Education in Nicaragua Rocks!
So ... Clean Your Desk for Nicaraguan Kids

Education for every Nicaraguan child is a priority of the new Sandinista Government.  "Voluntary" fees for school attendance are being abolished.  President Ortega is urging every child in the country to be there when the opening bell announces the new school year in February.  A true democracy can only be built if the people have an education.

Unlike the general population, Quest/Institute in the PHD communities did not experience student dropout.  Instead the number of students increased during the 2006 school year.

According to census studies, an appalling 20% of the overall Nicaraguan population is illiterate, up from 13% in the 1980s after the revolutionary literacy campaign. The crisis is worse in the rural areas where the Quest works - 33% are illiterate.

Join the Clean Your Desk Campaign!  CYD is in a unique position to provide vital support to this new literacy campaign.   CYD can, and does, ease the financial burden of purchasing schools that are required for each child. 

CYD has a proven track record that improves each year.  In 2006, we added 145 new participants.  Across the United States, over 500 schools and organizations organize an annual collection of new or used, but usable, supplies that are shipped to Nicaragua.  There, they are distributed and local communities sell them at symbolic prices. 

Some U.S. donors are dismayed that the supplies are not given outright to the people.  The reason is simple.  The Quest and the Institute are about the work of development - not charity.  The nominal price for the supplies preserves human dignity and provides small pools of funds that are then converted in community-improvement projects. Everybody wins.

So - Clean Your Desk for Nicaraguan Kids.  Invite your local school, worshipping community, civic organization or whatever group you belong to, to gather supplies to ensure that

 Education in Nicaragua Rocks!