After raising a plea for help, we saw supporters of Color My World answer the call. Throughout America and England, both volunteers and sponsors held fundraisers, sold items, and ran races to help us with our goal. We cannot be more grateful for the support that we as a charity have received over the last month. We are most grateful though for the impact that these donations will have on the families in Nicaragua. Each home built comes with a price tag attached, a price that the families of the community are unable to afford.

The donations made by Color My World and DōTERRA are also being supported by the Nicaraguan Government, who have committed to triple the donations, meaning that every one house we pay for turns into 3 homes being built.

We as a charity are overwhelmed by the kindness and generosity of our supporters, volunteers, past and present, and the DōTERRA Healing Hands foundation.

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Why is this so important?

The community lives on the North West shore line of Nicaragua, while this provides the community with a career and a future of fishing for their families and community, they face coastal erosion and flooding year on year.

During our 2015 visit we saw a road that we used to travel on each day, crumble into the ocean. The issue of coastal erosion does not just affect the roads in and out of the village, each year we see more and more homes disappear into the ocean.

The homes built are a mile inland, and offer a place for every family in the community to live, centralising commerce, trade and community. They are built out of bricks and concrete, offering a solid defence against the elements in monsoon season, and a place of stability for generations to come.

As with any humanitarian work carried out by volunteers, it is important that everything is done to compliment and work with the community, providing a sustainable impact, long after the volunteers have left.

Below are the three main reasons why the house building project will have a real lasting impact in the community:

1. We work alongside the community, assisting to build their homes – From the very first moment that you pick up a shovel as a volunteer you realise that you are there to assist and support the community. By working side by side with families that will be moving into the homes, you hear of their stories and experiences, and learn from the skills and talents that they have.2. Every family has to give 40 hours a week to receive a home – As is often the case, charities seek to help communities by working as hard as they can for the limited amount of time that they are present before they leave. Having done everything for the community, it often creates a welfare mentality in the communities receiving aid. The house building project has ensured that this is not the case by placing responsibility and ownership upon the families of the community. As volunteers we are there to support the locals in their efforts.3. Each house is sustainably built for this and future generations – Each house that is built is free from the risk of flooding and coastal erosion. The project has also been supported by the Nicaraguan government, with a Nicaraguan architect brought in to ensure that the homes and community are built to the highest specification.

We are proud to sponsor such an important project in Nicaragua, that will have a real and lasting impact for generations to come.

In recent months dōTERRA Healing Hands has come on board to help raise funds for the project, offering to match fund any donations up until 31st May 2016. The funds raised will go directly towards providing a family with a home to call their own, and make a sustainable impact in Nicaragua.

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