Home Visits are the Foundation our Program is Built On

Empowerment International — Mon, 11 May 2015 23:46:11 +0000

The EI team continually analyzes the EI program elements and tweaks it each year based on feedback from the community, graduation rates, and drop-out rates. This unusual approach, open-minded and data-driven, rather than hide-bound and based on historical approaches, has led to a multi-pronged program that addresses the many disparate challenges that the children in our communities face.

From the very start of EI, in Costa Rica in 1998, Kathy observed that if the children received regular encouragement, and the family received some advice on how to best help their children in school, the children stayed motivated and did not drop out. This personal encouragement and problem-solving turned out to be the dominant factor in the families’ commitment to education and the children’s success.

“Home visits” are one of the most innovative and unique aspects of the EI program. Originally, Kathy made all the home visits herself but as the program grew, we now have 4 trained EI staff who do these full-time. The frequency of visits depends on the assessed risk of each student, but is 1 to 3 times per month. With the parents, EI reviews the children’s schoolwork and discusses issues that might disrupt their child’s education like problems at school or at home. This is one of the forums where EI emphasizes the long-term benefits of education. Fostering relationships and trust with families opens the door to a deeper connection and allows EI and the family to create solutions to obstacles that arise which otherwise might lead to a child failing to graduate or dropping out.

Recently, Home Visits were lauded as the key innovation behind a US-based group that was referred to by the Huffington Post as “the most effective anti-poverty program in America.” Quoting from the above article: “People are most comfortable and most themselves at home. It’s most effective for working with children.” We are delighted that other groups with the same mission of helping children throughout the world have also invented this approach and we certainly agree with them!

Footnote: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/20/anti-poverty-programs_n_7087622.html

Our new 2015 University Students

Empowerment International — Mon, 11 May 2015 23:34:21 +0000

This year we are excited to have three more graduates of our program, Armando, Marluz, and Indiana, starting their college careers at the Universidad Politecnica de Nicaragua. Armando is studying product design, Marluz is studying law, and Indiana is studying marketing. So far they are all adjusting very well and are excelling in their studies.

This is such a transformation in this community, where it was previously considered rare and remarkable for students to graduate from high school, much less aspire to college degrees. Armando, Marluz, and Indiana are excellent role models for the younger children of the community. All three of them continue to intern at EI to give back the support they received and to help and inspire the younger children.

Kindles!!! A new fun way to read.

Empowerment International — Mon, 11 May 2015 23:30:36 +0000

We are excited to have received a generous donation of 10 Kindle e-readers to accompany our other 4 Kindles. This creates so many more opportunities for our kids. E-readers have many advantages over physical media for us.

Books are expensive in Nicaragua, and there are many free, or highly discounted, Spanish books available

Kids can now all read the same text at the same time in our reading groups (we hope to soon also bring the Kindles once a week to our small rural school in Santa Ana for the teachers to use).
Reading from electronic tablet-like devices is fun for kids and even more of a novelty than books, making it fun to read.

Thank you Jonna and Fraser Stanley Jones for making this happen!

Note: If you have a Kindle you are no longer using or would like to donate a new one as Jonna and Fraser did, you can mail them to Empowerment International, PO Box 1215, Lyons, CO 80540.

Little thing can mean so much to a lot of kids!

Empowerment International — Fri, 17 Apr 2015 02:16:37 +0000

Simple things like a backpack full of school supplies can really make our kids day! A small part of our program involves giving kids their school supplies and uniforms/shoes each year.

First Parent Meeting for 2015 Off to a Great Start

Empowerment International — Sat, 21 Mar 2015 19:17:53 +0000

PARENTS WERE EXCITED TO DISCUSS WHAT THINGS THEY SHOULD DO FOR THEIR KIDS AND WHAT THEIR KIDS RIGHTS WERE

Over the years we have learned the importance of parental involvement and buy in to move the children’s education forward. Thus we turned our parent meetings into a “Parent School”. Here they are given different perspectives on how they can parent differently. After many years in the community of Villa Esperanza they have proven to learn a lot and during the exercises they participate with unprecedented enthusiasm and wisdom. It won’t be long before they can teach our less development communities.

Melki Finishes on Top!

Empowerment International — Sat, 24 Jan 2015 06:31:00 +0000

Many of you who have been here over the years know Melki. He was with us for 8 years. He is a talented photographer, cyclist, soccer player, always number one in his class. Everything Melki does he does well. The amazing thing is he always remained humble and good natured. Sadly, a year ago, his father took him out of the program for various reasons. He was forced to finish school during Saturdays and work during the week at a local bakery, yet true to Melki’s character, he finished and finished on top. He graduated #1 in his class and this gives him a lot of opportunity for scholarships. Congratulations Melki! We know you will continue to move forward with your determination, perseverance and dedication. In our hearts you are always part of the EI family! Photo by Armando.

Another EI Student Graduates!

Empowerment International — Sun, 18 Jan 2015 06:25:00 +0000

19 year old Yuriel graduated from the nationally prestigious technical school, INTECNA. This was not an easy feat for him or EI. On more than one occasion he almost dropped out to help his family. Now he is moving forward and plans to study engineering. His biggest decision now is Electro-mechanical or Industrial Engineering. He has also been offered a job where he was interning and plans to work during the week and go to school on the weekends. Congratulations Yuriel!! And many thanks to his sponsor Tolo Perry.

— Empowerment International.

Starting out the New Year right!

Empowerment International — Wed, 14 Jan 2015 21:40:06 +0000

Starting 2015 on the right foot!

We did it! We met our challenge grant with SG Foundation. Thank you for helping us start our year out on the right foot!

Unexpected Result!

Empowerment International — Wed, 14 Jan 2015 01:58:01 +0000

Something happened in our program that we were not expecting. Our parents have started to go back to school on their own accord! Perla is our very first parent to take initiative and study at night. For the past month she has come to the education center to get help in math. She is so proud today because she graduated from primary school (6th grade). She plans to study math during the school break to prep for secondary school. At 29, a lot of her friends told her she was crazy and too old, but she did not let that stop her. Congratulations Perla!!! We are all so proud of you!!! You are an inspiration to all of us.

Against All Odds

Empowerment International — Tue, 23 Dec 2014 04:06:01 +0000

Picture this: a young woman in her graduation gown, her face bright, her smile wide, her steps confident as she gets ready to receive her graduation diploma.

Easy enough, you would say.

But what if we told you that this child was an orphan and worked as a street vendor and was not in school until eight years back?

This is the story of Marluz, one of Empowerment International kids.

Eight years ago, our program got Marluz off the streets and back in school. There were too many strikes against her already. She was older than her classmates, she had to spend far too much time as a street vendor after school, her father had passed away, and her mother was not always supportive of her educational efforts. But still, it was a start.

Then, six years ago, her mother passed away suddenly, leaving her an orphan at sixteen. With so much going downhill in her life, for the first year after her loss, Marluz was not able to pass the year. The year was full of distractions and even though we, at Empowerment International, supported her unconditionally, we were afraid she might not make it.

In spite of the problems and the struggles, we encouraged her and continued with our support. We never give up on our kids and this young woman proved through her renewed focus that she did not want to give up on the path of education she had begun. It was a rocky few years, but Marluz persevered.

And at long last, this month, all the hard work payed off. Marluz graduated from secondary school! She now plans to study finance in an excellent university in Managua.

Marluz has beaten all odds and has proved that with the right support and a strong mind, no goal is beyond reach. It is a story of perseverance and willingness to succeed.

Marluz is our success story and we are committed to bringing about as many successes as we can.

Your donation made before Jan. 1 will have extra impact to help a child!

Our graduation and retention rates are over 95 percent.
Please give 100 percent of these kids that opportunity to be the most likely to succeed.