Nicaragua: 25,000 young people saved from drugs

By Letzira Sevilla Bolaños for Infosurhoy.com

MANAGUA, Nicaragua – Francisco Hernández, 19, went from being a drug addict to becoming a small businessman and involved father.

He was addicted to marijuana and cocaine from 2006 to 2010. From a very young age, he watched the comings and goings of young people at a house where drugs were sold near his residence.

Once he began using drugs, he started living on the streets. But in 2010, he entered Casa Alianza, a nonprofit organization that works with at-risk youth in Nicaragua.

There, Hernández learning baking and confectionery over the course of the year he spent in rehabilitation. He went on to work at Don Pan, a café in Managua, where he learned the industry before opening his own bakery.

“Casa Alianza gave me a kitchen with an oven, a blender, a mixer, molds, rollers, cookie cutters and everything else I needed,” he said. “Now, I live with my wife and my daughter and through my bakery, I’m able to support myself fulfilling orders from nine grocery stores in my neighborhood.”

Hernández is among 25,000 young people who have received help from Casa Alianza during the 15 years it has been serving Managua.

It’s estimated there are 45,000 children and adolescents living on Nicaragua’s streets. Domestic abuse and being forced to beg at traffic lights for money are among the main reasons why minors end up on the streets, according to María José Argüello, Casa Alianza’s director.

Argüello said many adolescents living on the streets try marijuana and have to steal or wash windows to buy drugs.

The main requirement for residency at Casa Alianza is addicts must want to be there.

“That means they are ready for a process of change, which means adhering to a number of rules, such as no stealing and no bringing drugs into the center,” Argüello said.

“The rehabilitation of addicts significantly depends on the environment in which they find themselves,” Argüello said.

As a result, once addicts are taken off the streets, ideally they are taken to a place that not only isolates them from drugs but also prepares them for a life of recovery, according to psychotherapist Josefina Murillo.

“It’s always possible for addicts to recover,” Murillo said. “However, society must welcome them and open new spaces for them to complete the healing process.”

Working to cover costs

The average cost of providing care to each young person is US$30 a day, which includes basic services, food and all of their therapy, according to Eneyda Lira, Casa Alianza’s program director.

The NGO covers its costs with help from foreign donors. It also has a supporter’s club, made up of business owners who allow the center’s young people to work for them.

The addicts receive training in cooking, sewing and crafts, and they can put their skills to use at the Young Entrepreneurs buffet in the Largaespada neighborhood, where they prepare and sell food. They’re also hired to cook for banquets.

At the same location as the buffet, they also make sheets, tablecloths and bedding to earn additional income.

“I’ve been a dedicated buffet customer for three months because the kids cook great food, the service is good and there’s added value in knowing that they’re being rehabilitated after losing their way in life,” said Ana Méndez Díaz, 48, who works as a nurse at a hospital near the Young Entrepreneurs buffet.