NicaNotes

September 11, 2025

Child Development Centers: An Important Revolutionary Gain

By Katherine Hoyt

(Katherine Hoyt is retired Co-Coordinator of the Nicaragua Network/Alliance for Global Justice. She lived 16 years in Nicaragua, eleven under the Somoza dictatorship and five under the Sandinista Revolution. In 1980 and 1981 she worked at the Frank Sevilla Child Development Center in Matagalpa. Material for this article comes from an article she wrote for the Vassar Quarterly of January 1982 and more recent articles in El Digital 19 and TN8.tv on child development centers in today’s Nicaragua.)

Child Development Centers began to open in Nicaragua in the first months after the triumph of the Sandinista Revolution in 1979. Among them was the Frank Sevilla CDI where I worked in 1980 and 1981. NicaNotes writer Nan McCurdy tells how she put her son Daniel in a CDI in 1989 when he was one year old and her daughter Nora when she was two. McCurdy says, “They both loved their CDI (near the Eastern market) and learned so much. The most important thing was probably how to socialize with other children. The teachers easily potty-trained all the little ones. They had lots of cultural events that the children took part in and they both graduated from kindergarten there. The center had babies as young as six months and at about three or four they entered first level preschool, then second, then third, which was equivalent to kindergarten. They had a playground and always wanted to stay and play after school.”

After the electoral loss of 1990, the centers were allowed to deteriorate and many closed, following the mandates of the international financial institutions (mainly the IMF and World Bank) to cut or eliminate all social services for the poor. By 2007, when the FSLN returned to power, there were only 36 in the entire country. Now, with the

Sandinista government’s commitment to the wellbeing of the nation’s children, there are around 300 throughout the country.

The director of a CDI in the Barrio San Judas in Managua, Guisela Cecilia Pérez, emphasizes the importance of the centers in enabling parents to go to work tranquilly knowing that their children are taken care of, educated, and fed. She said that the children develop both their physical and intellectual abilities at the centers; they begin reading and writing and learn independence. She added that parents are involved in parents’ committees at each center.

Forty-five years ago, in 1980 and 1981, I was in charge of social work and health at the Frank Sevilla Child Development Center in Matagalpa, a coffee-growing mountain city of 40,000 people. On one of my barrio home visits in mid-1981, I saw neighbor children Rosa Maria and Virgilio sitting on the dirt floor of their little wooden hut, I wanted to pick them up right then and take them to the CDI. “Yes, they’re in there all alone,” the neighbors told me. “Their mother has no one to take care of them and she has to work so they can eat.” Virgilio, the big brother of three, was supposed to be taking care of Rosa Maria, who was only 18 months old. He had dumped ashes from the cold cooking fire —a few stones on the floor in the center of the house on Rosa Maria’s head, and now she was playing in them. I couldn’t take them with me that day, but I talked with their mother and they began coming to the center. Now their mother could work with the mental tranquility that resulted from the knowledge her children were being cared for.

Our center was founded in November 1979 by the Luisa Amanda Espinoza Nicaraguan Women’s Association, whose members felt that day care was one of their most urgent needs. The center was named after Frank Sevilla, a twelve-year-old from a poor family who was killed by Somoza’s national guard during the uprisings of January 1978. The women organized fundraising activities and received the substantial support of NOVIB, a private Dutch foundation which continued to help the center, providing money for remodeling. Food was obtained from many countries who aided Nicaragua after the destructive war of liberation: rice and sugar from Spain; oatmeal, baby food, and condensed milk from Cuba; cooking oil and baby formula from the United States; beans from Brazil; powdered skim milk from England; bouillon cubes from Bulgaria.

Although one of the smallest centers, ours was considered one of the best. Its 60 children were divided into three groups: babies (we had 12), toddlers (18), and preschoolers (30). Personnel numbered 14. Most of the children came from very poor families, and most of them suffered, or had suffered in the past, from malnutrition. In any given month, only about 40 percent of our children had normal heights and weights for their ages. The children were weighed and measured monthly. Breakfast at the center was usually composed of cereal and milk, and bread and butter, with an egg once or twice a week. At midmorning, fruit juice. Lunch included meat or an egg or beans; a carbohydrate such as potatoes, rice, or tortilla; a vegetable or salad; and a drink either fruit- or grain-based. Afternoon snack meant rice pudding or bananas with milk or something similar. The children were expected to have supper at home, though we know that sometimes, especially at the end of the month, some of them did not. Babies had three bottle feedings during their day at the center, and were introduced to fruit juices at two months, solid foods at four. Together with the chief cook and the director, I planned the menu weekly.

Besides the monthly control of their growth, the children’s health was controlled by a weekly two-hour visit from a pediatrician. Vaccinations were given by personnel from the local health center, where the children also had their eyes and teeth examined. With respect to education, even the smallest babies participated in both free and directed activities.

Nor did we neglect the teaching of new moral qualities appropriate to the new men and women of the New Nicaragua. Since such importance was placed on education, those at the center who took care of the children were called “educators.” Even though in many cases they had only a grade school education themselves, they participated in training seminars, and, under the supervision of the director and the preschool teacher, each week they planned the educational activities of the children.

One of the center’s most important tasks was to work with the children’s families. This was my special area. Through interviews and home visits, I tried to learn as much as I could about the living conditions of the families, who, in most cases, were very poor. Sixty-three percent of the children’s houses had dirt floors, so prejudicial to the health of little crawlers and toddlers, especially in the tropics. The other 37 percent had tile or concrete floors. Only a little over half of our families had access to a toilet. Thirty percent used latrines, which left almost 20 percent who used the brush near their houses, with health implications I needn’t mention. Eight out of ten homes enjoyed piped water, but since Matagalpa suffered from a serious water shortage during the dry season which could last six months, most of these families join the 20 percent without water half the year. These living conditions made the battle against gastrointestinal and skin infections never ending.

We worked with the Ministry of Labor, the unions, and the Women’s Association to inform the mothers of their rights as working women, whether they served as selectors at the coffee processing plants during the harvest period, or as domestic servants. The latter, even though they were not involved in productive activity like our other mothers, the coffee selectors, market vendors, seamstresses, secretaries, or practical nurses – often had the greatest need of our services, so we accepted many of their children. Only in an emergency, however, would we accept the children of a domestic servant whose employer was not involved in some productive activity: running a farm or a store, working as a doctor, lawyer, nurse, teacher, bank or government employee, and so forth. We did not take care of the children of the maids of ladies of leisure.

We encouraged the mothers to join the union corresponding to their field of work, because it was through the union that they could have a voice in the resolution of problems in that area. By joining the Women’s Association, they could have a voice in problems affecting them as women. These citizens’ organizations now participated directly in the running of the country, and they really did consult the grass roots about bills coming up for consideration by the Council of the State, the legislative body where they had representatives and where I later worked as translator. Grassroot suggestions often resulted in changes in a bill by the time it got to the Council. We attended one assembly organized by the Women’s Association to discuss a new law. Everyone spoke openly, and each opinion was faithfully recorded.

Besides our center, the Social Welfare Ministry, in 1981, maintained 18 other child development centers and helped support eight private day care centers in urban areas around the country. The ministry also maintained 18 rural child centers on large government-run farms. Other ministry programs benefited orphans, abandoned or mistreated children, delinquents, and working children. Other ministries had high-priority programs too for children, who were considered the “pampered” of the Revolution (“los mimados de la Revolution”). Free public two-year kindergartens (the second year corresponds to the first grade in the United States) were being opened throughout the country. Previously, only well-to-do children attended kindergartens, private ones, which gave them a two-year advantage over poor children. Special education schools were opened in the major cities for children who had developmental delays or other problems such as with hearing or vision. Under Somoza, there was only one special education school are it was in Managua.

In the health area, there were massive vaccination campaigns which lowered the incidence of measles, whooping cough, tuberculosis, and polio. Special centers were set up to orally rehydrate children suffering from diarrhea, and pediatric care in general greatly improved in both urban and rural areas.

It was very satisfying to work with Nicaraguan children, and especially with their mothers: to see them become aware of themselves as women and as Nicaraguan citizens participating in a bold and idealistic experiment which was changing their lives and the lives of their children. Many slogans are not worth quoting, much less remembering. But there were two which to me had special significance: “In forming the new woman, we are forming our new country.” And, “Childhood is happiness, happiness is revolution.”

Note: If you have memories of your involvement with Nicaragua from years ago, write them down and send them to us! Even better if you have photos! Many of us are getting old and some of us have died! Leave a legacy! Write katherinechoyt@gmail.com.

Briefs

By Nan McCurdy

Thousands of Olive Ridley Turtles Arrive at Chacocente

From January to date, 8,870 Olive Ridley turtles have come ashore to lay their eggs at the Río Escalante Chacocente Wildlife Refuge, located in the municipality of Santa Teresa, department of Carazo, according to the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MARENA). This month marks the third mass arrival (called an “arribada”) of sea turtles this year, with a third nesting of 4,713 Paslama turtles. This arrival began on September 1 and ended on September 4, with the support of the Nicaraguan Army and MARENA environmental conservation area guards. The national campaign “Together We Conserve Our Sea Turtles” includes multiple forms of protection and conservation. See photos: https://radiolaprimerisima.com/mas-de-8-mil-tortugas-han-arribado-a-chacocente/ (La Primerisima, 6 September 2025)

Corinto Coastal Highway Inaugurated

On September 4, the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (MTI) inaugurated the 8-kilometer coastal highway in the municipality of Corinto, department of Chinandega. This major project protects the population of Corinto from the rising tides of the Pacific Ocean that threatened their safety. It also promotes the expansion of logistics and transportation and helps to solve the problem of congestion in accessing the port. It improves the efficiency of imports and exports, facilitates international trade, allows for fast and smooth transit, boosts the country’s economic activity, and stimulates tourism and trade in the area. See photos: https://radiolaprimerisima.com/mti-inaugura-circunvalacion-costanera-en-corinto/ (La Primerisima, 4 September 2025)

Inmates to Live with their Families

Co-President Rosario Murillo announced that, on September 12, 1,200 prisoners from different prison systems across the country will receive the legal benefit of “casa por carcel” (house arrest). “Twelve hundred women and men will go to live with their families, seeking their own path of reflection and rehabilitation; this will serve them first and foremost to feel happy and fulfilled and on the right path,” said Murillo. She reiterated that the 1,200 people who will return to their homes and communities on Friday, September 12, will be returning to their mothers, wives, families, loved ones, and children. “We are happy with this model that allows us to return to their families all those brothers and sisters who have made mistakes and are willing to improve themselves, for their community, for their family, for our blessed Nicaragua, to move forward in peace and goodness,” she concluded. The prisoners come from the prison systems of Tipitapa, Matagalpa, Granada, Chinandega, Juigalpa, León, Estelí, and Bluefields. (La Primerisima, 5 September 2025)

800 Plantain Producers Receive Training

To date, more than 800 plantain and banana producers have been trained as part of a strategy promoted by the Sandinista government through the National Agrarian University (UNA), the Antonio Valdivieso International University, and INTA (Nicaraguan Institute of Agricultural Technology). The program focuses on producers in the departments of Rivas, Chinandega, Managua, and Chontales, and helps them strengthen the economic and productive development of this crop. Farmers receive training in fertilization, nutrition, management, pest and disease control on their plantations, as well as processing and value addition to create different banana and plantain products, marketing, and business development. Three hundred producers have already been certified after completing their training in banana cultivation. (La Primerisima, 5 September 2025)

More than 300 People Treated at Mega Oncology Fair

A total of 624 consultations were provided to 322 patients during the Mega Oncology Fair held on September 6 at the Carlos Centeno Hospital in Siuna, in the North Caribbean Autonomous Region. Thirty-five specialists participated in the health fair, performing 11 surgeries and biopsies, mammograms, ultrasounds, and laboratory tests, ensuring a comprehensive approach for those facing this disease. See photos: https://radiolaprimerisima.com/mas-de-300-pacientes-atendidos-en-mega-feria-de-oncologia/ (La Primerisima, 7 September 2025)

Managua Soccer Stadium Almost Ready

In the coming weeks, the Miguel “Chocorrón” Buitrago Soccer Stadium, located in the southern part of the old baseball stadium in Managua, will be inaugurated. Construction is almost complete; with the grass installed and the seats in place, only details need to be finalized. The stadium will have a capacity for more than 2,000 fans and meet international standards. It will feature artificial turf, a press area, locker rooms, a review room, and eight light towers. It is expected to host first division matches, offering a modern and functional space for soccer in the capital. See photos: https://radiolaprimerisima.com/casi-listo-estadio-de-futbol-miguel-chocorron-buitrago/  (La Primerisima, 8 September 2025)

Massive Growth in Sports Centers

Nicaragua is implementing a special sports infrastructure plan for 2020-2026, whose completed works include the Roberto Clemente Baseball Stadium (Masaya); Rigoberto López Pérez Baseball Stadium (León); Independencia Soccer Stadium (Estelí), as well as the Alexis Argüello Complex, a modern sports complex in Managua which made it possible to host the recently concluded AmeriCup 2025 continental basketball tournament. In addition, strategic projects underway include the Vidal Alonso Stadium in Chinandega, the El Barrilete Sports Center in Matagalpa, and new sports facilities in Ocotal, Jalapa, Somoto, Catarina, Diriamba, Bluefields, and Bilwi. Official data indicate that the Sandinista government’s efforts have enabled a structural transformation of the national sports system, with the country going from 5 to 26 lighted baseball stadiums between 2007 and 2025. Similarly, eight soccer stadiums with professional lighting were built. Sports academies grew from 38 to 80, and participants increased from 1,252 to more than 55,000 young people. (Informe Pastran, 9 September 2025)

Nicaragua Condemns Terrorist Attack Against Qatar

The government of Nicaragua, in a statement, strongly condemned the Sept. 9^th violation of Qatar’s sovereignty by Israel, which launched an attack in the Qatari capital Doha against the top leadership of the Palestinian movement Hamas. At the time Hamas leadership were discussing US President Donald Trump’s proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. According to the Israeli government, it had previously informed Trump of the attack it would carry out and received his approval. The government of Nicaragua expressed its condemnation of the attack which undermines the peace efforts in which the government of Qatar is actively involved. The Government of Reconciliation and National Unity of Nicaragua expressed its solidarity with Qatar and the Palestinian people and called for continued, tireless work to restore the rights of the heroic Palestinian people. (La Primerisima, 9 September 2025)

Battle of San Jacinto: Nicaragua’s First Defeat of Imperialism

National Assembly Deputies visited Hacienda San Jacinto, north of Tipitapa on September 7 to pay tribute to the heroes who participated in the defense of national sovereignty there on September 14, 1856. The deputies placed floral offerings at the Monument to General José Dolores Estrada. The president of the National Assembly, Dr. Gustavo Porras, emphasized that San Jacinto represents the first defeat of imperialism. “I believe that what we call our national holidays have real meaning. Now Nicaraguans are clear that our national holidays are anti-imperialist holidays celebrating the struggles and victories for the freedom and sovereignty of our country.” “Here the Nicaraguan people are united, consolidating our anti-imperialist sentiment and our Sandinista approach with Daniel, Rosario, and the Sandinista National Liberation Front,” he said. [Note: One hundred sixty soldiers led by Colonel José Dolores Estrada fought 300 of William Walker’s filibusters led by Lieutenant Colonel Byron Cole. The filibusters were defeated and the battle marked the end of Walker’s destructive expedition to Nicaragua. A column of 60 Matagalpa Indians, armed with bows and arrows, made a decisive contribution to the expedition’s defeat. In 2012, the Indios Flecheros de Matagalpa were declared National Heroes of the Battle of San Jacinto by the National Assembly. This national holiday together with September 15, which marks independence from Spain, are important national holidays.] This year students and government workers received a week’s vacation. See photos of students honoring the heroes of San Jacinto: https://radiolaprimerisima.com/continuan-honrando-a-heroes-de-san-jacinto-galeria/ (La Primerisima, 8 September 2025)