Anyelo was a softspoken star among the graduates. He is studying to be a pharmacist, while also returning to tutor younger children in his neighborhood as a way to pay back what he has been given by Empowerment International. He and other kids like him are dedicated students whose parents or who themselves never could have envisioned a life beyond poverty before Empowerment offered them encouragement and support.

The EI model makes sense to me, a retired teacher.
Help children get to school with the required uniforms and supplies.
Work closely with their families, who often have little or no education and who rely on their children to help earn a living for the family, often at the expense of school attendance or completion beyond the elementary grades.
Provide after-school tutoring programs, conducted by both staff and some of the older students.
Engage kids in extracurricular activities that promote health and self-confidence. Connect graduates with higher education and training opportunities.

One goal of the Empowerment program has been to simply keep kids in school, and for the last two years they have been able to do that at a rate above 90%, despite the pressures of poverty and culture that pull about half of all students out of school after the primary grades in the country as a whole. I saw those pressures in the small rural schools I visited on my first trip to Nicaragua in 2005. Students there were eager to learn. But isolation, parents’ lack of education, skepticism about the value of school, and only intermittent contact with a supporting nonprofit all combined to make it difficult for children to stay in school.

EI, on the other hand, has been successful because staff live and work in the communities they serve.  Daily contact with students and families make the difference.  That was very apparent as children and parents came out to greet our group of students and EI staff members as we walked through the Barrio.

Our family’s involvement with EI started on the recommendation of a friend, Morgan Smith, in 2008.  After meeting founder, Kathy Adams, at a celebration and fund-raising event in Boulder, Colorado, we began sponsoring students in Barrio Esperanza.  For a modest monthly contribution, we were assured that these children would have the support they needed to stay in school and to develop academic and life goals.  And that has been the case.

Plus, EI has been wonderful about negotiating letter writing between us and the students we sponsor.  The icing on the cake is that I have been able to visit these children and their families twice, now.

This year, my visit really did feel like a homecoming. One of the students we sponsor, 6th grader Maria Dolores, shy but all smiles, invited me into her shanty and brought me a chair.  On the way to see her, I had passed her mother and father atop a horse drawn cart full of reed mats they make, on their way to Managua to sell them.

Maria and I had exchanged letters several times and so our conversation covered familiar topics – school and family and what she hoped for her future.  She couldn’t let me leave without a hug and a photo, many thank you’s and a promise to study hard.

A few hundred yards down the road, I stopped to visit another of our students, Katerine, a second grader, who came running from a friend’s house and latched onto my waist in a bear hug.  She couldn’t wait to show me her report card and a medal she had won in school.  The previous year just days before my visit, her mother had lost her job at a local maquiladora.  This year she was again without employment, but had been able to spend a few months working in Costa Rica. Life here is very difficult, she told me, but I know that Katerine will have better chances than I did.

EI’s programs are transforming lives in Nicaragua. My involvement with EI has helped me to understand how powerfully they represent a much-needed positive image of America-as partners in the construction of a better world. My wife and I support education-related non-profits in the U.S., but we are also committed to spending our time and talent abroad.

As travelers we know firsthand the importance of sharing our lives and stories with the people we meet. A world of strangers teeters always on the brink of misunderstanding and conflict. Even a modest effort to communicate with people beyond our own country helps us feel we can be at home anywhere.

Having seen their work firsthand I can say that Empowerment International is a trustworthy, effective organization. Even if you never have the chance to visit Nicaragua and its friendly people, you are making friends and representing your country by financially supporting EI’s work. If you are lucky enough to see that work in person, it will feel like a homecoming, not just a visit.

~ Alan Olds (Denver and DC)

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In Nicaragua 50% of the kids that start 1st grade never finish 5th grade. It is our goal to make this percentage drop significantly.

$30/month is what it takes us at Empowerment International to put a child in school. If you would like to help a child stay in school and get better life, please click on the link below or contact us -

Tobias, who is a teacher in Mühlematt-Schulhaus (Mühlematt School) in the city of Binnigen in north west Switzerland, was very impressed with EI’s work. He promised he would try to do something for EI with his class kids once he was back. And now, it’s not just his class kids but the whole school that is involved in raising funds for EI!

Till date the children have raised $962 and intend to continue doing the same. They are also sponsoring Ericka who is in 6^th grade and want to keep in touch with the kids through Skype.

Tobias started the Empowerment project by first informing all his colleagues in school and asking for their support. The response he got was super positive, thus making the project official. Next, he introduced the project to his students, showing them the pictures he had taken during his visit to Granada. He informed them about the problems EI kids faced and the possibilities they could have with better education. Their responses and questions showed real empathy and Tobias says that to see their emotions was often very overwhelming.

Each class signed a paper and the students put their signatures on it to express their personal support for this education project. Also, each class supported Tobias to build up a “Money-Meter”, which is a five-meter high construction made out of a giant plastic tube. This replaced the Christmas tree so everyone could see how much money had been collected.

In fact, so committed have the students become to EI’s cause that for the first time in school’s history, every student is working on the same project.

The money was raised through various methods like sandwich selling and sponsored running. There were also donations from individuals and the local church. For near future, the school has planned to put this charity project online on its homepage.

We are very grateful to Tobias and all the children who have been so supportive of our cause. These children have worked hard to help kids they have never met. It is amazing to see them being incredibly sensitive to the plight of kids living far away from their country. Here is hoping our Swiss connection gets even stronger!

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In Nicaragua 50% of the kids that start 1st grade never finish 5th grade. It is our goal to make this percentage drop significantly.

$30/month is what it takes us at Empowerment International to put a child in school. If you would like to help a child stay in school and get better life, please click on the link below or contact us -

Upon arrival to Nicaragua, I knew at once that I was in for more than I bargained, for better or worse.  I quickly realized how poor my Spanish was, and was adjusting to the constant heat and humidity when a powerful storm knocked out the power and water for the better part of three days.  This native West Virginian, accustomed to mild weather and constant water and electricity, was quickly finding how different Nicaragua is from the US.

Despite my misgivings, the first time I set foot in the EI office, I knew it was going to be a great experience.  The children were warm, friendly, and greeted me with “Buenas dias!” and a smile.  I started giving classes in math, physics and English to the teens in secondary school, and was excited to see how fast they picked up new concepts.

I began with basics, which many severely lacked, and we slowly worked our way up over the next month to material within their grade and indeed beyond.  Now most are confident with their school work, and have learned to incorporate old concepts into new material, an extremely important part of math. Now Maycol, a teen tutor, gives my Spanish an encouraging 40% and I’m able to give class without reaching for a Spanish-English dictionary every couple minutes.

The most rewarding thing about my work here is seeing the children learn and grow even in the short time I am here.  To see such bright, friendly, caring children come out of a place as destitute as the barrio in which they live is moving and inspiring beyond words.  Empowerment International is giving children the chance to break the cycle of poverty and unconcern for education, and I am thrilled to be a part of it.

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In Nicaragua 50% of the kids that start 1st grade never finish 5th grade. It is our goal to make this percentage drop significantly.

$30/month is what it takes us at Empowerment International to put a child in school. If you would like to help a child stay in school and get better life, please click on the link below or contact us -

Here they share their experiences while in Nicaragua with us –

“Nicaragua is like no other country we have ever visited; the people  are warm and the landscape is beautiful, but the challenges are many.

The first thing that hit us as we drove through heavy downpour from Managua to Granada on the night of our arrival in Nicaragua, was that this was neither going to be an ordinary nor an easy experience.

Of course, as two English speaking climate and culture-shocked Canadians, we were nervous the first day as we walked to the Empowerment International office to meet the 10 children who had signed up to take a week long photography course with us.

We had thought that we were heading into the office too early that morning, but many of the children were already waiting for us there when we arrived, and they were eager to get started. They greeted us with big smiles, plenty of curiosity, and an instant desire to get involved in helping us set up in any way that they could.

They lent a hand in setting up a workroom for us and we could feel the level of excitement in the room mounting as we unpacked the new cameras that had been donated to the program by our friends and colleagues in Canada. All of the students were eager to have a chance to examine the new digital cameras they would soon have the chance to use.

Throughout the week-long course we had the opportunity to see Granada through the eyes of the students as we accompanied them to various sites around the city armed with cameras and eager to shoot. We were impressed to see the skills the students possessed, and marveled at how quickly they caught on to the new concepts we were teaching them.

All of the students shot with confidence, unafraid to try the new techniques they were learning, and the beautiful images they began to capture reflected this instantly.

As the days wore on our nerves calmed as we learned that the kids were open to learning from us although we did not share their native tongue. With help from translators (few of who were students in the program itself) we were able to share our knowledge with the students, and learn first hand
about their world.

We felt honoured by the constant enthusiasm, dedication, and patience they demonstrated while working with us, and we were blown away by the quality of work they produced during our short time together.

It became clear to us very quickly that some of the students possessed a raw talent and keen eye for photography.

This natural talent, when coupled with unbridled enthusiasm, resulted in the creation of some truly beautiful images.

We were most impressed by the eagerness the children showed both to learn as well as to teach. We were able to pass on some of our knowledge about the art and business of photography, and they were willing to open up to us to teach us about their language, culture and community.

One of the main highlights for us occurred near the end of our time in Granada when we were accompanied on a walk through the barrio by a few of the students in the program.

They invited us into their homes, introduced us to their families, fed us, and gave us a tour of their community.

We were humbled by the realities of the lives of the children we had had the opportunity to teach, and grateful for their willingness to allow us into their worlds. Seeing first hand the difficulties that these children face on a daily basis made us more fully appreciate their dedication and commitment to learning.

When it came time to say our goodbyes we couldn’t help but wish we had more time to spend with the students, as each one of them truly touched
our hearts.”

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In Nicaragua 50% of the kids that start 1st grade never finish 5th grade. It is our goal to make this percentage drop significantly.

$30/month is what it takes us at Empowerment International to put a child in school. If you would like to help a child stay in school and get better life, please click on the link below or contact us -

This is what parents of Empowerment International kids feel now.

Proud that their children are working so hard, studying so well and achieving several firsts (in education) in their families.

Happy to see their kids happy in their new hobbies like photography and baseball that inculcate creativity and discipline in them.

Content knowing that their children will unquestionably have easier lives than themselves with better education and higher self-esteems thus giving them independence. 

One mother states that she is happy every time she sees her son behave in a more loving and obedient manner. She credits EI’s programs like the photography program for these positive changes. For most parents, the fact that their kids are not roaming about aimlessly on streets or getting into destructive fights or habits is itself a source of contentment.

Another source of great pride for parents is to see their older children give tutorial classes to the younger kids. This fosters independence and a helping attitude, certain to give them strong leverage in adulthood.

The 97% retention rate that EI’s program boasted in 2009 speaks of the high level of commitment from not only the kids but also their parents who do everything in their power to keep the children in school.To further show their commitment, this year, all the EI kids and parents signed a contract pledging to work together with EI to build a better future for the community.

Now, the community itself is ready to  take ownership and manage the process. The parents always turn out in huge numbers to volunteer for any program or activity, especially the beginning of the school year preparations when uniforms , books and other supplies need to be packed for more than 200 students!

Excited. Hopeful. Honored.

This is what we at EI feel when parents respond with cheer for our program. As one parent put it, “I never thought my child would ever have such opportunities in life”.

We, in turn, are excited that change is finally taking place, hopeful that this positive momentum will continue unabated and honored that the community has accepted us with such understanding and support.

- Neha Singh

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In Nicaragua 50% of the kids that start 1st grade never finish 5th grade. It is our goal to make this percentage drop significantly.

$30/month is what it takes us at Empowerment International to put a child in school. If you would like to help a child stay in school and get better life, please click on the link below or contact us -

Volunteers have always been the backbone of the American society and not much would have been possible without them – be it church activities, community events or non-profit work.

More and more people are discovering the joys of volunteering today. A recent report by the the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor has indicated that about 61.8 million people, or 26.4 percent of the population volunteered at least once between between September 2007 and September 2008 and the average volunteer spent about 52 hours working for their cause during that time.

In retrospect, I realize that while helping the non-profits in whatever small way that I could, I have myself been immensely benefited.  Apart from the obvious benefits of meeting new people and gaining work experience, helping others gives me a feeling of gratification. It reminds me of the answer that renowned psychologist Dr. Karl Menninger had given when he was asked what advice he would give to someone who is on verge of a nervous breakdown and Dr. Menninger replied, “I would advice the person to lock home, go to the other side of the town, find someone in need and help that person. By doing that we get out of our own way.”

I can’t help but completely agree with Dr. Menninger. The fact that I can make a difference in someone else’s life often makes me feel happy and gives me a sense of fulfillment. It  is immensely satisfying to serve people and at the same time I get an opportunity to get away from my daily routine.

Wherever you go, whichever country you live in, you can find someone who needs who needs your help. Volunteering through a non-profit is an easy and organized way of giving back to the community. It may not be the highest paying job, but at the end of the day, it is a satisfying one and you know you are helping people. I think that’s what keeps us going, knowing that we’re making a difference.

- Shamala Pulugurtha

In Nicaragua 50% of the kids that start 1st grade never finish  5th grade. It is our goal to make this percentage drop significantly.

$30/month is what it takes us at Empowerment International to put a child in school. If you would like to help a child stay in school and get better life, please click on the link below or contact us -

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The survey of over 900 nonprofits found that only 12 percent of the organizations expect to operate above break-even, compared with 40 percent reported last year. Just 16 percent anticipate being able to cover their operating expenses in both 2009 and 2010. Obviously, nonprofits are experiencing huge challenges due to the economic crisis.

With corporations and foundations facing losses from the stock market plunge, many are cutting back or halting their usual charitable giving. And with considerable job losses around the nation, individual giving forecasts are unclear. In an end of the year survey covered in The NonProfit Times, more than 40 percent of organizations said that they’re seeing smaller gifts and fewer individual donors. At a time when needs are greater and resources are less, the economic downturn has affected nonprofits in a range of ways.

As a repercussion of the reduced giving due to the slower economy, many nonprofits are forced to make budget and program cuts. Many are also freezing hiring or laying off staff members, in some cases with workforce-reduction percentages in the double digits. In an end of the year survey reported in The NonProfit Times, 40 percent of organizations said they did worse in 2008 compared to the year before, and 41 percent said about the same. Less than twenty percent said they did better in 2008 than 2007.

But even with all of these discouraging economic reports, there is some hopeful news as well.

A Chronicle of Philanthropy survey in March revealed that a majority of Americans who give to charity still plan to donate as much this year as they have in the past. Fifty-two percent of donors said their gifts would be the same as 2008. Only 17.5 percent said they’d give less, and with 30 percent undecided, there is room for people to recognize the importance of giving in hard times.

Many people struggling in this economic crisis themselves are realizing that there are plenty of others out there who need help now more than ever. Of those who planned to give at least as much in 2009, 50 percent said they were willing to make compromises in other areas of their life to do so.

Nonprofits can also benefit from people who aren’t able to contribute financially right now, but perhaps instead could volunteer their time and skills. On March 15 the New York Times covered “the growing army of the newly unemployed that have been marching into the offices of nonprofit organizations since the recession hit, looking to do some good, and maybe network a little.”

For those who have already experienced job losses due to the economic crisis, volunteering can help them make contacts that could lead to a new job, as well as fill the hours they used to be at the office. And for professionals worried about job security, it’s a great way to stay involved and brush up your skills while benefiting your community.

- Francesca Dalleo

In Nicaragua 50% of the kids that start 1st grade never finish  5th grade. It is our goal to make this percentage drop significantly.

$30/month is what it takes us at Empowerment International to put a child in school. If you would like to help a child stay in school and get better life, please click on the link below or contact us -

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Most parents feel that by sending their children to school they have ensured that children get complete education. But what if the school does not succeed in inspiring students to learn? What if the classrooms are cramped with too many children and with just a few overworked teachers to manage them? What if the lessons taught in classroom cannot be revised or explained at home due to lack of suitable guidance from parents?

Empowerment International struggled with the same issues recently, realizing that many of the program participants were not receiving an adequate education.

When Kathy Adams (Empowerment International’s founder and director) discovered that many kids who were regularly attending primary school failed to read as well as they were expected to, she decided to expand EI’s scope of work further. A tutoring program for many of the kids was needed in order to help above and beyond the school teachings.  However, lack of enough funding and resources were serious limitations and more people could not be hired. Also, foreign volunteers were only short term and not sustainable and private school was not an option due to the economic downturn and difficulty in getting more donations.

That is when the idea hit her. The students in secondary school could tutor the ones in primary school! However, she was apprehensive about the willingness of the already overworked teenagers to put in time for tutoring.  EI had a new pilot program in which 9 students of various academic levels were being sent to a private high school and in turn were expected to put in about an hour of voluntary work in the afternoons. These students eagerly agreed to their role as tutors.

However more tutors for the morning hours were required. What then happened was heartwarming! Half of the  secondary school students from EI’s general program agreed to help teach the children in the morning hours in spite of the fact that several also had to  work in the mornings. Thus commenced EI’s new tutoring program.

Today, teenagers excitedly and punctually come to the EI office where they teach the little ones the intricacies of math tables and correct spellings and pronunciations. They are patient and supremely proud of their new roles as tutors. Their parents are even prouder of the new task their children have chosen. The primary school kids are learning fast because of the one-on-one attention they get from their budding tutors. Currently 20 teenagers tutor around 62 children and they love it!

But then this is what EI envisioned for the children and community of Villa Esperanza in Nicaragua. It was a hope that one day, the children who get educated through the program take up the leadership and challenge of educating and improving their community. The success of the tutoring program seems like a giant step in that direction.

- Neha Singh

In Nicaragua 50% of the kids that start 1st grade never finish  5th grade. It is our goal to make this percentage drop significantly.

$30/month is what it takes us at Empowerment International to put a child in school. If you would like to help a child stay in school and get better life, please click on the link below or contact us -

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“We visited Granada recently and were moved by touring the barrio and meeting the children and their families. The city changes slowly, bit by bit, as you walk out from the center toward the edge.

On the surface, colonial buildings give way to more modern but good concrete homes; then solid wood and metal homes; then salvaged wood and scrap metal homes; and finally homes made of the most basic materials.  By the time we reached the edge of town, we watched a beautiful sunset in a field behind a house made of sticks and plastic sheets.

Despite the decreasing material wealth the farther we went, our feelings were not of sorrow or despair but of hope and promise.  The spirit of the people and the sense of community were moving and powerful.  We spoke with a young boy who, with raw sewage flowing down the street alongside his bare feet, told us that his favorite class was math and that he wanted to be an engineer.  We met a father of a child in the program who, as he was telling us his very insightful ideas for keeping teenagers engaged in school, carefully tied the shoelaces of his young daughter’s Mickey Mouse doll to her delight.  We met teenaged girls who were engaged in school and had grown from that commitment who hoped to help others stay engaged as well.

The parents care deeply for the children and the community cares deeply that the children attend and succeed in school.  It was clear to us that the community-based approach of Empowerment International was building success with success; as more children went to school, more people placed more value on schooling.  We met people who were empowered, who had a sense of hope grounded in confidence in their own self-worth and in their own abilities to improve their situation, and who worked in the present while looking to the future.  All of this has been achieved not with a top-down injection of masses of money but by a bottom-up approach that helps people find in themselves the ability to make things better.  We left the barrio feeling young.”

– Jamie McCaughey and Emma Hill

In Nicaragua 50% of the kids that start 1st grade never finish  5th grade. It is our goal to make this percentage drop significantly.

$30/month is what it takes us at Empowerment International to put a child in school. If you would like to help a child stay in school and get better life, please click on the link below or contact us -

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Here, schools often do not provide any extra curricular activity for students who are thus forced to find other distractions. Unfortunately, these distractions may take the form of drugs, gangs and violence, all of which are common in the slums.

To keep themselves away from poor choices and to temporarily escape their harsh realities, these children need positive motivations.

EI focuses primarily on helping the children get educated an works on  keeping them  motivated with other  interesting pursuits. Photography classes, started a couple of years back, have been a huge success with EI kids.

However, a more active pursuit seems to suit more then a  few of the students here! So, volunteers Patrick and Melissa Chiappetta started a baseball program that will be run by a volunteer father in our community once they leave in November.

We are thrilled to introduce this exciting new program for the kids.

And as expected, the children are loving it! The main criteria for participating in the baseball program is that the kids must be in our program and have excellent school attendance.  While it is co-ed, most of the interested students are male.

We will soon be telling you a lot more about our new program. The whole EI team is incredibly excited about it!

- Neha Singh

In Nicaragua 50% of the kids that start 1st grade never make it to 5th grade. It is our goal to make this percentage drop significantly.

$30/month is what it takes us at Empowerment International to put a child in school. If you would like to help a child stay in school and get better life, please click on the link below or contact us -