La Esperanza Granada

1. La Esperanza Granada When a child learns to recognize the significance of letters and numbers, a gateway to the whole world opens up for them. www.la-esperanza-granada.org

2. La Esperanza Granada Nicaragua Even though the country has been at peace for over 20 years, most people have a certain image of Nicaragua… www.la-esperanza-granada.org

3. La Esperanza Granada Nicaragua This autumn, the image will shift again when the country is portrayed on television as a pristine and untamed playground, and so ripe for tourism… www.la-esperanza-granada.org

4. La Esperanza Granada www.la-esperanza-granada.org

5. La Esperanza Granada Nicaragua However, the real Nicaragua is very different from both of these perceptions… www.la-esperanza-granada.org

6. La Esperanza Granada Basic Facts 47% of the population lives below the poverty line. www.la-esperanza-granada.org

7. La Esperanza Granada Basic Facts 32% live on less than $2 a day. www.la-esperanza-granada.org

8. La Esperanza Granada Basic Facts Nicaragua ranks only 129th on the UN ‘Human Development Index’. www.la-esperanza-granada.org

9. La Esperanza Granada Basic Facts 23% of the population suffer the effects of malnutrition. www.la-esperanza-granada.org

10. La Esperanza Granada Basic Facts Resulting in 1 in 3 children with concentration problems. www.la-esperanza-granada.org

11. La Esperanza Granada Basic Facts And only 34% of children finish primary school. www.la-esperanza-granada.org

12. La Esperanza Granada Such conditions are why La Esperanza Granada was created in 2002 – to lend a hand to the poor of Nicaragua. www.la-esperanza-granada.org

13. La Esperanza Granada This is done by providing primary school educational assistance to 4 poverty stricken communities outside the colonial city of Granada. www.la-esperanza-granada.org

14. La Esperanza Granada The motto is to give a hand up, not a hand out… www.la-esperanza-granada.org

15. La Esperanza Granada At the core of our program are the foreign volunteers – they have been very successful at fostering education among the children. www.la-esperanza-granada.org

16. La Esperanza Granada At any given time we have anywhere from 25 -45 volunteers – of all age ranges – here from around the world. www.la-esperanza-granada.org

17. La Esperanza Granada The volunteers provide the basics – reading, writing, arithmetic – to children in kindergarten and Grades 1 through 6. www.la-esperanza-granada.org

18. La Esperanza Granada Helping these children to develop their young minds and to expand their horizons. www.la-esperanza-granada.org

19. La Esperanza Granada And fostering an appreciation of education that will hopefully encourage them to continue their studies. www.la-esperanza-granada.org

20. La Esperanza Granada Outside the classroom, the volunteers go directly into the communities to read with the children and help with their homework. www.la-esperanza-granada.org

21. La Esperanza Granada With these visits the volunteers can focus on “one to one” interpersonal tutoring – ensuring that no child falls behind and is at risk of dropping out. www.la-esperanza-granada.org

22. La Esperanza Granada While the emphasis is on instruction, a key component is to instill in the children the joy and wonder that education can bring. www.la-esperanza-granada.org

23. La Esperanza Granada There is also an English Team that teaches the older children, Grades 3 – 6, weekly in each school. www.la-esperanza-granada.org

24. La Esperanza Granada Aside from classroom education, extracurricular sports programs have been developed . www.la-esperanza-granada.org

25. La Esperanza Granada And dexterity and creativity are given free reign to flourish in the Arts and Crafts programs. www.la-esperanza-granada.org

26. La Esperanza Granada Computer classes are also a special treat for the children – for most it’s the first time using one. www.la-esperanza-granada.org

27. La Esperanza Granada As dental health is very important we take children from all the schools for clinic visits which we pay for. www.la-esperanza-granada.org

28. Another part of our program is awarding high school scholarships to primary school graduates from the communities. La Esperanza Granada www.la-esperanza-granada.org

29. The objective is both to encourage the children to successfully complete primary school and to reward them for doing so. La Esperanza Granada www.la-esperanza-granada.org

30. Our donors commit to supporting the children for the whole 5 year program - we currently have 80 children enrolled. La Esperanza Granada www.la-esperanza-granada.org

31. La Esperanza Granada A further key component of our work is enlisting older youths from the communities as “Ayudantes” or ‘Helpers’ in both the schools and the office. www.la-esperanza-granada.org

32. La Esperanza Granada These are former students financially supported by donor scholarships through 5 years of university – an opportunity not otherwise available to them. www.la-esperanza-granada.org

33. La Esperanza Granada This enables them to learn new skills and so have a better chance of finding a good job – and breaking the cycle of poverty. www.la-esperanza-granada.org

34. La Esperanza Granada They must complete high school to qualify and give their time helping children within the same poor communities they grew up in. www.la-esperanza-granada.org

35. La Esperanza Granada The objective is to have these young people take part in the improvement of their own villages while increasing their experience and building confidence & self esteem. www.la-esperanza-granada.org

36. La Esperanza Granada This is a double boost for these impoverished communities – providing higher education to their youth while developing role models for the younger children. www.la-esperanza-granada.org

37. La Esperanza Granada Introducingour team www.la-esperanza-granada.org

38. La Esperanza Granada Ayudantes Chilo English Scarlet Pablo Antonio Cuadra Justo Pablo Antonio Cuadra Karla English Tatiana Nueva Esperanza

39. La Esperanza Granada Juan Bosco Computer Maria de los Angeles Nueva Esperanza Jaqueline Jose de la Cruz Mena Ramon Computer Alvin Computer

40. La Esperanza Granada Belkys Escudo Mario Escudo

41. La Esperanza Granada Employees Flor Office Asst. Donald Volunteer Coordinator Karen Office Administrator

42. La Esperanza Granada The organization also helps in another fashion – by developing, funding and coordinating construction of needed facilities within the schools and communities. www.la-esperanza-granada.org

43. La Esperanza Granada Also, through the years we have been able to pay the salaries of extra local teachers and pre-school assistants. www.la-esperanza-granada.org

44. Our relationships within the communities have allowed us to host visiting groups outside the educational field – providing medical clinics, school painting and other diverse needs. La Esperanza Granada www.la-esperanza-granada.org

45. Helping and allowing children to learn Lending a hand to the poor of Nicaragua The motto : give a hand up, not a hand out… We are grateful for any help you can give us! La Esperanza Granada www.la-esperanza-granada.org