The Lacewing Foundation | www.lacewingfoundation.org

Las Marias School Visit and Scholarship Program
TRIP REPORT: Submitted by Deidra Wager, October 21-27, 2007

Background
Las Marias School is located in the Jinotega department in Northwest Nicaragua. This remote area grows 80% of the coffee in Nicaragua and has a population of 88,000 people. Starbucks Coffee Company has been supporting Las Marias elementary school since 2000 through the “Adopt a School” program established by Dania Baltodano, Executive Director of Mercon Coffee Group - Origin. Las Marias is one of 16 schools currently in the program that she has set up with several of the companies that purchase green coffee from CISA Exportadora, the first member of Mercon Coffee Group. Facilitators from CISA Exportadora’s social program department support the implementation of improvements, including teacher training, hygiene and environment campaigns, donation of school supplies, and infrastructure projects such as bathrooms, running water and kitchens.

Scholarship Program
Mary Williams, president of The Lacewing Foundation selected CISA Exportadora and Dania Baltodano as partners for the first scholarship program because of their longstanding professional and personal relationship. The program objective is to improve the education and technical abilities of scholarship recipients allowing them to return to their communities and support improvement of living conditions there. It covers five years of technical school where students receive a high school diploma and training in technical skills such as accounting, computer operations or administration. The cost is $2000 per year per student and that includes tuition, books and supplies, uniforms, transportation and room and board. The students live in La Reforma Arriba which is 45 kilometers away from the city of Jinotega, where is located Juan Pablo II high school -- the high school selected that offers vocational careers. Just getting there is simply beyond a family's transportation means.

Wilmer Jose Paz Chavarria and Ottoniel Contreras Rodriguez were in their final exams of their first year when Mary and I arrived at the school on Monday, October 22 with Dania and Martha Moreno, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Assistant and Nayibe Montenegro, Adopt a School Program Facilitator.

Wilmer and Ottoniel on the school grounds. Left to Right: unknown student, Nayibe Montenegro, Senora Chavarria, Dania Baltodano, Wilmer, Mary Williams, Deidra Wager and Ottoniel.Wilmer and Ottoniel on the school grounds. Left to Right: unknown student, Nayibe Montenegro, Senora Chavarria, Dania Baltodano, Wilmer, Mary Williams, Deidra Wager and Ottoniel.

Wilmer and Ottoniel were top finishers in their class this first year and were very excited to be scholarship students. We had a chance to see the home where the boys are boarding, sharing a small space behind a curtain in the home of Wilmer’s aunt.

Dania Baltodano and her team in front of Juan Pablo II high school in Jinotega. Left to Right: Alfonso Gonzalez, Dania Baltodano, Mary Williams,Nayibe Montenegro and Senora Chavarria.

The Juan Pablo II High school in Jinotega where the boys attend has 70 students, down from a high of 120 a few years ago. Dania and her team are researching this decline in enrollment.

The school has been run by a Catholic nun for the last 20 years. The grounds were clean and well maintained and the other students were interested in us. We met several of the girls who live in an orphanage in town.

There are six potential students for Lacewing Foundation to consider for next year including three girls. The CISA Exportadora social projects team is evaluating the candidates and selections will be made before the start of the new school year in February.

Las Marias School Sets a High Standard for Community Involvement and Educational Accomplishments

Las Marias students hard at work. Starbucks Coffee Company has supported the school since 2000.

On Tuesday, October 23 we drove two hours out of the town of Jinotega on mud roads to visit the Las Marias School. We spent a wonderful day visiting the students, delivering school supplies and hearing the history of the school. Many people from the community turned out for games in the afternoon. Our favorite was the coffee sack race!

Opportunity to Expand our Support to the School on the Santa Rita Coffee Estate
On Wednesday, October 24 we visited another school on a beautiful coffee estate called Santa Rita. The school as overcrowded and the preschool children were huddled under an awning behind the main classroom building. We discussed our observations with Dania and asked her to make a proposal for Lacewing Foundation to provide support to that school.

A Quick Stop in Guatemala to Visit Las Nubes
On our way back to the US we stopped off in Guatemala to visit Mary’s partners in the coffee farm Las Nubes. She is part owner of this special farm. We spent a night at the farm and toured up to the highest point where coffee grows. There is future opportunity to support the clinic and/or school at the farm.

Conclusion
The first year of the scholarship program with CISA Exportadora is successful due to the following factors:

Careful screening and selection of the students, including psychological and academic testing.
Ongoing support from the CISA Exportadora Adopt a School Program Facilitator to the students, and their families.
Commitment and support from the families of the students.
Personal commitment and follow up from the Executive Director of Mercon Coffee Group -- Origin, Dania Baltodano and her team.