Health Projects:

Medical Clinic Syksayari, Rio-Coco (East Coast)

The Siksayari community has a medical building, a doctor, in the green shirt, who does a six months term, a nurse and medical supplies provided by SHEAF/ESPIGA.   The clinic supports Syksayari and four neighbouring communities with a total population of about 2,500.  Siksayari and its adjacent communities are located on the Rio Coco, which forms the border between Honduras and Nicaragua in the east.  These communities can only be reached by boat which means medicines, medical staff and supplies all have to be transported by boat.  The river is only navigable by small motor boats in the rainy season or motorized dugout canoes because of it shallowness in places and its rapids.  Because of its remoteness, the clinic has difficulty attracting a permanent doctor hence the 6 month rotation.

The journey to Siksayari, from the nearest town on the river accessible by road, is 5 hours in the rainy season with a motor boat and 10 to 12 hours in the dry season with a motorized dugout canoe.  Because there are rapids during the last half of the journey to Siksayari both boats require a captain and a boatman who stands in front of the boat and instructs the captain how to navigate the rapids.  In summary, the journey is expensive, arduous and dangerous. SHEAF/ESIGA is helping to support water transportation as well.  Because of its remoteness and its subsequent lengthy journey to the nearest clinic, it is very important that Siksayari maintains its clinic.

The picture shows one set of rapids being navigated in a dugout canoe. The passengers were asked to leave the boat and walk to the next point of embarkation for their safety. Watch the video.

Medical Clinic Managua (West Coast)

This clinic provides medical services to marginalized and indigenous people who come from different churches and parishes in the area.
SHEAF/ESPIGA supports this clinic with its operation and purchase of medicines. The clinic is run by three dedicated staff: a nurse, a pharmacist and an administrator.  They run the clinic on a ‘shoe string’ with outdated facilities but even with these limited resources provide stellar medical care to the surrounding 'barrios'.  The clinic is open three days a week and it hires medical doctors on a rotating basis those three days a week.

  Casa de Las Niñas

Nicaragua is fortunate to have an organization which provides counselling and advocacy for children and adolescents by providing safe havens and counselling when there is sexual or physical abuse and by discouraging child labour and promoting education.  The Casa de Las Niñas offers day programs for children and adolescents to deal with trauma they have experienced.  The staff at Casa de Las Niñas run these programs in Managua and other centres in Nicaragua such as Masaya, Leon and Matagalpa.   The quilts in the picture are made by two of SHEAF supporters and will be used by the children or adolescents when they come in for group therapy.

SHEAF helps by providing funds for these inhouse programs.  Recently funds were provided for a ´knitting comfort´ doll projects.  The comfort dolls will be given to children or adolescents who have experienced trauma to enable them to express their feelings.  Moreover, women, children and adolescents knit the dolls in groups which offers an opportunity for them to express feelings, share joys and sorrows and generally support one another.  These sessions have become very important since the political crisis which occurred in Spring 2018.