Today and every day, the Fabretto Children’s Foundation works to decrease the prevalence of child labor and increase the prevalence of quality childhood education in Nicaragua. Our foundation focuses on showing parents how their children gain more by learning in school rather than by working.

We offer daily school meals, school supplies, and other essentials to children at Fabretto Education Centers, along with a variety of workshops that teach parents and community members how to best support their children. Fabretto also engages “neighborhood advocates,” members of underserved communities who work with us to encourage parents  to send their children to school. Our neighborhood advocates are indispensable to us, and their impact is tangible.

Neighborhood advocate Alejandra helped 16 students from Acahualinca, an underserved community surrounding Nicaragua’s largest trash dump, continue attending school until they completed their secondary education and enrolled in universities. Most children from this community normally didn’t study beyond the third grade, and instead helped their families scavenge for scrap metal and other items to sell for just a dollar or two a day. Now, Alejandra said, Acahualinca has “the tools that Fabretto showed us—we know that education is important, and that there are alternatives available to us.”

In a country where 47.7% of children ages 10-14 routinely engage in paid and unpaid forms of work (US Department of Labor), community engagement can be an effective way to create change. By working together with parents, teachers, and community leaders, children who had no hope of escaping the cycle of extreme poverty see new doors opening before them. Well-educated children grow up to be capable adults who can find quality employment opportunities, and more comfortably support their own families in the future.

On World Day Against Child Labor, make a donation to help us to ensure that no child engages in work that harms them, or keeps them from attending school.

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