Educating Towards a Better Future in Nicaragua

Summer has arrived in Nicaragua and our school year ended a few weeks ago. Just after Christmas we will begin taking on some minor repair works at our local elementary school. This project will include a deep clean, new paint job, desk repair and minor touch ups. Our budget is limited at only $400 USD but we do expect a large turn out of local and foreign volunteers so all the funds will be used for material purchases. This school was first expanded by Waves of Hope in 2012 and later updated with a new roof and new floors in 2016. Every few years we do our best to take on general repair works such as this project to keep the school well maintained.

After the new year we will be starting our high school improvment project as well. This is a larger project and will include two phases to be completed in February and April.

Phase One 

The back portion of the school yard is a high traffic area that is dry and dusty in the dry season and muddy in the wet season. The toilets in back are in need of repair and painting, while the main footway area could really use some walkways, planting and repair. 

The school restrooms are also in need of repair and maintenance including repainting, replacing broken water pipes from the cistern to the tank and from the tank to the hand-washing area, and replacing the handwashing sink. There is also a need to build stairs at the south west end of the new classrooms building.

Total Estimated Budget for Phase One Project: 80,000 cordoba ($2,462 USD)

Phase Two Service Retreat – Outdoor Plaza / Recess Seating Area

The second phase of the Manzanillo High School improvement project is a proposal to construct an outdoor plaza seating area. As most of the school grounds is open dirt, the majority of the outdoor areas are dusty in dry season and muddy in the wet season. We hope that by constructing an outdoor area using the same blocks as the walkways we will be able to reduce the amount of mud and dirt that is tracked throughout the school and provide an aesthetically appealing area for social congregation, studying and lunch breaks. The trees in this part of the school provide a natural shaded area that is currently not being utilized.

Total Phase 2 Estimated Cost: 110,000 (3,385 USD)

Links:

• The Fixers visit Waves of Hope - A School Rehab Story

Our scholarship students are back in full study mode after a brief break during the month of February. We have had to cut scholarships to 50% of the monthly value due to a lack of general funding with Waves of Hope due to the political crisis and how it has affected tourism. Despite these challenges, all but one of our 21 students are continuing on with their studies. We lost one student because her family was really struggling due to the lack of tourism and so she is seeking full time work instead of returning to school for now. So while we still continue to struggle our way through the new reality in Nicaragua, for the most part our students are doing great and are very grateful for the support.

We also started a new school year at our high school and plan to have 40+ graduating students this year, many of whom are eager to carry on studying next year at the university level. We are seeking new donors every day and have some hopeful conversations underway.

Our scholarship students also provided great support during a recent 'Ocean Safety' program we ran locally.