8-8-16 | Success Story
In rural Nicaragua, as few as only 20% of students who complete the 6th grade continue to secondary school, often due to economic constraints or access to schools. Fabretto responds through the Rural Secondary Education (SAT) program, adapted to the reality of students and supported by the Ministry of Education (MINED). SAT reaches close to 700 youth in over 24 communities, many of whom otherwise would not have continued their education.
Thanks to the BASES project – “Better Approaches for Sustainable Educational Services” funded by USAID – rural youth in the Southern Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region (RACCS) have benefitted from Fabretto’s SAT program. Beginning September 2016, Fabretto is bringing SAT to over 1,000 new students in rural areas of Nicaragua, thanks to funding from The Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), member of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group. The project seeks to increase the employability and improve the income of 1,800 rural youth in Nicaragua.
The SAT program uses a ‘‘learning by doing’’ methodology. Students are trained in agricultural techniques and through their productive initiatives entrepreneurship is fostered, contributing to the family economy. SAT students practice what they have learned in their homes and their communities through service projects, becoming agents of change.
Traveling teachers, relocate to the remotest communities to implement the program, often using a student’s home or a community center as a meeting place for approximately 25 students from neighboring communities. This is the case of Yesing, SAT tutor, mentor, and change-maker.
Twelve hours of travel by bus, foot, and mule is what separates Yesing and the community where he teaches Rural Secondary Education (SAT). In spite of the distance, Yesing did not hesitate when offered the opportunity to teach and move to a remote rural community in Nueva Guinea in the Southern Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region (RACCS). Until then, local youth did not have access to an education above the elementary school level.
The newly established SAT program in the region provides youth with the knowledge needed to improve farming techniques and family income, both critical for rural development.
“I make the best of the trip by encouraging others to join the program,” tells Yesing. When Fabretto established SAT in the region, the community offered to host the traveling teacher in gratitude. “Coming here is a challenge — the access, the distances that students have to travel. Despite the hardships, helping these young people is a great experience, and it’s worth it.”
Fabretto trains dynamic teachers who bring quality secondary education to rural communities to engage and empower youth. Teachers like Yesing are dedicated to their students and their own continual improvement as educators, mentors, and community members.
To learn more about Fabretto Programs, please flip through our 2015 Annual Report below:
