CURRENT PROJECTS

Scholarships and Apprenticeship Programs for Casa Jacinta Graduates

Prescolar Abuelita Carmen - Rural Preschool 

Carpentry Apprenticeship Program for high risk youth and hearing impaired students

Las Esperanzas Vocational and Educational Program for Impoverished Adolescent Girls

Why Nicaraguan children?
Nicaragua is the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere after Haiti. There are thousands of needy children across Nicaragua. Because of extreme poverty, many have been abandoned by their parents who are unable to sustain them because they lack jobs and skills. Parents often leave children with elder relatives to find work in other countries or regions of Nicaragua. Other children are separated from their parents by government social agencies because they are abused, or their parents are addicted to alcohol or drugs, or are incarcerated. Many of these children are referred to religious or private shelters (“hogares”) where they receive basic food and necessities. Children remaining with their families, help support them by scavenging in garbage dumps, searching for recyclable bottles to sell, working on farms or as vendors at the marketplace or bus stations.

Education is a luxury
For these poor children, most drop out of the educational system before fifth grade because they have no way to pay the basic educational expenses or afford clothing and shoes necessary to go to school. An estimated 600,000 children and adolescents do not receive any education. And for those that are fortunate enough to start school, the government estimates that only half of the children who enroll in first grade finish fifth grade. For those in the poorer rural sectors, the average child drops out after the third grade.

A high school education is a luxury in Nicaragua because of the economic pressure for young people to support themselves and their families.