My Nonprofit Reviews

I have led six trips to Nicaragua with FNEI, five as a high school teacher and one with a group of adults. Each trip has been unique, and they all have been what the overwhelming majority have called "life-changing." We've helped build simple houses, weeded at an organic farm, practiced with students learning English, made pottery with a small family business, toured a bee farm to learn about local honey production, climbed a volcano and more. FNEI’s belief in providing “a hand up, not a hand out” shows in all the projects they coordinate. They are a model for others who hope to address the needs of the low-income and marginalized in Latin America.

I am a high school Spanish teacher and advisor of our school's Interact Club. When I became involved with them four years ago, I asked members what their goals were for Interact. At the top of the list was an international service trip. I had the incredible good fortune of organizing our first trip with Travis, a former student of mine, who'd known Michael and become an FNEI board member. We're planning our fourth trip now for February, and my students and I are all eagerly anticipating it. I can't say enough about my admiration for FNEI, for its talented and dedicated staff, for the dignity and respect it shows to families in need, and for its profound dedication to empowering people to improve their lives, not through a hand-out but rather a hand-up. The compassion and empathy that my students have learned from service weeks in Chacraseca could not be learned in any classroom, and will remain with them for many years. I'm grateful and in awe of FNEI -- an amazing organization.