To feed. To fuel. To further.

October 16, 2024

Taking action to increase food security is action that promotes the Right to Foods for a Better Life and a Better Future —the theme of this year’s World Food Day. This fitting deference to the most basic human need after air and water drives much of our work in the BOSAWAS, Nicaragua. The right to food is not about charity, but about ensuring that all people have the capacity to feed themselves in dignity.

Land-grabbing of Indigenous land in the BOSAWAS Biosphere Reserve reduces agricultural opportunities for communities who depend on land to subsist. Not only are their rights being violated, but their ability to secure a better life and better future are diminished with diminishing agricultural lands. Territorial defence and preservation efforts supported in the BOSAWAS are important not only in defence of Mother Earth (and that other basic human need of oxygen), but in defence of the right to food.

And to increase food production efficiency, five rice threshers in five communities in the BOSAWAS are now being used to remove the husk from rice in minutes — a task that otherwise occupies a young girl or woman’s time up to three hours a day.

And what then of the right to water? Safe water is essential for families in the BOSAWAS, where children often get sick due to the poor quality of drinking water. With your support, Change for Children has taken action by repairing water systems and distributing water filters, which has provided more than 8,500 people in 5 communities with access to potable water.

On this World Food Day, we recognize your support of projects connecting people to their rights to basic needs like clean water and nutritious food, and also of projects feeding the mind and soul, furthering education and connecting with culture.

Bosawas Central America and the Caribbean In The Field Nicaragua