Why the children need our help



Why the children need our help


Nicaragua is one of the poorest countries in Latin America, which also has its effects on the education system. Although a National Education Plan was made in 2000 to work on educational insufficiencies, the there is still a lot of room for improvement.

Walking around in Granada you see children on the streets, playing or helping their parents work. They sell sodas, bread and pastries. Schooldays only take place in the mornings or afternoons. Usually the younger children have classes in the mornings and the older ones in the afternoons. So it’s only half a day. On top of that, an average school year is only 200 days, a lot of which are public holidays.

To go to school children wear a uniform and need basic school materials. Often their parents can’t afford this. Due to the lack of money most public schools may not have the materials to teach certain courses. They may lack desks or basic school books. Also classes are really big, there often is only 1 teacher for over 40 pupils. Because they are so big, teachers can’t pay much attention to the student’s individual needs.

Besides the public schools, there are a lot of private schools in Nicaragua. These schools have better teachers, more courses and have access to more school materials. Most poor families cannot afford this kind of education because it is too expensive.

According to Unesco, Nicaragua has more than 2 million school aged children. Half of them live in poverty. Around 11% have never had any formal education. But that number increases massively after primary school. Roughly 37% of 15-24-year-old have not completed primary school, the causes of which differ. For example: their families can’t afford school materials,  need them to work or have them help in the household. Also teen pregnancies are a big issue in Nicaragua.  In total there are 500 000 children from the age of 3-17 who are not in the educational system.

Our learning centers


The learning centers provide a safe and clean learning environment where the children can come before and after their regular school hours. We teach English, Spanish, mathematics, arts and crafts, literature and computer/tablet skills. We also teach them how to write and read.
We try to implement important daily life skills as well that they may not learn at home. For example teaching them how to handle and count money or even how to behave.

Here, our students can learn things by discovery and in a fun way. The groups are much smaller than in the local schools. Usually one volunteer has around 6 students. This helps them focus more on the students individual needs. We have a lot of school materials, all paid by our donors, like games, pencils, crayons, reading books and much more.

Our students can collect stamps for every hour they attend class. With these stamps they can ‘buy’ basic school materials such as notebooks and pens. This shop takes place once a month in the learning centers.

If you want to know more about our learning centers, read our previous blogpost!

Por qué los niños necesitan nuestra ayuda


Nicaragua es uno de los países más pobres de América Latina, lo que también tiene sus efectos en el sistema educativo. Aunque en el año 2000 se elaboró ​​un Plan Nacional de Educación para mejorar las insuficiencias educativas, Todavía hay margen para mejorar.

Caminando por Granada ves niños en las calles, jugando o ayudando a sus padres a trabajar.
Venden refrescos, pan y pasteles. Los días escolares solo se llevan a cabo por la mañana o por la tarde. Generalmente los niños más pequeños tienen clases por las mañanas, y los jóvenes por las tardes. Entonces es solo medio día. Además, un año escolar es de solo 200 días, muchos de los cuales son fiestas religiosas.

Para ir a la escuela, los niños usan un uniforme y necesitan materiales escolares básicos. Frecuentemente no pueden pagarlo. Debido a la escasez de dinero, la mayoría de las escuelas públicas pueden no tener los materiales para ensenar ciertos cursos. Pueden no tener escritorios o libros escolares básicos. También las clases son realmente grandes, a menudo solo hay 1 profesor para más de 40 estudiantes. Porque son tan grandes, los maestros no pueden prestar mucha atención a las necesidades individuales del estudiante.

Aparte de las escuelas públicas, hay muchas escuelas privadas en Nicaragua. Estas escuelas tienen mejores maestros, más cursos y tienen acceso a más materiales escolares. La mayoría de las familias pobres no pueden pagar este tipo de educación porque es demasiado costosa.

De acuerdo con Unesco, Nicaragua tiene más de 2 millones de niños en edad escolar. La mitad de ellos vive en la pobreza. Alrededor del 11% nunca ha tenido educación formal. Pero ese número aumenta enormemente después de la escuela primaria. Aproximadamente el 37% de las personas entre 15 y 24 años no han completado la escuela primaria, por causas diferentes.  Por ejemplo: sus familias no pueden pagar los materiales escolares, necesitan que trabajen o les ayudan en el hogar. También los embarazos de adolescentes son un gran problema en Nicaragua. En total hay 500 000 niños de entre 3 y 17 años que no están en el sistema educativo.

Nuestros centros de aprendizaje


Los centros de aprendizaje proporcionan un entorno educativo limpio y seguro donde los niños pueden venir antes y después de sus horas regulares de escuela.
Enseñamos inglés, español, matemáticas, artes, literatura e computadora / tableta. También les enseñamos a escribir y leer.
Tratamos de implementar habilidades importantes de la vida diaria para que no aprendan en casa. Por ejemplo, enseñarles cómo manejar y contar dinero o incluso cómo comportarse.

Aquí, nuestros estudiantes pueden aprender cosas por descubrimiento y de una manera divertida. Los grupos son más pequeños que en las escuelas locales. Por lo general, un voluntario tiene alrededor de 6 estudiantes. Esto los ayuda a enfocarse más en las necesidades individuales de los estudiantes. Tenemos muchos materiales escolares, todos pagados por nuestros donantes, como juegos, lápices, crayones, libros de lectura y mucho más.

Nuestros estudiantes pueden recolectar sellos por cada hora que asisten a clase. Con estos sellos pueden 'comprar' materiales escolares básicos, como cuadernos y lapiceras. Esta tienda se lleva a cabo una vez al mes en los centros de aprendizaje.

Si desea saber más sobre nuestros centros de aprendizaje, ¡lea nuestro blog post anterior!






References:

Hutt, D. (2013). Is Nicaragua's education system failing? Retrieved november 6, 2017, from
http://www.ticotimes.net/2013/02/01/is-nicaragua-s-education-system-failing

Index Mundi. (2017). Nicargua Literacy. Retrieved november 6, 2017, from
https://www.indexmundi.com/nicaragua/literacy.html
Lakhani, N. (2015). Poverty in Nicaragua drives children out of school and into the workplace.  Retrieved november 6, 2017, from

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/may/19/poverty-nicaragua-children-school-education-child-labour

Manning, A. (2014). About Nicaragua - Education. Retrieved november 6, 2017, from

https://sites.dartmouth.edu/ashley-in-nicaragua/about-nicaragua-education/
Nicaragua: national education profile. (2014). Retrieved november 6, 2017, from

https://www.epdc.org/sites/default/files/documents/EPDC%20NEP_Nicaragua.pdf

 PAN Missions Canada. (2017). Facts about Nicaragua. Retrieved november 6, 2017, from

http://www.panmissions.org/Facts-About-Nicaragua.page

Save the children (2017). Nicaragua. Retrieved november 6, 2017, from: 
http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.6151465/k.ED79/Nicaragua.htm

UNICEF. (2013). Nicaragua: country programme document. Retrieved november 6, 2017, from
https://www.unicef.org/about/execboard/files/2012-PL31_Nicaragua_CPD-final_approved-English.pdf

Unidos Nicaragua. (n.d.). Life in Nicaragua. Retrieved november 6, 2017, from

http://unidosnicaragua.org/our-work/life-in-nicaragua/





Location: Granada, Nicaragua

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