New Board Elected for ‘Friends of Kilambe’-

Local volunteers involved in helping families in Nicaragua.

The volunteers who form the non-profit ‘Friends of Kilambe’ have elected their board officers for 2012-2013.

At a recent board meeting, the volunteers and board representatives of the Friends of Kilambe organization elected their officers for this year, serving through 2013.

Serving as President is Michele Dougherty, a registered nurse in the SE CT area. Vice President is MariaEsther McGlynn, a massage therapist in SE CT area and a native of Nicaragua. Serving as Treasurer is Tricia Martino and Marcie Dougherty is the new Secretary.

The immediate goal of the group is to complete its current effort to bring clean water to the residents of El Cangrejero, a small village about 30 miles from the capital city of Managua. The Friends of Kilambe paid $2500 to provide each home with a water filtration system. Prior to this, the 45 homes in the village had no way to clean the water obtained from area streams.

The Friends of Kilambe non-profit organization began in 2007 when MariaEsther cofounded the group of women and men who set out to build a healthier, safer community for the men, women and children living in extreme poverty in the region of Kilambe, Nicaragua. Since that time, they have funded and built a medical clinic in the community of Agua Frias, Jinotega, powered with hydroelectricity and equipped with a purified water source. The Friends of Kilambe also built a school in the Las Naranjas community, also in Jinotega.

Nicaragua is the third poorest country in Latin America, and the majority of the country’s society is largely undereducated with an overall rate of literacy over 68%. 45% of all income goes to the richest 10% of the country’s population, while only 14% goes to the poorest. Safe water and sanitation coverage continues to be low, particularly in rural areas, where access is often impossible due to impassable roads during the rainy season, mainly May through October. The organization’s mission is to raise money and awareness in an effort to build healthier, safer communities for the people of Nicaragua in those rural areas.

Additional information is also available on the website, www.friendsofkilambe.org.

Photo Attached:

Picture of a group of children from a rural community in Nicaragua.

Both new President Michele Dougherty (860-642-6021) and Vice President MariaEsther McGlynn

(860-910-8358) are available for interviews about their work and the organization.