People

Communication in Nicaragua is not always easy. In many remote areas of the country, there is no phone service, no cell reception, no internet, no television, no newspapers or even a convenient road for transport. Yet the local communities have found means to connect. In the Siuna region, radio is their link to the broader world.

Farm families that live hours outside the “big town” of Siuna, all have transistor radios that are on 24 hours a day. The farmers go out to their fields every day with the radios slung over their shoulders and placed near by as they work the land. The local university, URRICAN, transmits radio programming from a small building on campus that was built by Bridges’ volunteers a decade ago. Local meetings, happenings in various communities, and opportunities for people to talk to one another are all part of this essential daily information sharing.

When Marilyn Pardo, the Director of the St. John’s Church Nursery School in Larchmont,NY announced her retirement after 27 years of service last winter, the parishioners wanted to do something very special to honor her. It didn’t take much discussion to determine that building a school for children in a remote area of Nicaragua with Bridges to Community would be a fitting tribute. A year later, the Escuela de Marilyn Pardo - Jesus de la Buena Esperanza, in the rural community of Amparo, is now a beautiful reality where 80 students, who previously had no permanent school structure, are now able to receive an education. read more

Gordon Coyle just returned from his fifth annual pre-Thanksgiving trip to Nicaragua and wrote the following sentiments:

Life is short, and we do not have much time to gladden the hearts of those that travel on this earthly pilgrimage with us, so be swift to love, and make haste to do kindness. read more

For the second year in a row, the board of directors of Bridges met in Nicaragua from October 14 - 18. Sixteen board members along with four spouses were able to make the trip this year. Their four days were fully packed including project site visits and hands on construction work in the Managua area as well as the communities around Siuna in the northeast part of the country. Goals for this year’s retreat were to better understand the differences between poverty in rural vs. semi-urban areas; learn more about the remote north Atlantic region of the country; and continue building an even stronger Bridges team. read more

This past February, Temple Shaaray Tefila brought 47 teens to Nicaragua to volunteer with Bridges for their joint annual inter-faith program with the Bedford Presbyterian Church. Rabbi Jason Nevarez, Associate Rabbi, and Brad Zicholtz, Director of the Temple’s Youth Program (and also a Bridges Board member), have been coordinating these service trips with the Bedford Church for the past seven years. It all started at the urging of Dr. Gary Cohn who had been down in Nicaragua with Bridges previously and felt this would be an import asset to the Temple's Youth program. read more

April 6, 2010-Sent to Bridges by the mother of a high school student volunteer

My son, who began to clam up as soon as puberty hit, has talked more about this trip to Nicaragua in March than any other high school experience.  He, too, is talking about doing it again, and is re-searching his college acceptances to see which might have a similar program. read more

When Rabobank’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program chose to work with Bridges to sponsor a week building homes in Nicaragua, Karen Basu and Jennifer Carbone, both employees of Rabobank in New York City, became the official organizers of the trip.  The two women, who were friends prior to the trip, were the life blood of this service week.  They raised money, recruited and prepared volunteers as well as secured financial support through Rabobank’s CSR program. read more

For the past eight years, Brian Lisse, MD has been traveling to Nicaragua with Bridges to Community to carry out his dream of providing medical care to people in great need. He has brought with him an ever increasing number of doctors, nurses, 4^th-year medical students from Tufts University and even high school students with an interest in medicine. read more

This October, ten members of Bridges to Community's Board of Directors traveled together to Nicaragua to meet with the staff, our community partners, and to get first-hand updates on our current projects. read more