Help Us Support Projects In Nicaragua

Dear Friends & Family,

We wanted to share a letter we wrote in support of fundraising efforts for projects in Nicaragua connected to La Mariposa, the place we did our language study. We were so impressed with the projects connected to La Mariposa in their support of the local community, children’s programs, animal rescue, and environment protection, that we want to help with fundraising efforts for some of these projects.

Prior to the political crisis in 2018, these projects were fully funded by tourism dollars at La Mariposa. We are starting monthly sponsorship programs to ensure these programs have steady income that is not so reliant on tourism in Nicaragua.

We need 20 people to donate $35 a month to fully fund Chispa de Vida, a program for children with disabilities. Learn More Here.

This program is especially close to our hearts because we are in the process of adopting a child with special needs. The services and medical treatment he is able to receive for free through USA government programs is amazing. Without programs like Chispa de Vida, children in Nicaragua with disabilities have far fewer opportunities.

There are also plenty of other sponsorship opportunities if you have a special place in your heart for horses or dogs.

Please read our full letter below, and we ask that you consider a monthly donation to one of these programs.

Denver & Tara

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Dear Mariposa Supporters,

Those of you who have visited La Mariposa know that it is much more than a language school. It is a place of employment, an animal rescue & environmental sanctuary, a resource for local children with disabilities, community projects, and so much more. All these projects were started through revenue generated by students like you and me coming to the Mariposa. However, the political situation in 2018 and continuing into 2019 has decreased attendance to the school, and in turn hurt revenue to support these wonderful programs. We want to challenge you to support these projects through tax deductible giving this holiday season.

Why We fell in Love with La Mariposa

We are Denver and Tara Steiner (Ohio, USA), and we would like to share our family’s journey of how we fell in love with La Mariposa and why we have chosen to continue to support its projects.

Both of us had spent time in other countries individually before we met, and as parents we desired for our children to have an immersive experience in another culture. In our research to find a family-friendly setting, Tara discovered a number of travel blogs recommending La Mariposa for families with children. We checked out the La Mariposa Website, and knew that was where we needed to go. So in February of 2018 we traveled to Nicaragua without the kids to get a better feel for the school and plan out our future trip.

At that time, the Eco-hotel was so full of guests that we were placed with a host family (which was an amazing experience in itself) because there were no rooms left at the school. We got a tour of the various La Mariposa projects, rode horses up the mountain, and joined two micro-buses full of students to La Boquita beach (which quickly became our favorite beach ever). We excitedly made reservations for our family to return later that year.

Two months later, we were horrified to learn of the violent crackdown on protests at the hands of the government. La Mariposa school closed for a time, and we reluctantly started researching a plan B in another Spanish-speaking country if Nicaragua wasn’t an option. However, every place we researched online just didn’t feel right. They seem to do some things well, but they weren’t La Mariposa. It felt like we were compromising what we wanted our kids to experience.

Fortunately, by December 2018, the situation had settled down enough for La Mariposa to reopen. So in mid-December we took our 3 children (ages 8, 7, and 3) and traveled to Nicaragua as planned (and, by the way, felt perfectly safe for the 2+ months total we spent in the country, so don’t let fear stop you from coming). Over the next 6 weeks, we all studied Spanish with great teachers, explored Nicaraguan culture in a new city every weekend, swam in a volcanic lagoon every Wednesday, and so much more. We joined the participants in Chispa de Vida for their Christmas program. Tara volunteered in the newly-opened children’s program in San Pedro. Our kids each had their favorite rescue dogs, and our daughter looked forward to horseback riding every Sunday on rescued horses. Our family fell in love with the school, the staff, the animals, and the country.

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We could go on, but that is not the purpose of this email. Check out our family blog to read more about our experience in Nicaragua, or watch our children’s presentation of our trip to their classmates back home.

While we were having a blast at La Mariposa, we also watched it struggle. There were a handful of other wonderful students, but nowhere near the numbers La Mariposa had seen previously. The absence of college groups was especially challenging. Finances got tight, staff salaries had to be cut in half, some staff left, and for a time even the Chispa de Vida program had to be closed to the children who so need those therapies, until several donors stepped forward to help it reopen.

Today we are hopeful that La Mariposa is making a comeback. That said, we never want to see any of these wonderful projects close or turn away children or animals that need rescued simply because of lack of funds due to political situations and other circumstances outside their control. To ensure these programs continue to operate, La Mariposa needs your help in ongoing support of these programs.

Ways You Can Help La Mariposa

1.       Visit – Come stay at La Mariposa, learn (more) Spanish, learn more about Nicaraguan culture, and volunteer at one of the projects. Invite your friends and family to experience La Mariposa for the first time. Encourage college and other groups to return. Your money will be used to pay staff salaries, give them dignified work, and the profit will continue to support the various projects. Online Skype classes are also available

2.       Ongoing Giving – We challenge all friends of La Mariposa who care about its future to consider monthly giving to one of the projects below, so that they will have a stable income independent of the state of tourism within the country.

• Chispa de Vida – a program providing helpful therapies for children with disabilities. We need 20 people to sponsor children at $35/month to fully fund this program, and ensure these children can continue receiving the services provided (physical, equine, and hydro therapy). Click here for monthly giving.
• Dog Sponsorship – $25/month covers food and veterinary services for the many rescued dogs that are part of the unique personality of La Mariposa. We currently have 5 sponsors, and are looking for 15 more to fully cover our dog rescue programs. Click here to sponsor a dog.
• Horse Sponsorship – $35/month covers food and veterinary services for our rescued horses (many of which help provide equine therapy for the children in Chispa de Vida!). We need 20 sponsors at this level to fully fund the horse care project. We challenge individuals and even 4-H groups and riding clubs to consider sponsoring a horse together. Click here to sponsor a Horse.

3.       One-Time Giving – We welcome any one-time, end-of year gifts designated to any of the projects listed above. Additionally, the following are some special project considerations:

• $10 buys diapers for a disabled child for 2 weeks
• $20 funds the sterilisation of a dog
• $30 provides wages for one week for one of the gardeners
• $50 buys 15 days worth of materials for the 5 children’s projects
• $100 pays for two tankers to deliver water to communities who have no water supply 

4.       Carbon Offsets – Global warming is a looming reality that disproportionately affects countries like Nicaragua. Perhaps the company you work for or you individually would like to purchase carbon offsets. Asociación Tierra is an NGO started by Paulette to support environmental projects and education. With money given here, hundreds of trees are being planted to help offset the vast areas of forest that have been cleared for dragonfruit exports. Larger giving would also allow additional land to be purchased and reforested. Contact Paulette if you have more questions or ideas on how you can contribute to this.

• $50 – Purchase Native Trees

If you are receiving this letter, it is because you also love La Mariposa and we know you want to see its work in Nicaragua survive as much as our family does. Thank you for your consideration of ways you can help us keep Paulette’s dream alive for the sake of the communities surrounding the school who have benefitted from its presence, and all of us who have learned so much from being a part of it.  

Gracias por tu amistad y apoyo a La Mariposa,

Denver & Tara Steiner