- According to UNICEF, 24% of Nicaragua children are not in the school system.
- For those who do enroll, 25% drop out before completing elementary school and a whopping 50% never continue on to high school.
- In Camoapa, in 2010, 122 children dropped out of elementary school just in the city center of Camoapa, while 340 children dropped out in the surrounding rural villages.
- In 2009, the numbers were 91 children in town and 226 respectively.
- 45% of Nicaraguans live on less than $2 a day and 15% live on less than $1.
- Only 78% of adults are literate, while the average number of years of education is just 4.5 for all Nicaraguans.
- One of every 3 children suffer from some type of nutritional deficiency.
- Nicaragua is the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere after Haiti.
Our center in Camoapa serves children from families which are not simply poor, but also struggling with the effects of social dislocation, lack of education, mental health issues, alcoholism, violence and abuse. Many of the families of the children we serve came to Camoapa as internally displaced refugees during the Revolution or the Contra War, or looking for an escape from the dead end of extreme poverty in their rural village. These families live in marginal barrios on the edge of the city, in make-shift houses made of black plastic, scraps of wood and zinc roofing. In many cases, there is no clean water, electricity or sanitation. Single mothers often work long hours for subsistence pay, leaving their older children to look after the younger ones.
A typical home for a family that we would serve. This one houses 8 (3 adults, 5 children).
Children living in these conditions are at high risk for dropping out of school at an early age and many never enroll at all. Parents often can’t afford basic school supplies (uniforms, notebooks, pencils, shoes, etc.), or have to pull their child out of school to work and help support the family. At other times children do not have the necessary moral or educational support in class or at home, get discouraged and choose to drop out. Many parents are illiterate, may not have the time or energy from their day-to-day struggles; and teachers, with upwards of 45 children per classroom, are often unequipped to deal with children who have learning disabilities, mental health issues or behavioral problems.
To meet this need of these children, we have developed an alternative school program that addresses these issues in a comprehensive way – by working with children and families on an individual basis in order to target the problems that are causing them to fall behind or drop out in the first place. We work to provide the support necessary to keep these kids in school – by providing school supplies, tutoring, medical attention, emotional support, recreational activities, etc., whatever it is that they need to thrive. At the Sunrise Foundation, we believe in education’s ability to transform lives, but only if all aspects of a child’s life are addressed.
Learn more about our accomplishments.
Read more about Camoapa.
