Today, Fabretto joins the United Nations in celebrating World Youth Skills Day. Fabretto works year-round to provide Nicaraguan youth with reading and math skills, as well as technical vocational education. Jomaris is a shining example of a student in one of our technical vocational education programs who is using her skills to help her family and her community.

Our journey to meet Jomaris begins in the mountains of northern Nicaragua. We climb into the back of a pickup truck, and begin our drive down a hilly two-kilometer stretch of rocks and dirt to the town of Quebrada Honda. As we bounce along, we catch breath-taking glimpses of the green mountains through gaps in the trees. When we reach the town, we are greeted by a cheerful Jomaris.

Though she is just 18 years old and petite, Jomaris exudes confidence. She leads us to a balcony overlooking a field where farmers are working, and launches into a lively spiel about her experience with Fabretto.

Jomaris enrolled in one of Fabretto’s Technical Vocational Education programs, SAT, at the age of 13. She says: “My father is a farmer, and since I was young I have helped him work the land and produce coffee. But, it was when I started SAT that I really fell in love with the earth [and agriculture].” As Jomaris speaks, her love of nature and her surroundings is clear.

Jomaris explains how Fabretto has helped her support her family’s coffee business by providing the SAT courses and giving her the opportunity to practice classifying, toasting, and grinding coffee at Vega Coffee. She says that before, “the things we needed [to help us grow coffee better] were all around us, but we didn’t know how to use them, so we missed out.” Now, Jomaris has learned things like how to create organic fertilizers using ingredients that are readily available in Quebrada Honda, and has shared this knowledge with her family.

Having seen its effect firsthand in her family’s coffee business, Jomaris has great respect for the SAT program’s method of teaching students how to put their theoretical knowledge into practice. She says “Fabretto has served as a guide for me – I’ve learned so much [from the SAT programs], including how to serve others.”

Jomaris graduated from the SAT program in 2016. Through a Fabretto scholarship, she has been able to enroll in FAREM, a university in Estelí, where she is currently studying pedagogy. She is also interning as an administrative assistant at the Fabretto Education Center in Quebrada Honda. It is clear that Jomaris loves her studies and her work – she says “I want to be a teacher. Many students need someone who inspires them and motivates them to keep moving forward; I want to be that person.”

We leave the balcony and follow Jomaris to the Quebrada Honda Fabretto Education Center. As we walk into the Center’s courtyard, a group of young girls playing jacks invite Jomaris to join them – they happily oblige our request to pose for a picture together, their faces glowing. Jomaris is a natural with the kids, and there is no doubt she will be an excellent teacher.

When our time with Jomaris comes to an end, she tells us that she is thankful to God, to her family, and especially to Fabretto for helping rural youth make great strides to a fulfilling future. Today, you can make a difference and help train more students like Jomaris. Join us in celebrating World Youth Skills Day by donating to Fabretto!

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