YOUR DONATIONS KEEP THE SCHOOL ACTIVE

 

Hacienda Merida solves a critical education problem in our local rural community. We provide free bilingual elementary education with small class size, nutritious meals, environmental stewardship and a nurturing environment. 

Our small hotel profits are essential to covering the costs of operating Ometepe Bilingual School. When the hotel profits, the school functions. Since we founded the school six years ago, we have been able to weather the tide of fluctuating profits during peak and low tourism seasons with good financial management and with the help of dedicated donors. These donors include individuals, school and faith-based groups, and small foundations. By doing so, we have grown from a small preschool to six grades and an enrollment of 84 children, who attend tuition free. 

Unfortunately, the riots that started on April 19th have worsened, and are seriously impacting the hotel's ability to support the school.  Reservations were cancelled including high school and college groups, tour operators, and independent travelers. Many of these groups visit annually. These were dollars we had calculated in budgeting for the school—dollars essential to paying our teachers and keeping the school open. 

Because our students' families live in poverty, we cannot appeal to them to help keep their children's school afloat. They do what they can by contributing a small amount of the cost of lunch and school uniforms. We believe that the immediate and longer-term solution to sustaining the school financially will come from expanding our support team of international individuals and groups financially committed to the school. 

With an uncertain political future in Nicaragua, we are not confident that we will attract enough tourists to stay in the hotel, visit the school, donate, and volunteer.  That will leave the school in need of $23345.23 to pay our teachers (salary + health insurance), internet and electricity services for the remainder of the 2018 school year.

After 54 days of unrest, the situation has deteriorated even further. Block roads in different cities have us without gas and some basic food products already. The government was not able to transport the food they provide to schools as well.

We know that good governance is linked to a system that operates on democratic principles that create a peaceful, supportive environment for its citizens. When a government professes to be working democratically, but in effect creates an oligarchy that cares little about the populace, the result is disastrous. This is what we are living today in Nicaragua.

Clearly, the present problems in Nicaragua have direct links to the poverty and lack of education that are pervasive in the majority of the population. Ometepe Bilingual School exists to help educate the next generation of Nicaraguans and equip them for further education, critical thinking, and vocation that will give them and the country a better future.

Please join us, our teachers, and other friends of Ometepe Bilingual School in making this possible for our children.

Teachers payroll and benefits from June to December 2018 $23,345.00

We appreciate your support.

https://www.omprakash.org/global/hacienda-merida/donate

 

Sincerely,

 

Ometepe Bilingual School Families.