Education Initiative - Beca Comité
Class of 2010 Scholarship Campaign!!!
The cost for one student to attend school for a full year in Cristobal Colon is $900. This covers school fees, purchase of uniform and books, bus fare, and lunch.
This is an amazing opportunity to help these future scholars achieve their academic dreams. To learn more about this initiative, please continue reading below. To help these students, please see: "How you can help"
Class of 2008
Educational Scholarships for Disadvantaged Students
We are excited to announce that EcuaSana is joining forces with the Beca Comité to provide educational scholarship to local students.
The Beca Comité is a community group, established in 2007, that enables promising yet disadvantaged students to achieve their dreams of a high-school education. With the help of this scholarship fund, these young individuals gain access to otherwise unattainable opportunities.
The Beca Comité believes that education is fundamental to ensuring a brighter future for the youngest members of the community. Without the opportunity for a decent education, most children will be doomed to remain trapped in the cycle of poverty. These talendted and driven students have a right, like all children, to fulfill their dreams and create better lives for themselves and their families.
Want to Help?
The Beca Comité: Education is Key
The Problem: Fifth grade is the highest level if education available to children in Cristobal Colón. Although there are infrequent Saturday courses offered through a distance-learning high school, this option fails to meet the educational needs and goals of too many of the promising young students.
To continue education after fifth grade, residents of Cristobal Colón must travel by bus for an hour to reach the nearest high school. But while subsisting on household wages of less than $65 a month, the costs associated with a high school education are not in the realm of possibilities for most families. The bus fares, uniforms, school supplies, meals and lost wages are simply not affordable.
The Solution - Beca Comité: Recognizing the problem of lack of education, a small group of community leaders established the Beca Comité in 2007. The mission of this group is to provide educational opportunities to local youth, especially girls; while at the same time providing increased knowledge and skills to its members in the areas of financial management, communication, negotiation and leadership. For the past 2 years the committee has successfully managed scholarship funds from Peace Corps volunteers, and they are eager to continue working to make secondary education a possibility for local youth.
Scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria that combines merit and need. The committee oversees the selection of young scholars and ensures the funds are disbursed appropriately. Those who receive aid attend the Colegio in Las Golandrinas, a town one hour south of Cristobal Colón.