Amigos,
As 2022 approaches and I reflect on the many achievements of the past year, I am filled with immense gratitude to be able to count on the support of friends like you.
2021 marked another year of challenges and having to continuously adapt our programs to meet them. In spite of it all, our centers continued to provide education programs and served more than 450,000 school meals to close to 60,000 students like Wilmer. Young women like Jicssell, one of 821 students who accessed rural technical education this year, envisioned a future with better economic opportunities.
This year we also celebrated 10 years of supporting university students with scholarships in Gigante, Tola. As a teacher, Elda, one of the first beneficiaries of the program, is a true reflection of what your support can accomplish.
We hope that you feel proud of what, together, we have accomplished. From the bottom of our hearts: gracias!
We look forward to continuing to reflect hope for Nicaragua in 2022. Best wishes for the New Year!
Kevin Marinacci
CEO
While school districts, teachers, and parents in the US are debating vaccines and masking, the reality in Nicaragua is much different. There is a vaccine shortage—meaning few people under the age of 45 have been vaccinated, tests are only available in the case of severe sickness or travel, and the stress and economic challenges that COVID has wreaked on the Nicaraguan people have only been exacerbated by 2 major hurricanes last fall and the slow recovery from the sociopolitical unrest of 2018. The communities we serve need your support.
Despite these challenges, our programs have continued reaching children and families in Nicaragua. I would like to take this opportunity to share some of this year’s highlights so far.
FOOD SECURITY
291,841+ meals served at 49 Fabretto centers & partner schools
49 school gardens
382 family gardens
YOUTH EMPOWERMENT
20 SATec (technical education) courses completed
12 vocational courses in progress
7 active community banks
1 new Youth Employment Skills online module piloted
EDUCATION QUALITY
13,619 children and youth served by our 9 Centers
25 new schools received digital education kits
632 teachers trained
4 original offline apps developed to reach low-connectivity communities
School this year has looked very different for our students but with your help, we are doing our best to continue running our programs primarily in person while keeping our students healthy and safe. We are immensely grateful for your support during these trying times.
Links:
Thousands of children in Nicaragua do not attend school for many reasons — but they all stem from poverty. Some of them live in very remote communities with no schools; others cannot afford the extra resources they need like clothes or notebooks. But a majority is forced to choose between going to school and working to help their parents meet the basic needs of their families.
For the thousands of children who attend Fabretto centers and schools each day, accessing quality education is a significant achievement. For Jostin and Octavio, it has meant the opportunity to become future professionals who can break the cycle of poverty in their families.
Jostin, a Little Future Teacher
Since his first year, Jostin has attended the Miguel Magone Center in Quebrada Honda, a small coffee-growing community in Madriz, only a few kilometers from Honduras. Through the early education program, Jostin is preparing for his next stage in schooling; he is taking a small but significant step towards becoming a teacher which, at only three years old, he already wants to be.
Estelí’s Future Doctor
Every day and with a lot of effort from his parents, he attends the María Auxiliadora Center to receive his favorite class: literature. While his father works as a driver and his mother as a housekeeper, his aunt makes sure that Octavio continues his second grade successfully. For his mother, Fabretto is an opportunity to create a new way of life, to make her little Octavio fulfill his dream of becoming a doctor.
Thank you for giving more children in our programs the joy of being able to choose to go to school and fulfill their dreams.
Links:
As we start 2021 with the hope of better future, we are providing extracurricular activities that are tied to educational goals. Through sports, children develop socio-emotional skills like trust, leadership, communication, conflict resolution, and, of course, teamwork through participation in regular team practices and regional tournaments.
With the added incentive of a fun sports program, we expect the average retention rate for the primary enrichment program in our education centers to increase. After a difficult 2020, we are excited to be able to offer outdoor activities that complement in-classroom learning.
Thank you for partnering with us to provide holistic education programs in Nicaragua!
Amigos,
All around the world, 2020 has been a year of great challenges but with your support, despite the great difficulties, la Familia Fabretto has remained strong. As the pandemic forced many changes upon us, students, parents, teachers, staff, and committed supporters like you were able to transform what could seem like impossible challenges into great opportunities, allowing our education programs to pivot towards digital and blended learning. From the littlest niños in the early stimulation program to the youth in our rural education program, SAT, we are proud to say that not even 2020 could stop our students from graduating!
However, our work is not done yet. In November, many of the communities we serve were hit by two major hurricanes, resulting in damages to homes and crop losses of up to 100% for some. As these communities face a future of long term food insecurity, we have our work cut out for us to help our communities start 2021 strong with the promise of a better future through education and nutrition.
Thank you for being a part of La Familia Fabretto and for allowing education to continue in 2020 and beyond. Together, we are transforming the future for the children and youth of Nicaragua.
With much appreciation,
Kevin Marinacci
CEO
Links:
Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can recieve an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.
