The single most important gift you can give a needy family

Ever worry about your job? Your retirement? Your kids’ college and career choices?

The uncertainty is even greater for the average Nicaraguan who lives on less than $500 a year. A Nicaraguan child’s best chance for survival in the global economy lies in education. A report from the Brookings Institute notes that Latin America’s lag in education is the greatest single obstacle to future economic growth in the region.

For centuries the vast majority of Nicaraguans had virtually no access to schooling. Even today…

• More than half of all Nicaraguans never begin school or they drop out by 3rd grade.
• Only 5% of the population graduates from high school.
• Most adolescents take ten years to complete schooling through 6th grade.
• Twenty percent of all Nicaraguans are illiterate

Your donation supports “schools that begin where the pavement ends.”

If you want your charitable donation to make a lasting difference in the world—and improve the global economic outlook—invest in a poor child’s education.

Educational programs funded by Connecticut Quest for Peace, (CT Quest) are among the most successful in Nicaragua. Fernando Cardenal, director of Fe Y Alegria, notes that CT Quest-funded schools “begin where the pavement ends” because so many of the students are street children.  These children typically have an extraordinarily bleak future, but we hope that given the opportunity to attend school we can give them the tools they need to be successful in life.

While upholding rigorous academic standards that train students for sustainable trades and higher education, CT Quest-funded schools:

• Provide flexible schedules so kids can work and finish their educations.
• Meet practical needs that make schooling a reality for Nicaragua’s poorest. We don’t overlook pragmatic essentials—like a pair of shoes and a daily meal.  After all, it’s hard to concentrate on a math problem when your stomach is grumbling.

It’s the greatest gift one can give.

Your donation to CT Quest gives poor children the opportunity to receive a good education at 24 schools across Nicaragua, including:

• Escuela San Ignacio di Loyola, a rural school in Somotillo, near the Honduran border.
• Ibra, an eco-farming school , also in Somotillo.
• Schools for urban children: Colegio Enrique D’Osso and Projecto Generando Vida in Managua.
• Seventeen schools in the Chacraseca region that serve more than 1,400 students with daily meals, a school bakery, and cattle and livestock programs.

For the price of a pair of running shoes, you can educate one needy Nicaraguan child for a year. Make a donation of $120 earmarked for education.

Want to learn more about CT Quest before making a donation? Please take a look at our programs, meet out board and visit our Photo Gallery to see photographs of the Nicaraguan kids who benefit from your generosity.