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Scholarship Report 2007

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nce again the scholarship program has continued to develop and grow. With the change in government here in Nicaragua, there were also some changes in the school system. Public schools are no longer allowed to charge any fees whereas before they weren't supposed to but the laws were not always enforced. Under the new Sandinista government, there has been a stronger push for this law to be enforced. Therefore, none of the children in this program are at public schools; however, all of the children that received backpacks this year are attending public schools. Giving backpacks is one way to continuing helping those families who prefer to keep their kids in the public school system.

This year a total of $16,731.84 was raised for the scholarship program. At this point in the year the ING account has earned $141.70 in interest. Two churches, the preschool from my home church and 9 individuals were involved in donating funds for 2007. Below is a summary for how the scholarships were distributed this year.

Download Scholarship Report 2007 (pdf)
Check out the 2006 report & the 2005 report.
Read William's thank you letter.

Summary
Here is a brief summary of the scholarship fund:

Primary and Secondary school

    1. 146 scholarships given
    2. 112 complete scholarships
    3. 34 half scholarships
    4. 79 in Christian schools
    5. 67 in Private or Tech schools
    6. Average scholarship for the year = $46, monthly = $3.57
    7. Range of monthly costs at different schools = $1.35 - $20.00

Nicaragua Christian Academy Nejapa

    1. 3 children were given scholarships
    2. Cost per year is $800 which does not include transportation
    3. Each family agreed to pay their part by paying for transportation

University

    1. 20 university scholarships
    2. 19 scholarships were at regular universities
    3. 1 scholarship was at a job training location
    4. Average monthly scholarship = $23.82
    5. Range of monthly costs at the various university or tech schools = $8.30 - $40.00

Backpacks

    1. 315 backpacks were given out to children
    2. All of the children attend local public schools
    3. 180 children lived in surrounding neighborhoods where the El Salero sports center is located
    4. 85 children were in Managua or surrounding areas
    5. 50 children were in rural areas
    6. Backpacks contained 5-8 notebooks, pad of paper for drawing, pens, pencils, eraser, sharpener, crayons, glue stick, scissors, a ruler set and modeling clay
    7. Average cost of a backpack = $7.47

The 4th year and I am still learning!

The scholarship program is now in its fourth year and continues to grow as well as have its challenges. This year I definitely felt more on top of things as well as felt that I could be or needed to be stricter about certain rules and regulations in order for students to continue with their scholarships. I have found that in the majority of the cases the families have responded well.

One of the best things that has happened for the scholarship program this year was requiring that students provide me with a copy of their grades from the 2006 school year in order for them to receive the scholarship for 2007. Many families were quick to hand in their paper work; however, some did not to take me seriously when I said that I was requiring a copy of their grades. So in February when I began paying the first part of the year at many of the schools, some of the families asked what had happened to their scholarship since they had turned in the reapplication form. When I pointed out that on the form it required a copy of the child's grades from 2006, within a week I had their copy. Many children for one reason or another do not always pass the grade, therefore, asking for grades not only gives me an idea of how they are doing but it also assures me that they did in fact pass and are continuing on at the next grade level.

One of the biggest frustrations this year has been returning to many of the schools and finding that the students are no longer studying. In paying the second half of the school year I have had 10 different students of the 144 that are no longer studying. While this may not seem like a lot; it can become frustrating when those 10 students are all from different schools. This has mostly happened with a group of children that are new to the scholarship program and come from tough circumstances. April is a missionary here in Nicaragua that has been involved for several years with a ministry reaching out to women who are or have been involved in prostitution. I had given scholarships to some of the children of these ladies in 2006, however, this year April asked if I would be willing to take on a bunch more seeing that her ministry had changed and grown. This year I have gone to more schools than in the years past and seen some of the rougher parts of Managua. Many of these families live in some of the poorest and roughest sections of Managua and it has been a real treat for them to send their children to the local private Christian school. Some of the children have done well and are faithful in attending, others, however, because of various reasons - moving around, no support in the home, extra costs at the school that they cannot afford, etc. - have dropped out or switched to a public school. With the change in government this year, all public schools are now completely free and even some private schools were taken over by the government to be used as public schools.

Because I have set the program up in such a way that I work with missionaries, pastors and school directors in choosing those who are going to receive scholarships, I often don't get to meet many of the children personally. However, just this past month as I was delivering copies of receipts to April so that she could give them out to all the ladies whose children were being given scholarships, I asked if by chance Isayana Massiel Gomez was there that day. April had always spoken highly of the young gal saying that she could see the potential in her and every time I had gone to the school to pay her scholarship, the director had also spoken well of Isayana. My curiosity had grown and since this young gal has only 2 years left to finish high school, I've been wondering if she has it in her to go on to the university. April introduced me to Isayana, a young beautiful black gal who seem very sure of herself and had a strong spirit. I spoke with her for a bit about her education and encouraged her to stick with it and she proceeded to thank me ( or better yet, thank you! ) for the scholarship and then told me of her plans to go on to college and get her degree! April told me afterwards that her mom was an exotic dancer and often worked in prostitution but has left that lifestyle and is trying to find a better way to live. God is definitely at work in people's lives and it is exciting to know that while some kids are dropping out; there are many families that are taking their scholarship seriously and are very thankful for the help.

Below is a breakdown of the different areas in which the scholarships were used. Some areas are the same as last year and there have not been many changes which makes it easy on me. In some areas I continue to scholarship some of the same students while also taking on new ones since some students have finished or have decided not to continue. In one case with La Viña School that received scholarships last year, they were forced to become a public school under the new government and are no longer allowed to charge a monthly fee. Unfortunately I knew the director of the school personally and in the change from private to public, she lost her job. It makes you realize that you really never know what may happen to students, their families or even the school in the course of a year's time.

So this year's scholarships were broken into 8 different areas.

•  Nicaragua Christian Academy Nejapa - 3 students received scholarships to a private Christian school where English is being taught as a second language. This school's curriculum and style is a mixture between that of Nicaragua and of the United States. One of the big differences is that kids attend school from 7:30am until 2:30pm whereas most schools in Nicaragua have 2 sessions - 7am - 11:30am and 1pm - 5:30pm. While this school is quite expensive compared to many of smaller private schools, the education is definitely worth it as long as the families can give their part. I would really like to scholarship more children at this level.

•  Arms of Love orphanage - for the second year now I have been helping to scholarship the children at this orphanage. Thanks to a great staff it has been easy to help pay their scholarships.

•  Los Quinchos - a good-sized school whose heart is to serve street kids or children from poor families during their morning school session while using the afternoon session as a private school to bring in the funds needed to continue the morning session. The director and treasurer picked out 50 students from their morning session to be given scholarships. They also choose 2 students from their afternoon session that were really making a strong effort but were unable to afford the costs at the private level.

•  Loma Linda - this is the neighborhood where my husband, Thomas, grew up and is also the only group that has been a part of the scholarship program all four years. The first year I had worked with the pastor of Thomas' church in order to find families that had real needs in the area of education. I continue to sponsor some of the same children as well as adding new ones each year.

•  Helen - Helen is a missionary who works with a group of women who have radically changed their lifestyles over the past years and are now trying to find work that will help sustain their families. Some of the women have received scholarships in learning how to cut hair or sew clothes. Their children have also received scholarships in order to be able to attend small Christian schools in the areas where they live.

•  April - April is another missionary who is working with women to help them change their lives as well. Many of the women whom April is working with have only recently stopped being involved in prostitution. This year I took on a lot more scholarships to help this growing ministry, however, these are the families in which many of the kids drop out or that family moves around. Many of these families live in some of the roughest sections of Managua and I almost always take one of Thomas' cousins with me when I go pay scholarships at these schools.

•  Cedro Galan - this is a neighborhood where Halle and Kathy August (my partner's in the sports center ministry) have a feeding program and preschool. This year I have given scholarships to two of Kathy's preschoolers as well as a couple of older youth studying computers and a young lady taking Bible classes.

•  Tech Schools - this year I had a couple of youth and young adults who came from different neighborhoods that were already studying at various tech schools throughout Managua. Throughout the year they have come asking for help with the monthly costs of school and have become part of the scholarship program. Many of these courses last 5-8 months while others are two year programs helping the student finish out their high school degrees while also studying a certain career.

Giving out backpacks was a huge hit again this year. We gave out over 315 backpacks in various different areas. One of the hardest parts though in giving anything away for free is that as soon as word spreads in the neighborhood, there are often a line of people at the sports center asking about free backpacks. For those of you who know me well, you know that I am not a big fan of giving things away for free (that's why we do clothing sales), however, in wanting to support education and families whose children are in the public school system and find it hard to buy all the necessary school supplies at the beginning of the year, I am more than willing to give out backpacks with supplies. However, at the same time I am continually learning how to better a program like this. This past year I required that each student come and pick up their backpack personally; I would not allow mothers or fathers to come and take 5-6 backpacks for their children since in 2006 I had families making up names of children! For the following year only in the Chiquilistagua area (where the sports center is located) I am going to try and ask that these families also turn in a copy of their children's grades so that I begin to keep better track of whether or not these children are passing the grade level.

As for the university scholarships, of the 21 students that received scholarships in 2006, 3 have finished their studies and 2 have been let go from the program because of lack of communication about their progress. I have continued with the other 16 students and have given 4 new scholarships this year. This year 2 other students have finished up their studies and currently 3 other students are enrolled in their last course which allows them to graduate.

Here in Nicaragua at the university level things are done a bit differently than I am used to but I am learning the system. From the first year when you begin taking classes at a university here you have to declare what you are there to study (your major) and then you are put in a section with other students all studying that same career.  For the most part you take classes with this same group of students for the next 4-5 years.  In the 5th year once all your course requirements are done, there is one last course that lasts about 3-5 months that is required in order to get your degree.  The cost for the this last course depends on the university but it can range from $600 - $1000.  Unfortunately it is not included as part of the monthly costs that each student pays during the first 4-5 years so for many students it is often hard to finish this last part. And that is where I am currently with a couple of these students. Their last course has just begun or is about to in one student's case and the cost is often over and above the monthly cost of the university. However, the course can go on for a number of months so it is broken down into sections for the students to pay. I have told the 3 students that are currently enrolled in their last course that I will help out as much as possible according to the budget that I have set.

Ideas for the Future

In starting to think about next year, my only hope is that the scholarship program will be able to continue as it has in the past four years. Many families have come to rely on the financial aid that this program gives and I would like to at least continue with those that are currently in the program. I have told many families who have already asked about scholarships for 2008 that I give priority first to those students who are currently in the program and then once I have a budget set, I can start taking on new scholarships. For the university students, where the costs are greater and many of them seriously depend on their scholarship in order to study, I would like to continue each year with about 20-25 students. For 2008 I will have 15 students that will be continuing on and I would like to take on 5 new students if possible. Another area that I would like to focus on is the older youth in our surrounding area. Many of them stopped studying years ago and are just involved in doing jobs when work is available. At the moment I am not sure what the best answer is in helping these guys but I hope to continue talking with them about their education and whether or not they would be interested in taking job training courses in certain areas. Guess we will see what 2008 brings!

Conclusion

I hope this report has been informative of this year's progress. Please feel free to email me your thoughts and ideas for the future of this scholarship program. I would also appreciate your prayers for me as this program continues to grow. Pray for the overall education system here in Nicaragua and the change in government and how that affects things, pray for the families of these children that they would make education a real value in their lives and pray for the university students that they would take very seriously their studies knowing that it will prepare them for a better future. I would also appreciate prayer for Thomas and I as we are about to have a baby! I don't foresee starting a family affecting my role with the scholarship program, but I do know that it will change my lifestyle and how flexible I will be able to be.

Donations can be sent to:
Eastside Development
PO Box 301471
Portland, OR 97294

Or you can make an donation online.

From all the children, their families, and the university students as well as Thomas and I - thank you so much for being a part of this effort to help change lives through education! May God continue to bless your lives as you have been such a blessing to many children and young adults here in Nicaragua. Muchisimas gracias!

View the full list of students that received some form of scholarship for the 2007 school year.