Graduation Day 2015 in Nicaragua Christian School

Nicaragua once was considered the "breadbasket" of Central America. Through the end of the 1960's and into the beginning of the next decade, money could be made in cattle, coffee and cotton. A lot of things happened from then to now, among them, the grim realization that cotton was no longer viable in Nicaragua, and the soils where it had been farmed were now laden with heavy loads of pesticides. These brownfields lined the roads in Leon and Chinandega departments in western Nicaragua. Other things happened as well, such as the realization that many people really did not benefit from any of the supposed prosperity previously lived in the country. Large numbers of people have no reasonable place to live, where they can work, and provide consistently for their families.

Some of the former cotton fields, lying fallow for decades, have been converted to residential neighborhoods for poor people. These lands have been divided into lots about 15 per acre, and people moved onto the plots into shacks made of scrap metal, plastic, sticks, cardboard and other materials improvised into houses. Electricity was supplied through pirated connections on the edge of the neighborhood, using uncoated barbed wire instead of real electrical cables. Water mains were inexistent initially, and people were subjected to purchasing water from trucks, filling open barrels they maintained on their properties. Little by little, these people invested in construction materials to build walls and roofs, piece by piece.

A former cotton field has become home for many people living in marginal conditions in the Ruben Dario neighborhood in Leon. Beyond the residences, peanuts are cultivated. 

Staff and members of the board of directors of Nicaragua Christian School. 

Children and parents are assembling in the auditorium at Nicaragua Christian School, for the 2015 graduation ceremony. 

Murals with inspiring messages have been placed in several classrooms with the help of volunteers from the United States.

Many happy children (and parents) could be found on graduation day.

In this neighborhood, the mayor of Leon and the board of directors of Nicaragua Christian School agreed to place a school. The people living in this neighborhood can find work these days in a variety of sweatshops, where clothing and other light assembling industries are found in free trade zones. The salaries start at around 88 dollars per month, and do not include any benefit such as lunch, coffee, or even transport to the workplace. The more fortunate people in this neighborhood, the ones who can get and keep jobs in factories, have hard lives. Other folks have harder lives.

Anyone who enjoyed a stable childhood with a loving family realizes the importance of the school as a pillar in the process of growing up. The role of a school extends far beyond learning math and reading; it has a role in the spiritual and emotional health of the adult which each child becomes, even more when so many disruptions are part of the family experience. Families who migrate are often responding to disruptions in their family life and moving is, for the children, yet another huge disruption which can make growing up very difficult.

Migrants in humble circumstances are all too often received with indifference or hostility, as one humble family learned over two thousand years ago. The difficult experiences of the parents and children of Nicaragua Christian School parallel those lived by Jesus and his humble family. It is hard to overstate the difficulties facing the parents and children of Nicaragua Christian School. All the families are migrants from what must have been even worse situations, into a problematic, impoverished neighborhood. What were cotton fields during the economic boom of the 1960's and 1970's had long since become useless, contaminated brownfields which no one wanted. A free trade zone with factories making clothing and other articles for the US consumer markets has recently developed along the margins of this abandoned farmland, and the fields have been filled with low-cost housing. Tens of thousands of the poorest Nicaraguans have migrated into this area in search of a better life, some of them poor, others poorer. Several sections of the neighborhood face dismal circumstances, in which people live under nothing more than a plastic sheet suspended by sticks. The factories employ unskilled and semiskilled workers and provide dismal wages, which nonetheless far exceed any other economic opportunity for most people in the area.

It is precisely this impoverished neighborhood which the Nicaragua Christian School serves as an anchor in many ways beyond an ordinary school. The success of Nicaragua Christian School is easily noted by the way the community is involved there. Parents of the students clean, cut grass, and perform all kinds of chores at the school. School events are always well-attended by family members, who take an exceptional interest in their children. The students are particularly orderly and respectful, in contrast to other schools in Nicaragua. Sundays, the auditorium is ringing with songs from a church service, attended by many families in the neighborhood. Local sporting events and community meetings are often held on the campus, bringing the school to the larger community in the neighborhood.

The students and the school have won a few notable awards for scholastic activity, too. But, the best awards are children who grow into adults whose despair is replaced by hope and faith. A strong education under the guidance of principled, well-qualified teachers in a program which emphasizes Christian values is a great attraction to the parents throughout the neighborhood. The school has often been visited by mayors, ministers and even members of the National Assembly, but the school’s teachers and administrators are clear that the most important people at this school are the parents and children of this poor neighborhood.

Every person associated with the Nicaragua Christian School is aware that someone gave from their savings to provide the books, the salaries for the teachers, the electricity and the buildings. The good will demonstrated by so many from afar is sensed by the parents who respond willingly by helping in all kinds of ways, as they can. Not everyone who donates has the opportunity to visit Nicaragua Christian School, but those who do can confirm that gratitude and love abound among the students and families of the school. The school has become an important pillar for their fragile existence in a new neighborhood, as they seek to create a more stable life for their families a day at a time. 

No better title to the school can exist than, "Sharing God and his love", as is emblazoned across the website for the Nicaragua Christian School. The children learn that they are loved at all moments in a very positive atmosphere. If you would like more information about Nicaragua Christian School, write us at Gaia or directly to the folks at the school here. We believe in this project, which is transforming lives and families materially, academically, and spiritually. Below are some videos from the 2015 graduation experience.

An education in the midst of poverty

Nicaragua is a remarkable country, with unforgettable landscapes and lovely people, pleasant food in comfortable settings for anyone on a budget.. However, it is tough being a child in poverty in Nicaragua. The world which can be so wide and deep for a child when the resources are available to widen the horizons, reduces microscopically for someone without bus fare, much less the spare change to purchase a soft drink in the street. For many children, the oppression of extreme poverty has driven their parents apart, leaving them in a state of abandonment among others in a similar plight, exiled inside a shanty town.

Kids without complete families, without anything approaching a full-time job among anyone in their household, without anyone with a high school education to mentor them, fill the neighborhoods of the poor areas of cities, towns and settlements throughout the country. The rules that middle-class people learn, that one does things right and expects to be rewarded for working hard, being honest and cooperating with one's friends and peers, just does not work for poor people. There are not enough schools, not enough teachers, and not enough lunches to ensure that all the children can participate actively in a creative, learning environment in a school, and learn what is supposed to be learnt in school. The presence of God or any spiritual values can be so invisible to people in these neighborhoods, where despair reigns over everything else.

Children of Nicaragua Christian School are provided classes, books, supplies, and uniforms as donations. Photo Brenda McCrary.

The schools in Nicaragua are universal, free, and even compulsory for the younger ages. But, funding is very poor, and teachers have poor salaries and poor training, so putting a good education to practice in a completely impoverished country is not at all easy. The public school system is so impoverished, that the great majority of students who make it to university study are products of the private school system. The public schools are relegated to handling the students whose families just can not pay to send their children to a better center to study.

Children of Nicaragua Christian School wear uniforms to promote egalitarian values, so that no child be ashamed of not wearing the latest fashion. Photo Brenda McCrary.

A few visitors to Nicaragua from the United States have noted this deficiency and they decided to do something about it. What began as just an idea from a few folks on a mission trip with their church, grew as they developed their ideas in conversations with their friends and with people in Nicaragua, including the local mayor and officials in the Ministry of Education in Leon, the second largest city.

The mayor of Leon, Transito Tellez, aided these individuals in choosing an underserved neighborhood in which to develop their project, on the grounds of a former cotton farm which had lain fallow for decades and now was being developed as new housing for people of very limited means. The local schools were unable to keep up with the rapid increase in demand for school placements, and Mayor Tellez prudently recommended to these folks a project in the neighborhood now called, Barrio Ruben Dario. In 2006, land was chosen for a new, private school directed toward the impoverished residents of this neighborhood, and groundbreaking for the first buildings began.

Parents are deeply involved in the education of their children at Nicaragua Christian School, even when the parents may not be able to read themselves. Photo Brenda McCrary.

Today, there are children attending levels from pre-school to high school. The first class will be graduating soon, and young people will be going on to their new phases of life, some to college, many to work, and all with lots of life skills they learned from a environment filled with skilled and caring people. The students receive all the classes in the national curriculum from approved teachers, plus religion classes. An enriching spiritual environment is provided to children who may never feel love at home. A staff psychologist works with the teachers and students on the multitude of problems that children face in their homes, from physical and emotional violence, to special material needs for families in economic crises.

The school chooses its students on the basis of need, precisely the opposite of what happens at any of the other schools in Nicaragua. This is because there are folks in the US who are interested in sacrificing a small part of their monthly income to sponsor a child to attend the Nicaragua Christian School. Special donations from many groups and individuals have provided for a spacious auditorium, which provides space for parents and teachers to meet, community gatherings to be held, and even church services every Sunday. The school property is integrated into the lives of the students and their parents, and on any day, one can expect to see parents cutting grass, cleaning spaces, and providing other kinds of help to make the school run well. Many of the parents and their children attend church services and community activities on the school grounds regularly.

The children of Nicaragua Christian School learn cultural, spiritual and educational values with highly qualified staff. Photo Brenda McCrary.

The Nicaragua Christian School has received some of the greatest accolades for a school in Nicaragua. Its program has been very highly ranked by the Ministry of Education in Leon Department, and its students have recently won best student competitions on a municipal level, competing against even the schools of the wealthy in the area. But Nicaragua Christian School was not designed to win awards; the greatest award is to see a young person grow learn and grow in all the ways that would not be available otherwise, academically, spiritually and even physically.

The children of Nicaragua Christian School learn in a loving environment. Photo Brenda McCrary.

While on campus, the children of Nicaragua Christian School can sense the peace of a shaded campus with comfortable buildings, structural order, and caring staff who are guided by Christian values. For them, the school is a kind of oasis where they can forget about the difficulties at home, and even get a nutritious lunch without worries as part of their study program. In that way, their parents receive support in raising their children and hopefully, the order and peace that emanates from the school reaches their own homes and helps these families to find better ways to confront the challenges of life in a poor neighborhood.

The simple, elegant architecture of the auditorium of the Nicaragua Christian School is the centerpiece of the Ruben Dario neighborhood of Leon today. School assemblies, cultural activities, and church services keep this building occupied seven days a week. Donors of all sizes made this building possible. Photo Brenda McCrary.

Students and parents gather for an assembly in the new auditorium at Nicaragua Christian School. Photo Brenda McCrary.

Many churches, individuals and groups come together in making the Nicaragua Christian School work. Unlike any other school in the country, the children here do not pay for their education. The teachers and staff, the lunches and uniforms, the books and all activities are covered in complete scholarships. The students come from places where payment would be very difficult, but all the parents pay in other ways, by contributing in cleaning buildings and grounds and other activities, and learning to become better parents every day.

Agustin Jarquin Anaya, third from left, member of the Nicaraguan National Assembly, has supported the legalization of the Nicaragua Christian School and has been a visitor to the campus. Here, Dr. Jarquin poses with staff and board members. Photo Jeffrey McCrary.

FUNDECI/GAIA supports the Nicaragua Christian School, because we recognize its great vision in making a difference among the people who need it most in Nicaragua. Any visitor to the school will note the effects of this project on the neighborhood. Hope and faith are given space in the lives of people who face discouragement daily. It is no surprise that many important people in Nicaragua also recognize the special success that this school has had on the lives of many people and the fabric of their community.

Staff and board members of the Nicaragua Christian School visiting with members of the Nicaraguan National Assembly, Gladys Baez and Agustin Jarquin Anaya. Photo Jeffrey McCrary.

Click here if you would like to contribute to the Nicaragua Christian School! Feel free to contact us with any questions or comments.

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You can help us keep nature wild in Nicaragua, by volunteering your time with us or making a small donation to support our projects in wild nature conservation.

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Wheelchair donation

Having a disability from birth can be a terrible burden for a child and the parents. A poor child in a remote area of a poor country like Nicaragua, faces an even more difficult life than someone in a wealthy country. This poor boy, named Pablo, suffers from hydrocephalus. He has lots of problems with his body, and his parents are very poor farmers in a rural area.

Pablo gets seated into his new chair. Photo by Steven Allday.

As if paralysis and poverty weren't enough, he lives where only a four-wheel drive vehicle can reach. He had no wheelchair, so transporting him even to doctors and physical therapy was costly and a logistical nightmare. Somehow he must not know the heartbreak people feel when they see him, though, because he seemed generally happy, even though his horizons were not distant.

Pablo is finally buckled into his new chair. Photo by Steven Allday.

The folks at Campbell Street Church of Christ in Jackson, Tennessee, have been arranging wheelchair donations in Nicaragua for a long time. They even retrofit wheelchairs with seats for children. Pablo was so fortunate, because we at FUNDECI/GAIA had been holding one of the wheelchairs from the church, looking for a fitting beneficiary. His parents asked, and we took the chair out to his home to see if it fit.

Pablo waves and shows delight in his new wheels. Photo by Steven Allday.

This little boy had to tolerate some five minutes of strap adjustments as many hands pulled and experimented with all the buckles and ties. Eventually, he was in and secure. His mother began to move him round the yard, and his expression showed a real happiness. He could sense a liberation that this new (to him) chair has brought him.

Pablo's mother is so happy to have a wheelchair for Pablo! Photo by Steven Allday.

Pablo and his brother went round the yard, under the shade of a large fig tree. It surely felt to him like a fairground ride would feel: something new and sensational. His eyes glowed!

Pablo poses in his new wheelchair. Photo by Steven Allday.

We want to thank all the people involved with the wheelchair donation at Campbell Street Church of Christ! This may have seemed like a very small gesture by someone in the USA, but it means a world of difference to a young, disabled child in Nicaragua.
Would you like to be involved in making Nicaragua a better place for all? We receive volunteers to work on several projects related to social issues and then environment. And there are projects dealing with persons with disabilities, too. Please contact us for more information.

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Mario Montenegro visits the children of Laguna de Apoyo Part II

Music and stories make the best vehicles for learning. Mario Montenegro sings children-style Nicaraguan music and tells stories to the children at Escuela Luis Alfonso Velasquez in Laguna de Apoyo Nature Reserve. He knows how to make children happy through music and story, and he gets them to participate in it all with him.
Estacion Biologica FUNDECI/GAIA works with our local school on projects of various kinds, including volunteer instructional assistance to the children, educational materials donations, and infrastructure improvement to the school facility. If you would like to participate with us in improving the education of the children of Laguna de Apoyo Nature Reserve, you can help with a donation or an internship. We are looking for volunteers to work with the school with at least a six month commitment. This could be your best way to learn and contribute to the people of Nicaragua. Please contact us for more information.

We agree with Mario: all children deserve a happy and loving childhood, full of songs and stories, fantasies and play. Each year we raise funds to improve the school infrastructure and books, and give special courses and events to the children who attend the school. If you would like to help to improve the education of the children of Laguna de Apoyo Nature Reserve, we would like to work with you.

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Colegio Cristiano en Nicaragua

FUNDECI/GAIA is collaborating with Colegio Cristiano en Nicaragua, a new school in a very poor neighborhood in Leon. This school is operated by some Churches of Christ in the United States and all the students are chosen on the basis of extreme financial hardship. All students in this school receive their education completely free of charge. Here we present some images from the first "graduation" of the kindergarten level. The graduation was attended by various sponsors from the US and volunteers of FUNDECI/GAIA.

We are happy to know that people and churches in the US want to help the poorest children in Nicaragua. These children attend school free of charge and receive many benefits from a loving a capable teaching staff, including a psychologist, regular medical visits, and many family-oriented activities on the school grounds. We want to thank every contributor and volunteer who supports this worthy project.

Here is a video about Colegio Cristiano en Nicaragua.



All the funds received by FUNDECI/GAIA are used in projects to benefit wild nature and the poor in Nicaragua. Your contribution is always welcome!

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