According to UNICEF, education must reach girls, boys and adolescents in the countryside and the city, children living in poverty, with disabilities or from different ethnic groups.
UN Sustainable Development goal number 4 identifies the commitment to inclusive quality education when it states "to guarantee inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all"
In Nicaragua, due to the difficulty of access to education in rural communities, girls, boys and young adults have limited opportunities to continue with their studies after completing primary school. The ViviendasLeon scholarship program offers economic support to pay for teaching materials, monthly fees, and transportation to nearby secondary education and universities.
Supporting students in secondary education and college increases literacy, creates a path for professional careers, and increases their future earning capacities. In addition, it blunts the worst aspects of limited education: teen pregnancy, limited employment opportunities and a continuation of the cycle of poverty.
ViviendasLeón currently supports nine promising young students in secondary and university education with a stipend of just $35 a month, covering all of their educational expenses.
Some comments from our scholarship recipients:
Valeria Torres, a seventh grade high school student: ''Thanks to my scholarship, today I have support to continue studying. With the economic contribution I can buy notebooks, pens and have a little money to spend during my school break.”
Another of our beneficiaries, Areana Galeano Arevalo: ''I am currently in tenth grade at Vista a la Montaña School. Before receiving this help, it was difficult for my parents to buy school supplies or notebooks, as well as the monthly school fees. Due to the scholarship program it is now easier for me to buy my school supplies and has been a great help. With all my heart I thank you. ́ ́
"During my third year in secondary school ViviendasLeón began to support me with a scholarship of $35 dollars a month so that I could continue my studies. I am grateful because we are a poor family. My father works for the San Antonio Sugar Mill harvesting sugar cane and earning about $90 a month. My mother is a housewife."
Continue reading >“ViviendasLeon has supported us throughout our process. Without their help, we would not have been able to overcome the barriers of poverty. They continue to help families like our own, and I hope their impact benefits other people in rural communities who need it.”
Oralia Ramirez - mother, farmer, beekeeper
Since 2007, free education has been a right in Nicaragua. However, youth living in rural communities are faced with a variety of challenges in pursuit of an education including book and travel expenses, a family’s economic situation, and distances from school.
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