News From the Field

A New After-School Program in El Aulo

July 12, 2021 By Project Schoolhouse

While we build school buildings, the Ministry of Education employs and pays the salary for the teachers and sets all curriculum requirements. Typically, one teacher tries to teach 40 children, grades 1-6, in the same classroom. Schools are under-resourced with inadequate materials, overcrowding, and no extra-curricular activities to keep students motivated and engaged. Widespread poverty, low levels of adult literacy and lack of economic activity necessitating an education are demotivating to school attendance.

We are currently piloting after-school programs to provide children with opportunities that encourage them to stay in school. The goal is to create healthy, dynamic, and stimulating environments that respond to students’ interests (i.e. sports, arts, academics, leadership and service, science, and technology) and develop core life skills to help them succeed in school and beyond. These programs are led by university student volunteers, providing role models for the younger children, strengthening the social fabric by mobilizing students, teachers, parents, and volunteers, as partners in development. The longer-term goals are to see increased school attendance, higher promotion rates and an increase in adult community engagement in the schools. We are particularly focused on providing female university student volunteers to lead the Clubs, providing female role models and encouragement to stay in school. Sequenced after a water system and school project, the Club has the opportunity to tutor the children who have fallen behind, helping them catch up in their studies and on a path towards educational success. The Club is so well received by the parents, teachers and children. Here is an update of the first session, from Norma, our Programs Coordinator extraordinaire!

“We start the opening of the club at 1 in the afternoon. Giving thanks to God for allowing us to be in the community together with the boys and girls, and to be able to start this new program with the aim of reducing school dropouts, also helping these children in their classes where they have more difficulty through these clubs.As we began, a moment of joy was shared with the little ones. You could see the happiness, playing and dancing among them. Having the presence of 35 boys and girls, from first grade to sixth grade, we divided them into two groups, Jasmina and Josseling working with the fourth, fifth, and sixth graders as they worked on the reinforcement of mathematics. In the beginning, a review was made of History, Spanish and Mathematics to see the level of knowledge they have and it was then that we realized that these children have difficulty in division and multiplication.

Something very important was in realizing that they do not know the multiplication tables, which would make the mathematical exercises easier. So, we began practicing the tables by making a flipchart to have in the section for practice. Cristian and I work with preschool, 2nd and 3rd grade school children who cannot read.

These children have great difficulty in writing and have not yet learned to read. The preschool and 1st-grade children were grouped together and enjoyed stories being read to them, with the books in the new storybook library.

I worked with the second and 3rd grade children. They have difficulty, they do not know all the letters, it is difficult for them to form words, I made cutouts of the letters of the alphabet on colored sheets so that the colorful letters catch their attention. They also have difficulty in Math, not everyone knows the numbers or multiplication tables. There was a moment when we were also playing with dynamic songs.

There is much to do with these children, and we hope we can achieve our goal to help them overcome the struggles that lead them to stop coming to school. You can see the difficulty the children have. I think it is because of the teacher’s time, she works with six grades together, so she does not have time to teach each grade individually.

These two days the participation and dedication of the children was excellent. They are enthusiastic and happy. You can see that they are interested in learning and practicing and excited about this opportunity. “

Le queremos agredecer a nuestra coordinadora, Norma Valdez por su trabajo con este proyecto.

Lessons Learned: Update from our In-Country Interns

July 12, 2021 By Renata

We last heard from Adriana Banchs and Aaron Wheat, Project Schoolhouse Interns, in our April newsletter. In the April video, Adriana and Aaron gave an initial report of their activities after just two months in Nicaragua. After completing a semester-long internship in May, the two are now back in the United States. A few days ago, I chatted with them about their experiences in Nicaragua, what they learned and their overall assessment about the specific ways Project Schoolhouse works in advancing our mission of building new schools, providing clean water, improving sanitation, and helping students continue their education. In speaking with these two young folks, you could sense the excitement in their voices about not only what they learned and the ways it will shape their future professional plans, but about the important work Project Schoolhouse is doing in Nicaragua.

Adriana, a public health major at the University of Texas at Austin, had many options in terms of international internships but was particularly drawn to Project Schoolhouse because of her intersecting interests of global health and working in Latin America. Her main tasks in Nicaragua involved data collection through face-to-face surveys of community members where Project Schoolhouse works. “But I did so much more,” said Adriana. “I took photos and even did some project management–tracking materials for projects, some accounting work and running errands…to get materials needed for the projects.”

Aaron, a civil engineering major–with interests in public health–at the University of Texas at Austin, was initially slated to study abroad in Peru in the summer of 2020, but that opportunity was canceled due to Covid-19. Given his interests in public health and civil engineering, Aaron’s Public Health Professor suggested he research Project Schoolhouse. After attending a Crash Course and viewing several videos, Aaron reached out to Project Schoolhouse. His main tasks in Nicaragua involved documenting and supporting the work being done to build water systems. “I was in the field almost the entire time, four out of seven days I was probably sleeping in a hammock at the school…and during the day working with the construction crew that installed the water system.”

Adriana’s data collection efforts were focused on issues related to schooling. In particular, Adriana was focused on establishing accurate school attendance rates, finding out the reasons some students are not attending school, as well as whether students have plans in the future to continue their education after primary school. One of the principal goals of her data collection was to document whether a school being built in a community-led to greater attendance. Another goal was to establish baseline data about whether the after-school clubs led to higher levels of school attendance.

Adriana’s data collection involved capturing individual census data that included name, gender, age, etc. This initial data collection was followed up with more in-depth, face-to-face interviews around hygiene, health and education. She also helped to conduct focus group interviews. “We interviewed groups of women because some of them didn’t speak up as much initially and we wanted to get their voices heard.” Adriana’s work will establish a solid data baseline that Project Schoolhouse will be able to draw on to better assess outcomes. In Adriana’s words, “data collection is an investment in time and after a few more years of data gathering, we’re going to see some good trends.”

Aaron’s principal task was to write a report of the gravity-fed water system being built in Mancera Central. “When I first arrived they were finished with the spring capture and they started work on installing the mainline. I documented the entire process and helped with the construction.” Aaron also beta tested a survey instrument called mWater. mWater is a free data management platform used in over 180 countries to map and monitor water and sanitation sites. “So, I would drop [geo-located] ‘pins’ at every school and water resource and then I filled out a survey that kept information on the community the water source served. For example, population, number of households, the site status, etc.”

In addition to documenting and assisting with the water project in Mancera Central, Aaron also helped to construct a database, or spreadsheet of the information gathered by Adriana, Norma, and Maria Ines. “It took form pretty nicely,” Aaron said about the database, “and it started to show some trends. I could tell Selina was pretty excited about it.” These data-related efforts of Project Schoolhouse are crucial because accurate and timely data related to water, sanitation, and education is often difficult to retrieve from the varied “siloed” agencies of the Nicaraguan government. According to Aaron, “now Project Schoolhouse has their own data of the areas they work in to compile a clearer picture for the donors to see that their money is truly making a difference.”

When asked about the most important thing she learned from her semester-long stay in Nicaragua, Adriana stated,

“The number one thing I gained from this experience involved the local people. The project coordinators, the students, the community members…they were the ones that affected me the most. Maria Ines and Norma’s passion over what they are doing, the love for their work. It was also really cool to see the scholarship students finishing their degrees. I loved actually living in the communities that we worked with….It gave me a new perspective and it confirmed for me that I want to do this work in the future. I would love to do the Peace Corps after graduating.”

For Aaron, working for Project Schoolhouse was a life-changing experience. Well aware of the United States’ colonialist histories that have played out in Central America, Aaron said that he approached his work with Project Schoolhouse with what he described as a “socially-conscious view.” That is, he arrived in Nicaragua with a well-developed understanding of the checkered history of global development work and what he described as “white savior syndrome.” In his words,

“What does it mean to go into a place that is not your home and how does one approach this work in a way that is sensible, respectful and sensitive to the communities in which you work? Instead of thinking that I wanted to ‘help,’ I thought I want to learn everything I can from these people, because they are the experts about where they live.”

Most of all, Aaron’s work with Project Schoolhouse confirmed that he wants to work as an engineer abroad after he finishes school. In particular, his work in Nicaragua taught him about restorative water design systems that don’t just sustain but give back to the ecosystem.

Both Adriana and Aaron agreed that what makes Project Schoolhouse unique is emphasis on the projects being theirs, the projects belong to the community, not Project Schoolhouse. “That’s what makes Project Schoolhouse special,” stated Adriana in closing.

Aaron in Adriana in the community of El Martillo

Impact Report

July 12, 2021 By Project Schoolhouse

Despite persistently challenging conditions in Nicaragua, Project Schoolhouse has managed to keep moving forward with all of our planned projects for 2021.

For the first time ever, we are working in three communities simultaneously to bring water to over 90 families and a school to the community of Malakawas.

In the community of Mancera Central, the community has completed the spring capture and the main water line down to the water storage tank. This was a difficult capture process because the spring is located far up a steep mountain and the materials were difficult to transport by hand and horse. There are also a large number of suspension bridges needed to traverse complex geography down from the spring.

Using funds from a Global Grant from Rotary International, we are building a community water system in a community called Bilampi in the municipality of Bocana de Paiwas. Anchored by the West Austin Rotary Club in Austin Tx and the Matagalpa Rotary Club in Matagalpa, Nicaragua, this is a $90,000 grant that will cover 100% of the expenses for the project. This water system actually pulls water from three different springs, requiring three separate spring captures. As with Mancera Central, this community has finished trenching the main water line and is working on construction of the water storage tank.

Both Mancera Central and Bilampi should have water running to every home, school, and church in the communities by the end of 2021.

Last year we completed a water system in the community of Malakwas and this year we are working with the community to build a new elementary school. The project is going quickly and the metal superstructure, the floor, and the roof are now complete. The students in Malakawas will be able to finish this school year in a brand new school!

All in all, these three projects will touch the lives of over 150 families.

We are also thrilled to report that our first After-School Club is up and running and doing a great job of increasing the access for students in El Aulo to additional instruction and instructor attention. Twice a week the students get to stay an extra two hours to continue studying core subjects with local volunteers and Project Schoolhouse team members. We hope to implement this program in more schools as resources become available.

While continuing our work through the covid epidemic has been challenging, we’ve managed to continue to increase our impact and reach across all our projects and programs. Our teams have grown over the past two years both in Nicaragua and in the USA and this success is undoubtedly due to the hard work of these skillful team members as well as the donors who support this work.

Thank you to everyone.

-Tab
Director of Operations

The new elementary school under construction in Malakawas.

This is one of three separate spring captures in the community of Bilampi, Nicaragua. Water is flowing downhill to the water storage tank.

Greetings from the Executive Director

July 12, 2021 By Project Schoolhouse

Dear friends,

We’re excited to share project updates with you below, reporting on the three (yes, three!) projects currently underway, a record for Project Schoolhouse. I’m grateful to our team on the ground in Nicaragua who are really shining as they juggle all of the logistical and motivational challenges inherent in working in remote communities on projects built primarily by volunteer labor. I’m also grateful to Rotary International, the West Austin Rotary Club, and The Burdine Johnson, Still Water, Love, Tito’s and AMB Foundations for investing in these projects. By the end of the year, we will have collaborated to deliver clean water to two communities and built a new school at a third!

The two intrepid interns who were in Nicaragua at the beginning of the year are back in the US and sharing inspiring stories of their experiences, captured in the recap interview below. One fact we continue to see is that even after clean water and school projects are finished and are no longer obstacles to education, there is still a dropoff in the number of children in 4-6th grades, many less than started in the lower grades. I’ve been thinking a lot about how we might support communities to improve retention and graduation rates. To explore this area, we’ve initiated a pilot project in one community to listen to the challenges. We heard from the teacher that it is a challenge to single-handedly teach to a classroom of 40 children from first through sixth grade. Children get behind on their studies and there is no time to work with them individually. We’re seeing encouraging initial reports from Norma, our Programs Coordinator, and we wanted to share with you all one of those reports and the concept of the After-School Club. Have a read below and if you’re interested in discussing or learning more, please join us at one of our upcoming Crash Course info sessions. Details and RSVP links here!

We’ve been following the recent, oftentimes heartbreaking US border immigration news. One area we’ve been wanting to explore further are the root causes of migration, as we believe the infrastructure projects made possible by your investment in Project Schoolhouse tackles some of the first development needs that mitigate the need to migrate. To this aim, we are hosting a panel discussion of experts in this field and we invite you to join the conversation, July 22nd at 6 pm central time. You’ll hear from the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), an investigative journalist with the Texas Tribune and a professor at the University of Texas at Austin who studies the topic of root causes of migration. We hope you’ll join the conversation. Details and RSVP here!

None of this work would be possible without your support. To that end, we’re excited to announce Cien Amigos 2021, November 11, with both live, in-person in Austin, Texas AND virtual attendance options! This is our only fundraiser of the year and your help is crucial. For details on hosting a table or becoming an event sponsor, please see our website.

With gratitude and hope to see you soon!

Selina

Greetings from our Executive Director – Energized for the year ahead

April 12, 2021 By Project Schoolhouse

Dear Friends,

We are excited to have broken ground on a water and latrine project in the community of Mancera Central, returning to that community after collaborating to build a new school building in 2019. As its name suggests, it is the center of a group of smaller villages, with a high school and a health clinic that serves all of those surrounding villages. In these rural communities, high school occurs every Saturday and students take their homework for the rest of the week, to complete after they finish their chores. Going to high school is quite a commitment, walking or riding a horse for hours from the smaller villages to get to school. It was eye-opening and heart-warming to see the influx of teens that Saturday of our visit. Many of the girls were accompanied by moms or older brothers, for safety. It takes at least 5 years for them to graduate from high school, going only once a week as they do.

In 2019 the community mobilized to build a new school to serve as the primary school during the week, and the high school on Saturdays, just as they are now mobilizing to build a water system to provide safe drinking water for their families. It was the fastest school we’ve seen come together and that energy is continuing on the water project.

We are so very grateful for the support of The Burdine Johnson Foundation for financially supporting the Mancera Central water project. Their sustaining support over the years has brought safe water to hundreds of families.

We are also grateful and thrilled to report winning our second Rotary International Global Grant! This grant will pay for the water and latrine project in the community of Bilampi, which we will break ground on in early summer 2021. We’re excited to share an interview, below, of KC Cerny, the driving force behind these complex grant applications. In designing this system, our water engineer reported this community having the worst water quality he had ever seen. The families in Bilampi cannot wait to get started. They should have clean water in their homes by the end of the year!

And, in between these 2 water projects, we will collaborate in the community of Malakawas to build a new school, after finishing a water project there last year. In our survey work leading up to commencing this project, we’ve seen the highest level of adult continuing education of all of the communities we’ve worked in previously. It is great to see parents just as eager to continue their education as the children, and they cannot wait to have a new school building in which to study.

Your support makes all these projects possible. We invite you to one of our upcoming ‘Crash Courses’ to learn more about 2021 projects and the communities where we’ve put your investment to work. I hope to see you there and bring a friend or two to help us spread the word. It would be a huge gift.

Gratefully,
Selina Serna
Executive Director

Partner Spotlight: KC Cerny, West Austin Rotary Club President

April 6, 2021 By Project Schoolhouse

In describing the work of the West Austin Rotary Club, KC Cerny highlights the service organization’s motto: “Service above Self. ” Over the past few years, KC has truly lived this motto by working tirelessly with Rotary International to help secure two of the largest grants in Project Schoolhouse’s history. Combined, these Rotary International grants funded water projects in three communities.

Projects in El Aulo and Nueva Jerusalem were completed in 2020 and the third project in Bilampi will break ground in early 2021. KC has been an active Rotarian since 1990 and is currently the President of the West Austin Rotary Club. KC and the sponsorship of the West Austin Rotary Club were instrumental Project Schoolhouse winning these grants.

In a recent conversation with KC, he explained Rotary International is a significant funder of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) projects around the world and has a long history of advancing efforts to further peace and understanding. Rotary International, founded in 1905, quickly spread around the globe, with clubs in Europe, Asia and South and Central America. In fact, one requirement for securing this global grant was establishing a partnership with a Rotary Club in Nicaragua, which we did in Matagalpa. The global grant funds for the projects are distributed through the bank accounts of the local Matagalpa Rotary Club. As KC explains, “Rotary International doesn’t just fund these types of projects, but they get highly involved in them as well.”

In describing his personal connections to the work of Project Schoolhouse, KC reflected on his experiences as a camper. “If you have ever been camping, you know how important it is to find clean water.” That’s why when Tab gave a Project Schoolhouse presentation to the West Austin Rotary Club a few years ago he was intrigued. But KC was not the only West Austin Rotarian who was intrigued by Tab’s presentation: “Several [Rotarians] had positions with major corporations in South America…and they were intrigued by what Tab was talking about.” KC and the other Rotarians connected to the notion of just how vital it is to have clean, running water. They connected to the hardships related to having children walk for miles every day to fill buckets of water from the river or other water sources, how these children miss school and often get sick from drinking unsanitary water. KC and the other Rotarians were also attracted to Project Schoolhouse’s mission to create low-cost and effective water systems that could be installed and maintained by folks living in these rural communities.

As KC explains, “from a Rotary International standpoint what this means is you’ve got a project that delivers clean water, meaning the disease incidence goes down, the kids get to go to school and people aren’t spending hours just hauling water up the hillside. You know, you can actually be out working in your fields or gardens…The point here is, it is economically viable and it helps promote the health of the community. And health has been something that Rotary International has been focused on for decades.” KC continues, “and having Tab visit Nicaragua on a regular basis is very important to Rotary International for purposes of funding the Global Grant.”

When asked about future collaborations between the West Austin Rotary Club and Project Schoolhouse, KC extended a warm invitation to members of the greater Project Schoolhouse family to attend future Rotary Meetings and consider joining the organization. And KC expressed excitement about visiting Nicaragua. Prior to the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, KC planned to visit the sites funded by the Rotary International Grant. After securing public health clearance, KC and his wife plan to lead a team of Rotarians to visit the three villages in the Spring of 2022–”fingers crossed.”

Written by Ana Valente and Kris Sloan