 | | People are hungry for education in Santa Emilia. Men and women, who have never before had the chance to be educated are taking advantage of the opportunity. It is not unusual to see people in their 20's or 30's be in the 7th or 8th grade because they have never before had the chance to receive the education that they desire. |
In 2008 JustHope and Trinity Church of Cheney, Kansas began their partnership with the small community of Santa Emilia. At the time, there was only a small private high school there and most students could not afford the $7.00 per month tuition. And so, for most students in Santa Emilia education ended with graduation from the 6th grade.
Pat Nixon, pastor of Trinity Church, remembers this, "In one of our first visits to Santa Emilia we were meeting with people from the village. We talked about helping with housing. They thought that would be a good idea. We talked about helping with a water system. They thought that would be good. When we talked about helping with a public high school the people of the village erupted into spontaneous applause. There is such a hunger for education there. They know that education is the best way to a better life."
In 2011, a partnership between JustHope, Trinity, the community of Santa Emilia, and the Nicaraguan government department of education made it possible to open the first public high school in Santa Emilia. JustHope and the government share the cost of the seven teachers, and the community provides support for the 200 students. 32 students graduated last year... and over 20 more are hoping to graduate in 2012.
One of the women in the community, probably in her early 30's and in the 8th grade, said, "Before this school I had no hope that my daughter and I could ever lead a better life. Now I believe that we can have a better life." She is a single mother and she walks an hour and a half each way to get to school.
Another mother, whose daughter wanted to go to high school, had tears in her eyes when she spoke about how happy she is that her daughter can finally receive the education that she so desperately wants. The daughter wants to be a nurse and says that now she has the chance to fulfill her dream.
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