It is no secret that Nicaragua?s public education system is grossly deficient, particularly in the rural areas. Although there are many dedicated teachers in the rural schools, they simply don?t have the resources necessary to offer the quality of education Nicaraguan children so desperately need. Most classrooms, particularly in the rural areas, house two or more grades, which severely limits teachers? abilities to dedicate adequate time to student needs. Learning resources are also scarce, leaving teachers with few options, other than to employ copying and memorization activities; these assignments rarely stimulate active learning, especially in young children.

In response to these deficits, Fabretto has developed an Educational Reinforcement Initiative designed to improve the quality of both teaching and learning. The initiative places emphasis on training teachers to use creative, participative teaching methods, in order, to inspire a love for learning in all Fabretto children. A team of educational specialists were hired at the beginning of the year to design a new curriculum incorporating a teacher training component so that all teachers could adjust comfortably to the new program. To date, their progress has been commendable.

For the past several months, the Education Team has been providing teachers with new and better teaching tools. During the training sessions, educators learn how to make educational materials that will work to enhance children's learning in mathematics, reading, writing, critical thinking, and self esteem. Although it is not always easy to break some of the traditional teaching habits, the transformation initiated during the first semester is gathering momentum. In addition, teachers have expressed their excitement over the professional development opportunities being offered to them through this program.

The new Fabretto curriculum will greatly improve the quality of education that our children receive, and will help them develop new skills and abilities. Eventually, this improved learning will result in academic progress, which we expect will be clearly demonstrated within the next three years. We will be monitoring our students? progress closely, with both traditional and nontraditional evaluation methods. Nevertheless, by the end of this first year, we hope to begin seeing concrete indicators of success. This initiative will, undoubtedly, create a lasting impact in the development of all Fabretto children.

It is well documented that hand washing is one of the easiest ways to improve health, especially in places like Nicaragua where sanitary conditions are far from ideal. Teaching this simple habit is a core part of Fabretto?s health and hygiene curriculum. This summer, a group of visiting volunteers put their efforts towards encouraging students to practice regular hand washing.

Led by long-time Fabretto supporter and recent Procter & Gamble retiree, Bob Johnson, the group tested a new soap-foam dispensing system. Introducing this pilot program, volunteers conducted hand washing clinics with parents and teachers at our center in Esteli, Because we were lucky to receive a donation of 30,000 pumps from Airspray International,,30,000 donated bottles, and a pallet of liquid soap from P&G retirees, we will be able to distribute dispensers to our children?s families in addition to those being used at the centers. The benefits of this system? The children think the pumps are more fun than ordinary bar soap, which we hope will encourage regular use. Also, the foam dispensers require less water, which is a significant benefit for parents and educators in areas where water is often in short supply.

Nevertheless, the long term success of this program will depend on education, and convincing our students and parents of the benefits of improved hygiene habits. One activity the volunteers led taught the children about germs, and how easily they can spread. To illustrate this lesson, volunteers applied a product called Glitterbug to their own hands. Glitterbug is invisible to the naked eye but glows under black light. The volunteers then greeted the children with hand shakes as they entered the room. Using a black light, they showed the children how germs had transferred to their own hands. The lesson made a BIG impression on the kids, and after washing their hands normally, they looked again, surprised to still see glowing areas. This experiment taught the children to wash longer, between fingers, and up the wrists to better remove germs.

We intend to expand the foaming hand soap and education program to other centers this fall. If the pilot initiative results are as positive elsewhere as they were in Esteli, we hope to make this effort self- sustaining by charging a small amount, 3-4 Cordoba or about 25 U.S. cents, to refill the pump dispensers each month. Potentially, this could be done as part of our Jr. Achievement program, as a women?s co-op project, or as a project run by our scholarship students. Most important of all, we hope this program will have a positive long term impact on the overall health of our students, and their families.

From June through July, Fabretto hosted five mission groups who came to Nicaragua for 1 or 2 weeks to work with the staff and children in our programs. Two of the groups hailed from the Cincinnati area, including a group from Immaculate Heart of Mary and another from Harrison First Christian Church. From Chicago came members of Old St. Pat?s and from Fort Myers, Florida, a delegation from Grace United Methodist Church. A last group from Teach United Methodist. and Volunteers in Mission had members from various states.

All told, these volunteers worked on a wide variety of projects including:

• English as a Second Language teaching
• Painting of the new Cusmapa library
• Landscaping of the new library and general grounds in Cusmapa
• General facilities maintenance
• Construction work on the new classroom building in Esteli
• Hand washing project and education in Esteli
• Arts and crafts projects with the children
• Farming and farm assistance in San Isidro

For most of our volunteers, the highlight was spending time with the children in the classroom, in the library, or on the soccer field. We hope all were able to use some of their own talents to nurture a love of learning in the kids - in any and all areas. Hopefully, all our volunteers experienced the joy of having a gaggle of 6, 7 and 8 year olds follow them around, holding their hands, and asking for a peak at the digital camera screen ? a great thrill!

If you have a group of individuals, church related or not, who would be interested in volunteering next summer, start thinking about it and let us know!

October 21 will mark a special event at Fabretto ? our Tenth Annual Night for Niños in Washington DC! This year?s event promises to be better than ever. We have a great group of people on our volunteer planning committee, and there is a wonderful sense of energy and dynamism. The event will take place at the Fairmont Hotel, located at 24th and M Streets NW.

As in previous years, the evening will start with an Honoree Dinner where we will be presenting Francis X. Rienzo, Director of Athletics Emeritus of Georgetown University, with our Corazón de Oro Award. Contributions made in Frank?s name, whether or not you attend the event, can be accompanied by a note that will be included in a Gift Book to be presented at the dinner. Afterwards, the dinner will feature an exciting Live Auction, with a selection of the best items donated to the event.

The second part of the evening will be the ever popular Fiesta ? a party with live music by Groove Spot, a 'most excellent' dance band. Also, our guests will enjoy an open bar, an incredible cheese and dessert buffet, and a Silent Auction featuring a variety of fabulous prizes.

If you are in the DC area, please come join us! Tickets for the Dinner include admission to the Fiesta and must be reserved by October 17. Fiesta tickets are discounted until October 10 ? so sign up early! If you cannot attend, but would like to recognize Mr. Rienzo or your friends on the planning committee with a contribution ? don?t hesitate! We?ll gladly accept your contribution.

Other Event Notes:
Our Chicago event, originally scheduled for November 3 has been moved to February 2007.

On December 16, Fabretto will co-host a special concert with the South Florida Youth Symphony in Miami that will benefit both organizations.

Details on both these events will be forthcoming in future e-newsletters and on our website.