Brookline International Sister City Project Ends After 39 Years

BROOKLINE, MA — A nearly 40-year partnership between Brookline and a community in Nicaragua has come to an end.

The Brookline-Quezalguaque Sister City Project announced earlier this year that it has begun dissolving the nonprofit after the Nicaraguan government informed officials in Quezalguaque that they could no longer accept funding or communicate with the organization.

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The nonprofit said the decision came amid the Nicaraguan government's continued crackdown on nongovernmental organizations. According to the organization, officials in Quezalguaque were told they could no longer receive funds from the Brookline-based nonprofit, ending a relationship that had existed since 1987.

The Brookline-Quezalguaque Sister City Project was founded after Brookline educator Maxine Shaw traveled to Nicaragua in the 1980's. What began as an effort to collect school supplies eventually grew into an official sister-city partnership focused on improving public health, education and infrastructure in the municipality of roughly 10,000 residents in western Nicaragua.

The organization funded and coordinated a wide range of projects in Quezalguaque throughout its tenure. Those efforts included helping construct a library and health center, improving rural water systems with solar power, supporting Hurricane Mitch recovery efforts, providing university scholarships, supplying schools and medical facilities, and assisting with the construction of homes and neighborhood health outposts.

The organization thanked supporters for helping fund the library, health center, art classes, and Pipitos program, which serves children with disabilities. Donations also recently paid for a new library roof, scholarships for five university students, equipment for the health center and Casa Materna, new toilets and washbasins at elementary schools, and solar panels for rural water systems along with technical training for local community monitors.

The group said it had hoped to complete one final solar power project for a rural water system, but found that impossible after learning it could no longer work with local partners.

The organization said it has consulted with an attorney and has begun the legal process of dissolving the nonprofit, which is expected to take several months. Board members plan to vote on transferring the organization's remaining 2025 funds to one or more Massachusetts nonprofits with similar missions once the dissolution is complete.

Leaders of the organization had watched similar restrictions unfold in Nicaragua over the past several years as the government revoked the legal status of thousands of nongovernmental organizations and limited their ability to receive funding from abroad. The Brookline project had also seen previous initiatives disrupted after organizations it worked with in Nicaragua were no longer permitted to accept international financial support.

The partnership was supported entirely through grants and charitable donations from residents. Over the years, local schools, religious organizations, businesses and community groups helped raise money for projects, while hundreds of volunteers from Brookline traveled to Quezalguaque to assist with construction, engineering and public health initiatives. Delegations from Nicaragua also regularly visited Brookline.

The nearby Newton and New Haven sister-city organizations continue to fund community projects.

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