Cross International’s ministry model is partnership. We come alongside local believers in the countries we serve, supporting them as they implement their God-given vision to impact the people in their communities. We believe in this biblical model of collaboration, working together with the local church through funding, management capacity, and organizational planning—and by empowering you, our givers, to engage with these brothers and sisters in Christ both financially and through prayer support.
That’s why we’re excited to tell you about a new partnership we’re forming in Nicaragua with Agros International. We’ve been in Nicaragua, a dynamic developing country, for many years, building homes and providing clean water, support for small business development, and access to medical and educational services. Now with Agros International, we are able to go deeper and wider in serving the people of Nicaragua.
Agros understands that poverty is a complex issue affecting all areas of a family’s wellbeing: health, food, security, and future opportunities. So, their approach is a holistic one. They buy large portions of land and establish a village, building simple homes, providing clean water, schools and medical care. They carefully select very poor, rural landless farming families who are working the fields of other landowners to come and live in the village. Together with 30-40 other selected families, these farmers are taught agribusiness skills and form a market-driven cooperative, learning to grow and sell produce in response to the marketplace. Soon, these families are not only sustaining themselves through their farms, they have become a thriving community working together.
As they continue to prosper, these families soon reach a significant milestone: the day they can own their farms. When they are selected, participating farmers sign a contract to buy the land from Agros, using carefully structured loans that won’t present a burden to the families. In a recent title ceremony, Agros was able to sign over the homes and farms of 14 families in one village who had worked for several years and could now feel the pride, accomplishment, and stability of land and homeownership. What an amazing moment to appreciate the journey these families have taken together!
At Cross, we’re excited to work together with Agros as they enable these rural poor Nicaraguan families to own agricultural land, attain economic self-sufficiency, and realize their God-given potential. Through our partnership, and with your help, it is an intervention that will allow these families to pass along these values to future generations and impact entire communities for years to come.
