While leading Habitat’s work, Carole founded Wellspring Center—the original name of El Porvenir. Wellspring grew directly out of Habitat projects, working with rural Nicaraguans to build community wells, washing stations, and even private bathing areas, always prioritizing rural women. Later they introduced rope pumps for hand-dug, lined wells.
Word spread quickly, and communities began requesting El Porvenir’s support, prompting Carole to formally establish El Porvenir. For 18 years, she led El Porvenir, transforming the lives of thousands of rural families and forging an impressive synergy with them. She also loved gallo pinto, nacatamales, and arroz a la valenciana.
On more than one occasion campesinos showed their affection by gifting her a live chicken, one of whom she named Esmeralda and kept as a pet for years. Friends and colleagues remember her as sensitive, empathetic, and fiercely determined.
Carole: Judge and Board President
In the 1990s, Carole moved back to California, where she worked as a judge while continuing her role with El Porvenir as President of the Board of Directors, serving until 2007. She returned to Nicaragua in 2004 when she adopted her son, Mauricio, and in August 2008, they moved to the United States so he could pursue his education.
She said, “I am proudest of the fact that El Porvenir has been ‘Nicaraguanized.’ When we first started the organization, the only employees were short-term North Americans. But gradually, El Porvenir became a Nicaraguan organization, which is how it should be.
That’s one of the reasons why El Porvenir is so successful. We hire local Nicaraguans who know the area and the people, who stay with El Porvenir long-term and give them the chance to flower.”
Carole Harper remained an Emeritus Board member and a key advisor to the organization until her final day on May 22, 2026.
While leading Habitat’s work, Carole founded Wellspring Center—the original name of El Porvenir. Wellspring grew directly out of Habitat projects, working with rural Nicaraguans to build community wells, washing stations, and even private bathing areas, always prioritizing rural women. Later they introduced rope pumps for hand-dug, lined wells.
Word spread quickly, and communities began requesting El Porvenir’s support, prompting Carole to formally establish El Porvenir. For 18 years, she led El Porvenir, transforming the lives of thousands of rural families and forging an impressive synergy with them. She also loved gallo pinto, nacatamales, and arroz a la valenciana.
On more than one occasion campesinos showed their affection by gifting her a live chicken, one of whom she named Esmeralda and kept as a pet for years. Friends and colleagues remember her as sensitive, empathetic, and fiercely determined.
Carole: Judge and Board President
In the 1990s, Carole moved back to California, where she worked as a judge while continuing her role with El Porvenir as President of the Board of Directors, serving until 2007. She returned to Nicaragua in 2004 when she adopted her son, Mauricio, and in August 2008, they moved to the United States so he could pursue his education.
She said, “I am proudest of the fact that El Porvenir has been ‘Nicaraguanized.’ When we first started the organization, the only employees were short-term North Americans. But gradually, El Porvenir became a Nicaraguan organization, which is how it should be.
That’s one of the reasons why El Porvenir is so successful. We hire local Nicaraguans who know the area and the people, who stay with El Porvenir long-term and give them the chance to flower.”
Carole Harper remained an Emeritus Board member and a key advisor to the organization until her final day on May 22, 2026.
OUR HISTORY
Since 1990, El Porvenir has worked side-by-side with rural families and schools in Nicaragua to construct wells, water systems, latrines, school hand-washing stations as well as support watershed restoration projects.
Carole Harper, a judge in California, founded El Porvenir in 1990 after working with Habitat for Humanity in Nicaragua. She launched El Porvenir to address the lack of clean drinking water in rural communities and respond to the determination of local people to improve their living standards.
El Porvenir grew into an integrated program that includes water, sanitation, hygiene and maintenance education, and watershed restoration. When El Porvenir started offering service trips, Nicaragua was recovering from the aftermath of a civil war and didn’t have a tourism industry; it was difficult to find English-speaking guides, public transportation, or hotels outside of Managua. For North Americans to travel to Nicaragua and see El Porvenir’s rural development work firsthand, it was necessary for El Porvenir to serve as a tour organizer. Service trips bring small groups of North Americans into rural areas to experience village life and work alongside local families on projects.
What was once an organization with one employee, carrying out four projects a year, has become a leading international nonprofit with a mainly Nicaraguan staff partnering with thousands of Nicaraguans annually.