Welcome New Staff MembersCultural Center of Batahola Norte Newsletter Fall 2012

• Yaritza Polanco came to the Center to finish her elementary school studies. In just one year in the Adult Basic Education program, she finished the first three levels (a difficult feat!) and hopes to complete the last two levels this year. “I already feel like I am part of the family here,” she said. She is also filling in for the Center’s housekeeper for two months, a work opportunity she’s happy to have.

• Simeón Rocha graduated from the restaurant service and cooking classes and is now employed at Hotel Barceló in Managua.

• Celina del Carmen Sánchez completed cooking classes and received a certificate from the National Technical Institute accrediting her skills. She is now head chef at a local hospital.

• Erick Palacios and Jaqueline Martínez, painting and drawing students, entered a national contest called Coloring Your Planet and won first and fifth places.

• Ernesto Gómez, a scholarship student, obtained a bachelor’s degree and now teaches at the university where he studied. He continues to give back to the Center by connecting his students to volunteer opportunities at the Center.

Student NewsWe are pleased to welcome three talented and enthusiastic

women to the staff: Marianela Doña Arróliga, Katya Erazo Ramos, and Amanda Otero.

Marianela is the Center’s new Library Coordinator. Along with her warm smile, she brings a wealth of experience and passion to the job. Marianela received her library sciences degree in 1984 and has worked in a variety of library-related services. She believes libraries are fundamental to development—both individually and as a country. She’s excited with the Center’s library which houses

over 7,000 books. “I see great things happening here in a way that I haven’t seen elsewhere. Here at the Center, there is a sense that all the programs value the library,” she said. She plans to focus her talents on strengthening further what is already being done well by modernizing the library system.

Katya is the Center’s new Arts and Culture Promoter. Her joy, spirit, and enthusiasm bring life to the Center each day. Katya especially enjoys working with the youth in the choir, orchestra, and dance groups. She will also be teaching a theater class. Prior to joining the Center, Katya attended the Autonomous University of Honduras where she studied journalism. Her initial impression of the Center is how unique it is. She said, “I’m amazed at the diversity of classes being taught and not just in the arts area.” She plans to broaden the arts curriculum to include film study.

Amanda, a former Friends of Batahola volunteer, is the Center’s new International Communications Liaison, a two-year position funded by a generous donor. Amanda will organize group visits to the Center, oversee the volunteer program, update the Facebook page, create public relations materials, contribute to this newsletter, and improve the Center’s overall communications.

Amanda was busy this past summer hosting two large groups from Cincinnati, Ohio, and many other groups that stopped by for a

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President’s Column

I’ve been traveling to the Center for 11 years. Each

time I go, I’m impressed with the improvements that I see in Nicaragua. The roads are better, the buses are newer, and the litter is less. There is even trash pickup now. Of course, the poverty remains overwhelming and public educational oppor-tunities are poor (See story at right.), but the students at the center continue to live in hope.

My June trip with the Immaculate Heart of Mary mission group from Cincinnati was most special. I was with my granddaughter, and it was inspiring to see the Center through her eyes. Her fresh, enthusiastic approach renewed my commitment. I saw again how accepting and warm all the folks at the Center are to visitors. They share their life stories, humble homes, considerable challenges, and small victories with all who will listen. We respond in return, sharing our stories and challenges. This is what I love most about these trips. They are not so much about service as about building relationships, true solidarity.

The Center keeps growing, reaching out to embrace students in great need. The new staff is enthusiastic with fresh ideas. (See story on page 1.) The experienced staff remains steadfast and committed. I returned to Cincinnati with a real sense of hope for the future of the Center. It’s your continued support that fuels this hope. Bless you.

Peace,Pat

Combating One of the World’s Highest Dropout Rates

In 2012, 10 percent of Nicaraguan school-age children won’t attend school. Of those who do attend, only 42 percent will finish sixth grade. In most schools, students attend classes for just a half day, in order to optimize the use of school facilities. Of the students who make it through high school, only 32 percent are able to pass a Nicaraguan university entrance exam with a passing grade of 54 out of 100, just one indicator of the poor quality of education students receive who do persevere.

While the Nicaraguan public school system offers three years of preschool, six years of primary school, five years of high school, and five years of college, education is not compulsory to a certain age, as it is in the United States. Public schools receive modest government support and a monthly provision of rice, beans, corn, grains, and oil for a school meal.

The primary reason that students drop out before completing the sixth grade is to help support their families, often working on the streets washing car windows or as street vendors. Other young students drop out to care for even younger siblings at home and to manage household tasks.

Three Major Challenges

According to Dr. Josefina Vijil, professor of graduate studies at the University of Central America, the Nicaraguan public education system faces three major challenges:

1.) To increase students’ access to education and to ensure that children remain in school.

2.) To provide a high quality education. Students must learn while in school. Barriers to a quality education include deficient teacher training, low teacher salaries (the average teacher is either living in poverty or right on the verge), high student/teacher class ratios, and a lack of teaching materials, such as textbooks and paper.

3.) To offer diversity in education: voice, instrumental music, theater, or fine art. While violence, poverty, and lack of opportunity weigh down the dreams of Nicaraguan youth, art classes offer an alternative route. In creating, both dreams and fears are expressed.

Keeping Children in School:The Center’s Scholarship Program is Making a Difference

Beginning in 2005, Project Education, a student sponsorship program organized by Immaculate Heart of Mary parishioners in Cincinnati, Ohio, has provided over 250 scholarships annually for students taking classes at the Center and for students enrolled in a public grade school, high school,

Education in Nicaragua Today

or university. Another group in Comer, Georgia, Jubilee Partners, led by Don Mosley, has also been a long-time sponsor of student scholarships.

The sponsorships cover class fees and allow students to pay for uniforms (which most students can’t afford on their own), school supplies, transportation, and other school-related expenses. The sponsorships help lower economic barriers and enable children to remain in school throughout their entire academic careers…long past the sixth grade average.

A child who receives a scholarship is no longer a drain on family resources but rather an asset, preparing for a productive future in the work world and in the community. The scholarship program seeks to create an environment that encourages life-long learning. A philosophy of holistic education permeates the Center and emphasizes job training through technical classes, basic and advanced

adult education, English classes, culture and art courses, violence prevention programs, and

emotional and psychological development in a safe and supportive environment. Scholarship students develop strong study skills through after- school tutoring programs; access to the Center’s library which houses over 7,000 books; and, for younger students, library reading programs.

Scholarship students must maintain their grade point averages and are required to

give back to the Center through service hours. Counseling and parenting classes are offered to their families, in order to improve students’ home environments, increasing the likelihood that they will remain in school. Family support is an integral part of the Center’s philosophy of holistic education.

The Center is meeting head-on the many shortfalls in Nicaragua’s public education system. The Center’s scholarship program is a life-changer, keeping more Nicaraguan children in school longer

which translates into greater lifetime opportunities.

Contributors to the article are CCBN volunteers, Jennifer Ruppelt and Andrea Kraybill. See also www.csmonitor.com/World/Americas/2012/0326. To sponsor a student, go to www.friendsofbatahola.org and click Donate.

A child who receives a scholarship is no longer a drain on family resources but rather an asset...

Friends of BataholaFor donations to the work of the Center:

Friends of BataholaP.O. Box 54821

Cincinnati, OH 45254

To contact us: president@friendsofbatahola.org secretary@friendsofbatahola.org treasurer@friendsofbatahola.org info@friendsofbatahola.org

For information in Nicaragua:Jennifer Marshall

General Coordinatorjennifer@centrobatahola.org

011-505-266-7737

Friends of Batahola NewsletterProduction VolunteersEditor: Mary Pommertmwpommert@aol.comLayout: Judy Aufdemkampe

We’re on the Web... friendsofbatahola.org bataholavolunteers.wordpress.com Facebook: Friends of Batahola (English) Facebook: Centro Cultural Batahola Norte (Spanish)

PRESORT STDUS POSTAGE

PAIDCINCINNATI OH

PERMIT NO 1294

From:2364 Heather Hill Blvd., N.Cincinnati, OH 45244

Board of directors

Honorary Chair: Sr. Helen PrejeanPresident: Pat BerningVice President: Sr. Sandra BlanchardSecretary: Susan KeefeTreasurer: Andi Sebastian

Board MeMBers

Mary Ann AntrobusJeannine BlattRichard GruberTerri HolmanMichael KeefeDotty McCreaJeanne McManusJohn McManusMary O’TooleMark OverlyLaVette Ulichnie

tour and to hear about the great work being done at the Center. Amanda said the value of so many visitors to the Center is priceless.

She recounted how one visitor was particularly impressed with Carelia Pravia, a scholarship student. The two had participated in a lively group exchange where everything from strict parents to school rules to Christmas traditions was discussed.

Afterword, the visitor asked Amanda to tell Carelia that she wished her the best in life. Carelia’s eyes filled with tears as she responded with similar well-wishes. Amanda said, “Facilitating these connections across language barriers is the best part of my job. Almost daily this summer I’ve gotten to witness the amazing bonds that can form, despite all the human-made barriers that tend to keep us apart.”

New Staff Members (Continued)

See the “Photo of the Day” at www.bataholavolunteers.wordpress.com and be part of daily life at the Center.