Every Child Deserves A Chance

In Nicaragua…

  • Out of 100 children who start the first grade this year, 51 of them will complete the 5th grade.
  • The average Nicaraguan adult aged 25-40 has 4.6 years of formal schooling.
  • Nicaragua spends $62 per year per student.  In contrast, the United States spends an average of $10,600.
  • Lack of training and low income cause many teachers to abandon their profession.

 

HELP US BUILD A COMMUNITY LIBRARY

Poverty is the greatest threat to the welfare of Nicaraguan children.

  • More than 2/3 of the population earns an average of $100 per month. 
  • Unlike the United States, children in Nicaragua are often pressured to leave school as early as 8 years old to help the family earn income or perform domestic duties. 

However, a student that completes her primary education

  • Will earn 1.4 times more than her less-educated peers. 
  • Each year of education beyond the 5th grade is correlated with a 14% increase in monthly earnings. 

COMMUNITY LIBRARIES ARE A SOURCE OF HOPE

A child with access to a community library is three-times more likely to complete her primary education.

 

Current Projects

El Comedor (The Community Soup Kitchen)

 

At the northern edge of the city of Matagalpa sits a small plot of land burned by the equatorial sun. Two years ago, a Catholic nun approached the owners of the land about creating a safe place for the many impoverished boys and girls in the neighborhood. At first, they provided a simple sanctuary from the dangers of the streets. Soon, a basic meal was offered in return for good behavior. Now, several hundred children visit El Comedor each week to receive the love, care and attention that every child deserves.

The all-volunteer staff at El Comedor wants to offer these students more by building a library and homework center on the premises. They need the following: 

  • Security improvements to the existing fence
  • Building improvements
  • Tables, chairs
  • Secure cabinets for book storage
  • Educational supplements
  • Seed collection of children’s titles
  • Library-in-a-box lending system
  • Librarian training
  • Basic art and education supplies 

El Volador (The Flying Book, mobile library)

On the outskirts of Estelí, in the ranching and tobacco-growing region of northern Nicaragua, sit a series of small disconnected farming villages. Too far from the city center, these communities rely on the mobile library truck to bring not just books, but medical, vision and dental necessities to vulnerable residents.

El Volador currently serves 800 children on a bi-monthly rotation. Twice that many are not receiving any services at all. With some help, they can offer services to more than 2500 children by adding a second route. To accomplish this, they need the following: 

  • Improvements to the current vehicle
  • Additional books for current route
  • Training for a second mobile librarian
  • Seed collection of children’s titles for second route
  • Library-in-a-box lending system for second route
  • Adult literacy program supplies

Future project

We already have several additional projects on the horizon. At the top of that list: build, supply and train the staff for a library at a boarding home for teenage boys who have been rescued from the streets.

With the support of a small but dedicated team of volunteers and donors, we have donated more than 1000 books and partnered with several Nicaraguan organizations in support of education. But there is much more to do.

We need your help to expand the programs that we currently support, and reach more children who thirst for a quality education.