One out of every two people on this planet struggles to feed and educate their children. When powered by opportunity, they have a chance to work their way out of poverty and transform their lives. For 40 years, Opportunity International has provided the savings, loans, training and insurance that all people need to create a better future for their families and their communities.
About this project
In Nicaragua, less than 10% of rural youth graduates high school and less than 30% complete sixth grade. When a child leaves school at age 11, she has yet to master basic reading, writing and math, and virtually no employable skills. In the second most impoverished country in the Western Hemisphere, this is a huge problem.
Opportunity has established a rural technical school that teaches a traditional high school curriculum along with hands-on instruction in entrepreneurship in some of the region’s fast-growing industries of tourism and agriculture. By teaching skills suited to their local economy, young people are prepared to start or be gainfully employed by a local business or continue on to university. The region will be transformed in the long term as these entrepreneurs learn technological skills, as well as self-sufficiency, flexibility, problem-solving, and to use resources effectively.
Your support will help
Nicaragua is the second poorest country in Central America with 75% of the population living below the poverty line. In 2006, Opportunity International initiated a community economic development program in Granada, Nicaragua with visionary supporters and community development experts. Opportunity Nicaragua partners with local farmers, artisans, and community leaders to provide: access to financial resources, entrepreneurial education to future leaders, training and support for community-led projects to address chronic social issues impacting rural communities. This development model has resulted in farmer’s increasing their average net income by over 30%, average increase in income for artisans of 20% as well as local community leaders leading projects such as: construction of community water aqueducts, bringing clean water to the community; development of a network of 57 libraries providing books to rural schools; investment in an agricultural processing plant to provide access to value-chains for small holder farmers and establishment of 5 Young Life Clubs in the poorest barrios in Granada.
This project tackles the issue of lack of high school and technical education in rural areas with a sustainable model. In most rural communities the public school system only provides elementary education. Less than 10% of rural children finish high school. Opportunity has established the Entrepreneurship Technical High School to provide practical, entrepreneurial training in both the agricultural and tourism industries. The school operates small businesses for a dual purpose: to provide hands-on training for the students and to generate revenue to cover operational costs of the school.
This project helps create a self-sustaining the model by supporting the construction of the classrooms, development of the curriculum and operations in the short term. Within 3 years, as the small school-operated businesses grow, they will generate enough revenue to cover the annual operating costs of the school.
