self-care
  • Safe water and latrine access
  • Land rights and civil rights

 

Requirements

• Intermediate to Advanced Spanish
• Background or interest in outreach, awareness, and/or related topics
• Excellent interpersonal communication skills
• Prepared to assist with multiple projects
• Patient and ability to work in a small village

 

3. Community Education

Education statistics in Nicaragua are grim; the country has the lowest elementary school completion rate in Latin America and more than a third of poor children in school do not have access to textbooks (RN-RAI 2006). RN-RAI provides school supplies and uniforms for students in rural areas, and trains volunteer teachers to assist in the schools. It also promotes school attendance and organizes meetings with family members to include them in their children's education.

 

Opportunities

• Organize parent-teacher meetings and promote continued education and completion
• Teach classes a few times a week at a local school
• Sustain the network of existing school partnerships with RN-RAI by meeting with teachers, parents, and students to find out their needs and assets

 

Requirements

• Intermediate to Advanced Spanish
• Interest in community work
• Prepared to assist with multiple projects
• Patient and ability to work in a small village

 

4. High School Scholarships

In rural areas, more than half of the population is illiterate and many of the adults have not had the opportunity to attend high school. RN-RAI fundraises nationally and internationally to provide scholarships for high school students and tracks the students to ensure that they have adequate support to complete classes. RN-RAI provides $22 per month for students for two uniforms, shoes, a backpack, school supplies, transportation, tuition, tutoring, field trips, and correspondence with sponsors.

 

Opportunities

• Meet regularly with the high school scholarship recipients to discuss their classes, act as a counselor, and encourage academic participation
• Implement seminars for scholarship recipients on sexual and health education, vocational and career formation, human rights, and community development
• Correspond with national and international sponsors to communicate program details and act as a translator when necessary
• Research community needs and assets for university scholarships
• Network with RN-RAI directors and funders to begin a university scholarship program

 

Requirements

• Intermediate to Advanced Spanish
• Background or interest in scholarship programs, fundraising, and/or related topics
• Prepared to assist with multiple projects
• Excellent interpersonal communication skills
• Patient and ability to work in a small village

 

5. Economic Development

RN-RAI organizes groups of 20–25 families into a community bank with a commitment to supporting one another emotionally and financially. Each member of a community bank receives a loan (worth about $125–$150) to open or sustain a microenterprise. These loans are set up to be repaid within 4 to 6 months, with each community bank member guaranteeing repayment for his/her own loan as well as the loans of other members. In this way, the members work together to ensure that the microenterprises (small general stores, shoemakers, tortilla sellers, etc.) will succeed.

 

Opportunities

• Contact community bank members to discuss their individual loans and business strategies
• Act as a resource and gatherer for questions and concerns of community bank members
• Conduct workshops on money management, microenterprise formation, community banking, marketing, and other needed microfinance topics
• Research community bank needs and assets through interviews and surveys with members to improve RN-RAI services and economic development programs

 

Requirements

• Intermediate to Advanced Spanish
• Background or experience in microfinance, microenterprise, marketing, and/or related fields
• Excellent organizational and interpersonal communication skills
• Prepared to assist with multiple projects
• Patient and ability to work in a small village

 

6. Housing Development

By using networks of large family groups, RN-RAI works together with local residents to build new concrete block houses for families who were previously living in shacks. These homes include concrete floors, metal roofs, energy efficient stoves, water access, a latrine, and a space for a family garden. RN-RAI provides the funds upfront for land and building materials; the families take out interest-free loans and build the houses with their friends, neighbors, and RN-RAI volunteers and employees.

 

Opportunities

• Assess living conditions and land ownership to create a community map of the families in the area, their percentage of home ownership, and how many houses are needed
• Meet with families who are or wish to be a part of the housing projects
• Construct new homes with RN-RAI coworkers and community members

 

Requirements

• Intermediate to Advanced Spanish
• Background or interest in architectural planning and/or housing development
• Prepared to assist with multiple projects
• Patient and ability to work in a small village

 

Program Supervisors (All Programs)

Leonardo Narvez – Director of RN-RAI in San Ramon

Antonio Garcia – Director of RN-RAI in Ciudad Sandino

 

Note: Responsibilities offered to each participant will be proportionate to their level of experience. Participants who are new to development work may predominantly support and assist current project agendas, while those with much applicable experience may be able to assume greater responsibility. Research projects are strongly encouraged by this organization to support each program’s objective because minimal resources are currently allocated for research.

 

Working Conditions

Most of the work (around 80 percent) takes place outside of the RN-RAI office. There are many home visits as well as site visits to schools and community centers in addition to regularly scheduled workshops at other locations.

 

The RN-RAI offices in Ciudad Sandino and San Ramon both have bathrooms; however, FSD participants may not have access to bathroom facilities elsewhere (many families use outdoor latrines and others have nothing). Water and electricity outages occur on a daily basis, usually only for short stretches of time. The office in San Ramon has an internet connection, but it is extremely fickle and slow. Participants can go to the many internet cafes in Ciudad Sandino to access the internet as well as make international calls. If the participant works in San Ramon, s/he will have to take a minibus or taxi to Matagalpa, which is 30 minutes away.

 

Organizational Background

RN-RAI was founded in 1995 by Keith Jaspers, who is from the United States. He and his family began the pilot program in Ciudad Sandino as a method of putting their religious beliefs and faith in social justice into community action campaigns. Since its inception, RN-RAI has grown to include five other towns with dozens of rural communities: Nagarote, San Ramon, El Tuma–La Dalla, La Paz Centro, and El Crucero. By the end of 2005, RN-RAI reached 102 communities in these six cities, directly assisting 43,900 inhabitants. Each site strives to cover the varying needs of the populace, with six specific projects areas: (1) medical assistance; (2) public health outreach; (3) education; (4) high school scholarships; (5) economic development; and (6) housing development. Emphasis is placed on being a holistic network that can operate self-sufficiently and in tandem with the community.

 

Fundraising efforts are concentrated in RN-RAI’s US office in Springfield, MO. The affiliated organizations it works with regularly include: American Nicaraguan Foundation, Amigos para Cristo, CANTERA, CECIM, city government projects and development committees from all the RN-RAI sites, Ciudad Sandino Economic Development Commission, Federación Red NicaSalud, FSD, Fundación Chinandega 2001, Habitat for Humanity, Ministerio de Salud, Ministerio de Educación, Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, Ministerio de Gobernación, and Red de Vivienda.

 

Although RN-RAI is a religious-oriented organization, community members at its sites are not mandated to follow or convert to a particular religion. The organization’s primary goal is sustainable development and empowerment for rural Nicaraguan families.

 

About RN-RAI’s Clients

RN-RAI works with rural families who are struggling to survive in dire poverty. Many have been fighting for generations for the rights to their land, clean water, and infrastructural programs such as schools and clinics. Most of the adults are either unemployed or underemployed, which means that they do not have an official job but instead sell food, household products, artisan products, or their own manual labor. These positions in Nicaragua’s “shadow economy” are not guaranteed and offer little hope for economic advancement.