It's that time again! The school year is about to begin in Nicaragua, and once again I am hoping to help one of my former neighbors in Granada continue her education. Kasandra is a 14 year old high school student. She takes school seriously, earning excellent marks and the respect of her family. However to continue her education, Kasandra must pay $260 in tuition and uniform fees. Additional school materials cost even more. Meanwhile, her family is lucky to earn half that in a month -- and this is just the cost of public school.
Please help me sponsor Kasandra by making a donation to La Esperanza Granada, a wonderful organization that I have worked with in the past, which will make sure that every cent of your gift goes towards Kasandra's education fund.
Thank you for your support!
Please note: you do not need to have a PayPal account in order to donate.
Showing posts with label nicaragua. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nicaragua. Show all posts
Monday, January 31, 2011
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
There Is Still Time
Happy Thanksgiving week! There are still a couple days left before the funds for the La Esperanza secondary school scholarship are due. Give a kid in Nicaragua something to be thankful for! Donate online via PayPal even if if you don't have a PayPal account just by following the links on the site below. Click the Donate button and give what you can - $5, $10, whatever. And have a happy turkey day!
Saturday, September 27, 2008
A Small Request
I received an email regarding school sponsorship from an organization which I befriended when I was volunteering in La Prusia, Nicaragua. My neighbor in La Prusia, a 19 year old girl named Chilo, inspired me to initially contact this organization about school sponsorship programs. Chilo is a sponsored student; a woman who also volunteered where I did pays yearly for Chilo's school fees, uniform, and books. Chilo is incredibly bright, and aims to attend university next year in Managua, hoping eventually to study outside Nicaragua.
La Prusia is an extremely poor neighborhood just beyond the borders of Granada, Nicaragua. The people who live there are marginalized by the government, which doesn't recognize them as legal landowners and therefore provides no sanitation, electricity, clean water, or schools for any of its more than 500 residents. The youngest children are sent to school in Granada, and their parents must pay school fees equivalent to about $100 yearly, which is usually more than each family earns over the course of 3 or 4 months. Most children do not go on to secondary school because of the high cost and because their help is needed in generating family income.
La Esperanza Granada funds a free school in La Prusia, but their teachers are volunteers and therefore there is a high changeover rate among staff. To help students who are most dedicated to their studies, the organization helps match deserving students with sponsors who pay for secondary and university education.
Chilo implored me to sponsor a student, and I intend to fulfill my promise to her. I'd like to start a sponsorship collection fund. I think it would be great if everyone donated as much or as little as they are able. In 2009, school fees will be $210. I'll make up the difference between whatever we collect and the $210 sponsorship cost. A link to the La Esperanza Granada website is below. To contribute to the collective sponsorship fund I proposed, just click the button. You can contribute online via PayPal!
La Prusia is an extremely poor neighborhood just beyond the borders of Granada, Nicaragua. The people who live there are marginalized by the government, which doesn't recognize them as legal landowners and therefore provides no sanitation, electricity, clean water, or schools for any of its more than 500 residents. The youngest children are sent to school in Granada, and their parents must pay school fees equivalent to about $100 yearly, which is usually more than each family earns over the course of 3 or 4 months. Most children do not go on to secondary school because of the high cost and because their help is needed in generating family income.
La Esperanza Granada funds a free school in La Prusia, but their teachers are volunteers and therefore there is a high changeover rate among staff. To help students who are most dedicated to their studies, the organization helps match deserving students with sponsors who pay for secondary and university education.
Chilo implored me to sponsor a student, and I intend to fulfill my promise to her. I'd like to start a sponsorship collection fund. I think it would be great if everyone donated as much or as little as they are able. In 2009, school fees will be $210. I'll make up the difference between whatever we collect and the $210 sponsorship cost. A link to the La Esperanza Granada website is below. To contribute to the collective sponsorship fund I proposed, just click the button. You can contribute online via PayPal!
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
The Last Day
Managua, NICARAGUA -- It's my last day in Nicaragua, my last day of traveling for a while. I arrived in Managua around 9:00 this morning, which was surprising because I didn't leave Granada until almost 7:30, but the bus was efficient, although packed. I quickly found a room in a part of the city that Lonely Planet describes as "quiet and leafy." Well, it's not only that, but also close to a mall, lots of restaurants, and 50-cent per hour internet. My room is a double with a private bathroom, and it costs $15 for the night. The owners are super helpful, and I'm loving it. The Lonely Planet guide lists the hotel as "Nicaragua Guesthouse," but it's actually called "Backpacker for Backpackers." I know that doesn't make any sense, but neither does "Mochilera de Mochilera," the Spanish name that is also written on the front sign. No matter, the place is a mini-paradise.
This area of Managua reminds me a lot of Zapote (the area where I lived in Costa Rica). It's middle class and everything is colorful. It's actually almost suburban. The streets are a lot better here than they were in CR, though. Pretty much everywhere has better streets than CR... I bought fresh baked bread (2 loaves for a dollar) at a nearby bakery, and purused shoestores in search of new footwear. I wore through two different pairs of sneakers on this trip. Since today's search was unsuccessful, I am heading back to Maryland (where supposedly there is snow on the ground), with a pair of torn up mesh-sided sneakers and black flip-flops that are beginning to curl at the heel. Ah well, as I return to the land of climate-controlled buildings and cars, I have a feeling my footwear won't matter nearly as much to me as it has for the past 5 months.
Anyway, I am totally tuckered out, even though I haven't done a whole lot today. Basically, I am ready for home. This trip has been such an adventure. Although the last leg was a bit of a disappointment, I still feel great about the whole thing. I loved Granada, and I made a few really good friends in La Prusia. I hope we all keep in touch, and I think we actually will thanks to these good ol' internets. Leaving La Prusia was harder than I expected. As I walked down the dirt lane for the last time, I kept passing people I realized I was going to miss. There were lots of hugs and kisses and well wishes. It's amazing how quickly that community opened its arms to me.
I have to admit I am already researching discount airfare from Baltimore to Mexico City. I hope to go back for a visit around Easter. Another teacher from Instituto Heslington wrote to me about his own rough transition away from Mexico. "I think you're suffering from Mexico withdrawal . We had it good there. Didn't we?" We sure did. It's hard to be so spoiled and not realize it. I wish I hadn't taken so much for granted in Mexico. The food, the weather, and most of all the company. I'm happy to say I think I fully appreciate it all now, and when I go back I am going to soak up every drop of wonderfulness.
Signing off from Latin America...
This area of Managua reminds me a lot of Zapote (the area where I lived in Costa Rica). It's middle class and everything is colorful. It's actually almost suburban. The streets are a lot better here than they were in CR, though. Pretty much everywhere has better streets than CR... I bought fresh baked bread (2 loaves for a dollar) at a nearby bakery, and purused shoestores in search of new footwear. I wore through two different pairs of sneakers on this trip. Since today's search was unsuccessful, I am heading back to Maryland (where supposedly there is snow on the ground), with a pair of torn up mesh-sided sneakers and black flip-flops that are beginning to curl at the heel. Ah well, as I return to the land of climate-controlled buildings and cars, I have a feeling my footwear won't matter nearly as much to me as it has for the past 5 months.
Anyway, I am totally tuckered out, even though I haven't done a whole lot today. Basically, I am ready for home. This trip has been such an adventure. Although the last leg was a bit of a disappointment, I still feel great about the whole thing. I loved Granada, and I made a few really good friends in La Prusia. I hope we all keep in touch, and I think we actually will thanks to these good ol' internets. Leaving La Prusia was harder than I expected. As I walked down the dirt lane for the last time, I kept passing people I realized I was going to miss. There were lots of hugs and kisses and well wishes. It's amazing how quickly that community opened its arms to me.
I have to admit I am already researching discount airfare from Baltimore to Mexico City. I hope to go back for a visit around Easter. Another teacher from Instituto Heslington wrote to me about his own rough transition away from Mexico. "I think you're suffering from Mexico withdrawal . We had it good there. Didn't we?" We sure did. It's hard to be so spoiled and not realize it. I wish I hadn't taken so much for granted in Mexico. The food, the weather, and most of all the company. I'm happy to say I think I fully appreciate it all now, and when I go back I am going to soak up every drop of wonderfulness.
Signing off from Latin America...
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