Home   >   Front Page   >   Featured Articles   >   La Esperanza Granada June 2020 Newsletter

La Esperanza Granada June 2020 Newsletter

Learning Centers

June 2020 finds La Esperanza Granada looking towards how we can help the children we work with and their families through this difficult time. As you may have heard on the news, there is still no tracking of Covid in Nicaragua, however many more cases are being reported and it is anticipated that the numbers will keep growing.We cannot open the learning centers yet and we really look forward to when we can. To provide some relief to our regular students we are starting a rice and bean program. As you know, the financial situation for many poor families in Nicaragua is desperate. The economic situation in Granada is worsened by the day.

There are no tourists, just about all hotels and restaurants have closed. Most tour operators have given up for the time being. As you can imagine, there are no relief programs for poor families.Rice and beans are the staple of the Nicaraguan diet. In this context we are raising funds for the distribution of rice and beans to the families of the children in the learning centers. We already have one important donation that allows us to start the activity.We will target about 150 families providing enough rice and beans to feed an average family of five. The cost per family is $20 per month or for $100 five families could be fed. To reach all our regular students the cost is $3,000 per month.

As you know, nutrition is critical and while we would like to offer a more generous donation including vegetables and oil, our budget simply does not allow it and we are starting this basic program allowing the families to free up any cash they can earn to go towards other foods.While our students continue (online for University students) many of them are staying home and try to support their families as most parents have lost their job. In short, the situation in Nicaragua is dire, families are in difficult situations trying to have sufficient food to survive and we are doing our best to provide some support during these unusual and hard times. Your help as usual is much appreciated and we will keep you posted on the program and other developments in Nicaragua.

High School

Many of you will have received letters from your High School Students. These were brought to you thanks to the office staff, the Nueva Esperanza High School Teachers, and the wonderful volunteers from around the world who translated the letters.


 
I wanted to share a sentiment from Peggy who has been helping us for the past few years: “You know I enjoyed translating these letters, there is this sense of warmth and so much gratitude coming from the children. I even learnt about the islets of Granada, seems like paradise. I feel like jumping on a plane and touring around the islets.”


 
As there are increased incidences of Covid in the areas where the school is understandably more parents are keeping their kids at home. There is no news just yet on what will happen to the school year.

Making a difference in a student’s life through sponsoring

The importance to sponsored students in High School or University gives children and youth the knowledge and skills they need to face daily life challenges, and take advantage of economic and lifelong learning opportunities. It is also a key driver for reducing poverty, fostering economic growth, achieving gender equality, and social development.



Currently LEG has 138 sponsored students in the high school and 33 in university, we want to share with you some impressive stories of two students:

Reynaldo is the first brother of two, he started receiving a scholarship when he was in second year of High School. He was sponsored by Donald and Carlota from Spain. He expressed, “it was a relief for my mom  that I got support, and this motivated me to get better grades to help my family”. Many Nicaraguan families must invest money at the beginning of the year in school supplies and uniforms and usually the amount is higher than the minimum wage in the country. Reynaldo is the first in his family to graduate high school and the first one to go to University. He is now a LEG university student sponsored by Rose. He is in the first year of business administration and he is thrilled to finish his first quarter with good grades.

In the same way, Luis Daniel has been sponsored since the first year in high school by Jeff and today, he is in his fourth year of Systems Engineer, he said “My family was more than happy when I got the high school scholarship because they were supporting me with everything, uniforms, backpack, and all the supplies, it has been a big help for my parents and when they realised that I was going to go to  university they were happier” Luis looks so grateful when he shared his story and he added if “I hadn’t received this help I would be working at something. I am the first one in my family to go to university and I am so close to graduating”.

Thankfully the sponsored students are able to continue with their classes online. La Esperanza Granada and the students are so thankful for all the donors for trusting us in helping the students from the impoverished areas of the city to dream bigger.

DONATE VIA PAYPAL

DONATE VIA BANK ACCOUNT

THANK YOU FOR YOUR DONATIONS! Donations: Laura Messerschdmidt $20, Sara Begona Coteron $5, Steve Wilson $150, Linda Heathelry $50, Lyndon Watkins $400, Nancy Bergman $150, John Roberts $100, Graham Holliday $2500

Again, thank you so much to the many friends of La Esperanza Granada!
Stay safe. 

The Esperanza Granada Team.

Visit our website:  www.la-esperanza-granada.org
Join us on Facebook
Our email address: [email protected]

Copyright © 2020 La Esperanza Granada, All rights reserved.


Our mailing address is:
La Esperanza Granada
Calle Corrales, Costado norte del convento San Francisco
Granada 40000
Nicaragua

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *