The opportunity to attend school is a dream for many rural Nicaraguan children. Uniforms, school supplies, and other expenses are outside the financial reach for most families and accessibility is difficult, especially for high school students. For many secondary students, the only high school in the region is a multi-mile walk each way. These obstacles prevent many school-age children and teens from obtaining a formal education, which sets another cycle of generational poverty in motion.
The Rainbow Network quickly identified this vital need and established two avenues for education: one for primary students and one for high school students. Our primary schools, called colectivos, not only provide reinforcement for primary students in their core subjects, but in many cases, they are the only place a child will learn to read or write.
As the children become youth, earning a high school education is close to impossible without a scholarship. In addition to the expense, there is an ongoing conflict between the youth attending school, which can be costly, versus having them work and bring in an extra income to support the family. For many families living in extreme poverty, it makes more sense to have older children contribute an income.
Our scholarship program offsets the immense burden of education expenses and allows students to pursue their diplomas without guilt. Once a student graduates high school, there are many options for them to continue their education. However, our staff recognized an opportunity for growth and recently implemented a new branch within the education program.
In 2021 we began connecting our students (and many community leaders too!) to technical programs throughout Nicaragua. Participants learn useful skills, such as haircutting and piñata construction, that can be used to earn an ongoing income.
There are many benefits to these programs: financial income, growing skillsets, increased confidence, etc. Additionally, these introductory technical programs open the door to technical universities, where students will already have a head start in their field and can easily adapt and evolve within their university classes. With these factors combined, we expect to see more of our high school graduates continue with higher education at increased rates.
We believe that education can not only change a life, but it can transform a community. Since 1995, we have witnessed 1,300 youth graduate high school. Like we teach our students, we too are dreaming of what this program can be and the continued progress we can see in Nicaragua stemming from access to education.
