By Tim Adams | Executive Director
Last February the Verbo School administration said that renovating the school's bathrooms and playground were top priorities. Both were in such bad condition that it was deterring parents from the nearby gated communities from enrolling their children at the school - parents who can afford to pay the full tuition rate. Increasing enrollment will help (1) bring the teachers' salaries up to a sustainable level and (2) provide needed funds so that we can scholarship some of the 1,000 impoverished children living in the community that do not currently attend school at all.
Through our first Global Giving Open Challenge in April you helped us raise more than $9,000 to help pay for the bathroom and playground renovations. The money was raised, the renovations were made, and the job is done! Not only did the funds pay for the project but by purchasing the materials in Nicaragua and hiring local workers in Vera Cruz we were able to make your donations go further and employ people who needed work and infuse money into the local economy. Members from Cedar Run Community Church (Oakton, VA) and West End Presbyterian Church (Richmond, VA) worked together with the hired workers to assemble the playground during their August trip to Vera Cruz.
We are so grateful for your partnership and investment - 100% of the funds we receive through Global Giving goes directly to the school projects. Your dollars are making a tangible difference! Our next project is to renovate and convert one of the existing school rooms to an on-site library for the students and local community. Like the playground and bathroom project the goal of the library project will be to improve the children's educational environment and to increase enrollment from the nearby gated communities. Currently there is no public library system in the country of Nicaragua. We will have more information and pre-project planning pictures after our next exploratory trip this week. Contact us if you know of any schools, school Spanish clubs, libraries or bookstores that would like to learn how they can partner with us on this project.
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