Gustavo Parajón

Gustavo Parajón was a Nicaraguan doctor and pastor, most known for his peacemaking efforts during the Contra War and his contributions to rural health care, vaccination campaigns, and disaster relief in Nicaragua.[1][2][3]

Parajón attended Denison University, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Harvard School of Public Health and earned a master's degree in Public Health before returning to Nicaragua.[4]

He founded the Nicaragua Vaccination and Community Development Program (PROVADENIC) in 1967[1] in order to facilitate vaccination in rural areas of Nicaragua, beginning with smallpox, tuberculosis, leprosy, and polio vaccines administered via a jet injector.[5] PROVADENIC also trained locals in basic health practices to maintain prevention efforts.[1]

Parajón also helped found the Council of Protestant Churches of Nicaragua (CEPAD) on December 23, 1972, in response to a massive earthquake that devastated Managua, Nicaragua.[6] CEPAD facilitated disaster relief within four days, quickly became the largest relief organization in the country, and later expanded to other development programs.[1]

Parajón played several key roles in bringing about the end of the Contra War. He visited Washington D.C. to raise awareness of what was happening in Nicaragua.[7] He hosted the American volunteers who came to Nicaragua as part of the Witness for Peace campaign[8] and traveled with them and other peace commissions. He traveled unarmed, without bodyguards.[1] In 1987, Parajón worked with an organization comprising Nicaraguan Moravian Church leaders and U.S. Mennonites headed by John Paul Lederach to mediate conflict between the Sandinista Nicaraguan government and the Contras.[9] Afterward, Parajón served as a citizen representative of Nicaragua during the discussions that led to the Esquipulas Peace Agreement.[1]