COMMUNITY
LEADERS

SOMOTO

In 1953, Padre Fabretto had many dreams. He dreamed of bringing electricity and water to rural communities; of building schools; of constructing roads so that a car could drive all the way up to the tiny mountain village of Cusmapa; and even of installing telephone lines. Many doubted him and his wild ideas, and yet today, thanks to his pioneering leadership, many of these visions have become reality.

Padre Fabretto was a community leader and mobilizer, and our Education Centers carry on his legacy by uniting communities through education.

Padre Fabretto’s first oratorio (prayer hall) was established in the town of Somoto just three years after his arrival to Nicaragua. He offered refuge and education to the most vulnerable abandoned and orphaned children. From Somoto, he slowly expanded his “Fabretto Family” across Nicaragua, and from the 1950s through 1990, his work was based out of five oratorios.

In 1990, after he tragically passed away, the “Mama Margarita” Somoto Education Center was inaugurated at long last. Today, the Somoto Center continues to serve as a vibrant center of learning and progress and supports over 1,550 students in Somoto and surrounding communities.