We are embarking on an ambitious schedule to build and supervise six schools by 2014. CAFRED is currently in discussions with the Salvadoran and Nicaraguan Ministries of Education to allow us to develop education standards for the schools that we build and to administer them with the help of the local communities, for a period of two years for each school.
We also encourage communities to apply to CAFRED in order that we may develop curricular programs and provide supervision in existing schools in Central America.
Current Project
We have chosen El Olimpo in El Salvador as our pilot school community. El Olimpo is a small village with a population of around 500 and is a 4-kilometer walk to the nearest public transportation.
The citizens of El Olimpo work in agricultural pursuit, growing fruits and vegetables, which they sell in Apopa. During the coffee-harvesting season (October through February), they work in the nearby coffee plantation, Finca de Bella Vista.
There are 216 children accounted for within the community and possibly an additional 50 children unaccounted for in outlying areas.
A total of 75 children attend school at this time.
The present makeshift school building in El Olimpo (Photographs) is constructed of wood, mud, bamboo, plastic, straw and laminate. A recent storm blew away a large portion of the roof at the time of this writing. The dedicated teacher, David Vasquez Santos, fears that the facility may not last until the 2010 school year, starting in January. .
Presently, David’s daunting responsibilities include teaching kindergarten, first, second, third and fourth grades, dividing classes into morning and afternoon groups. He desperately wants to keep the students who will enter the fifth grade next year (2010). That will be impossible without additional teachers and a new facility. We intend to build the new school on the same 1400-meter lot where the rundown school exists presently.
The school will house three classrooms and employ at least three teachers. It will have a director’s office, a kitchen/storeroom facility and bathrooms.
The school will have a basic construction cost of $50,000 USD.
We hope you join us build the necessary funds to construct the new school in El Olimpo and give the children a chance for a brighter future.
Click here to make your tax-deductible donation to improve education for the children at El Olimpo.