Bristol has been officially twinned with the municipality of Puerto Morazan in North West Nicaragua since 1989 and so far the charity Friends of Morazan (FoM 1111253) has funded ten pre-schools there.

The children are currently having lessons in a crowded library room in the nearby primary school which is not at all suitable.

We want to build their own space with the right tables and chairs, safely stored teaching materials, a small educational garden and an outside latrine just for them. We also want to involve them in creating a colourful mural on one side of their new school dedicated to the theme of Peace.

The total cost of the project is £12000. We have already raised £2000 of this. We are aiming to raise £5000 from the Fundsurfer.

Each £1 donated will be matched pound for pound by George Ferguson and Bristol Link with Nicaragua.

On the ground FoM are working in partnership with Puerto Morazan’s Mayor’s office which has offered the site for free and cleared it. The regional representatives of the Ministry of Education have agreed to cover the salary of the teacher and to arrange a rota of parents who have agreed to support the building team on site and with hosting arrangements.

The benefits to the children of having their own space and teaching materials is immense. Currently the priority in Nicaragua is to get all children through Year 6 of primary and the Ministry of Education has trained and hired 4000 extra primary teachers as well as renovating or rebuilding all primary schools across the country. This means however that for the time being preschool education needs support from people like us.

Cost and budget breakdown:

• Building materials such as breeze blocks, zinc roofing, concrete for floor and patio, rebars, ceramic tiles for flooring, concrete joists, wooden door and window frames (£6000)
• Appropriate sized latrine (£400)
• The labour costs are for a team of four professional builders to come from the regional capital and stay on site for two weeks, hosted and supported by local families. (£5300)
• The mural costs (£300) are a stipend for the artist and materials plus transport from the regional capital.
• Total £12000

Thank you for your support!