Project Nicaragua (also known as Proyecto Nicaragua in Spanish) is a 501(3)(c) non-profit, apolitical organization in both the United States and Nicaragua. Its purpose is to improve the quality of health care in Nicaragua, the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, since 2004, when the founding members of the organization traveled to El Antonio Lenin Fonseca Hospital in Managua, Nicaragua to donate medical supplies.
History and Organization
University of California, Los Angeles
In December 2004, medical students Ravi Menghani, Grant Lee, Willie Siu, and undergraduate Daniel Choi travelled to Nicaragua, under the guidance of UCLA Pediatric Neurosurgeon Dr. Jorge Lazareff to investigate the high incidence of spina bifida in the region and barriers to healthcare. The initial team visited El Hospital Antonio Lenin Fonseca and observed a significant lack of medical tools, technology, and supplies. They found a need for intervention and presented their work at the 55th annual AMSA Convention in Washington, D.C. Since then Project Nicaragua was founded and has been making yearly visits to Lenin Fonseca, and more recently to La Mascota (children's hospital), to supply the hospitals with important equipment, such as neurosurgical drills, medical textbooks, computers, gauze, gloves, and more. The chapter also established a Scholarship Program at the UNAN, which will fund medical school for three chosen candidates. The scholarship program is designed to resolve boundaries to quality healthcare through a strategic process called capacity building- a process that will empower locals and build a self sustainable social infrastructure that will take a knowledge based approach to effectively eradicate various barriers to healthcare. The team also donated medical supplies, which were provided by Stryker Corporation and UCLA Renew, to the Antonio Lenin Fonseca Hospital in Managua, Nicaragua, where they launched an epidemiology research project, which allowed them to survey 115 patients in the Emergency Room. The team maintained their productivity by continuing their research on Spina Bifida and organizing a health fair at Nandaime, Nicaragua.
University of California, San Diego
The UCSD chapter of Project Nicaragua was founded about a year after the UCLA chapter when Assistant Executive Director Stanley Park in January 2006. Under his direction, a team of three students traveled to Managua, Nicaragua in September 2006 to help create a relationship with La Mascota Pediatric Hospital, conduct research on spina bifida, and donate medical supplies that had been provided by our Chairman of the Board and Executive Advisor, Dr. Jorge Lazareff, to El Lenin Fonseca Hospital. Since its founding, the chapter has established connections with the International Neurosurgical Children’s Association and AMOS Health and Hope. Project Nicaragua’s connection with AMOS Health and Hope has been used to conduct research about the prevalent rate of parasites in school aged children in San Jose de Los Remates, Boaco, Nicaragua and build clinics in El Bejuco. In addition to receiving ten thousand dollars from the Strauss Foundation, the UCSD chapter has been the 2008-2009 recipients of the Chapin Cole and Melissa Higgins Lifelong Service Award, 2009-2010 Alumni Engagement Award, and 2011-2012 UCSD Grants for Change.
