Educational Advancement Program
Education can be very expensive for students from rural areas in parts of Nicaragua and El Salvador. While education is considered “free” in both countries, students are required to pay for their own registration, monthly fees, books, uniforms, lunches and transportation. Often, families do not have the money to cover these costs. It is also difficult for families to give up the income generated by having their children work to help support the family.
SOL began a scholarship program in 1996 to help students in the Ciudad Darío area, focusing first on primary school. In 2000, as some of those students moved beyond primary school, SOL expanded the program to the secondary level and broadened it to include El Salvador. In 2004, SOL awarded 75 EAP scholarships: 14 high school students in El Salvador, and 20 primary, 41 secondary students in Nicaragua.
The demand for SOL scholarships is very high. SOL works carefully with students to provide as much support as individual needs to successfully complete the program. Scholarship hopefuls attend an orientation followed by a rigorous application process which involves their involving the students and their families. Once students are selected, they are tutored by SOL staff. Staff also meet regularly with the students and their families to review academic progress, monitor responsibilities and encourage the parents to be involved in their children’s education.
SOL encourages students to leadership leadership skills. In Nicaragua, each student spends two afternoons a week in the Learning Resource Center, helping and tutoring younger students. In El Salvador, scholarship students take part in community activities; planning Dia de Familia (family day), they also organize trash cleanups, soccer games and other special events.
SOL also provides supplemental help. In Nicaragua, scholarship students learn how to use reference materials in the LRC and take classes in the computer lab. In El Salvador, the students meet on a regular basis, receive tutoring from in-country staff and plan special activities for the youth and adults in their community.
Educational Advancement Scholars
Maykeli Alondra Martinez
Guadalupe del Carmen Alas Alas
El Salvador Students (pdf)