During the 12 years we have been in partnership with JustHope, this poor rural community and we have built eleven homes for families living in dire conditions. We have also helped develop and fund a music program.  This project began in 2008 as a one-week music camp for students in the local schools.  The program was so enthusiastically received by students, teachers and administrators that the vision was conceived to bring in a local music teacher to provide music instruction during the school year.  Through donations earmarked for this project, UCV has continued to fund the salary of the teacher as well as facilitating annual music camps.  Three years ago, the UCV team that traveled to Chacraseca, helped renovate an unused building into a Cultural Center.  Abimael, the teacher we support, has assumed the role as the director of the Cultural Center and exciting things have been happening, both in music and dance.

In 2018, while we were unable to travel to Nicaragua due to political unrest in the country, we were still able to share the expense of a house with another group in Florida providing a family with a sturdy cement house complete with cement floor, latrine and a green stove, a healthier alternative to the normal wood-burning stoves, for a family living in a house constructed of wood scraps, cardboard and plastic wrap..

This summer, we are hoping to again have a team traveling to Chacraseca to help with the annual music camp which may expand to include other arts.  We also hope to join with a group from Florida in building another house.  We plan to be in Chacraseca June 14-22 (the exact dates will be determined depending on airfare and air schedule). The cost for a week in Chacraseca is $850 plus airfare (a quick search shows tickets could be around $650 or maybe less). For more information, please contact Lynne Bradley at lbradley93168@gmail.com.