Nicaragua has a very low literacy rate due to, among other things,
the economic necessity of requiring all family members to work to
help feed the family. Many
of the children who come to our school live with their families but
do not have the opportunity to study because they must work in the
streets during the day selling gum, candy, or cigarettes or shining
shoes. We offer to these children the opportunity to receive an education
by providing evening and weekend classes for those who are unable
to come to our facility during the day.
learning to tell time in our rented shelter in 1999. He is
such a smart kid, he learned to tell time after only 20 minutes
of instruction and practice. See 2002 photo of Bosquito below.
children come to us without the ability to even spell their own name.
Volunteers work with these children until they reach first or second
grade reading and writing levels. At this point the child is able
to attend a public school, if their family situation permits, and
receive additional tutoring from our teachers after school. It is
our goal to eventually enroll as many students as possible in the
public schools so that they can have a normal childhood learning experience.
This also enables our teachers to focus on those students who cannot
yet attend public schools.
Aitziber, Birgit, and Mario inside our new classroom
with Bosquito (seated on the left) and Francisco Javier
recently blessed with a donation of computers and printers as well
as Spanish literacy software. Many of our children who came to us
without the ability to read are now learning to read through the use
of computer technology. We are seeing “little miracles”
every day in our school.
of a generous donation of computers, Moises (on left,
in 2002 photo) learned to read, in part, through the
use of computer learning software. Manuelito (on right)
still lives on the street but comes to our shelter for
daily computer classes.