What is the cost of living in Nicaragua?

Hi!

The cost of living here in Nicaragua is fairly low. If you are sponsoring a child he is most likely from a family who lives on somewhere between $3-$12 a day. Maybe an average of around $7 a day would be normal. There is a great economic divide here in our beautiful country where there is next to no middle class and a huge lower economic class. The amount I have quoted you is the average daily wage which would mostly be spent on food. The children we deal with here often are fairly well fed although they don't get a lot of variety in their diet. They would live off rice and beans and vegetables. Sometimes they would get eggs and every so often chicken or pork. In the south they would eat lots of plantains. In the north they would get tortillas. Coffee is something very important to all age groups.

Most children have needs for things in school since they have to buy their uniforms and all their other supplies. A backpack costs two or three days wages, so it is hard for them to get everything they need.

My experience is that the best thing to do to help is to buy them necessary items. One thing that is counterproductive is to hand out money. That sounds mean, but, my experience here has shown me that this is true. If you are coming as part of a mission group, I'm sure they will have good advice for you.

You'll want to help everyone you can, but it's just not possible!

I've lived here for over 3 years as a missionary and the work is endless. You'll love the country though. If you travel through Catarina, Masaya look us up!

Enjoy your trip.