SIT AND LEARN PROGRAM PROVIDES DESKS FOR NEEDY NICARAGUAN STUDENTS
Food For The Poor Collects And Distributes Desks Around This Central American Country

By Michael Ireland
Chief Correspondent, ASSIST News Service

LOS BRASILES, NICARAGUA  (ANS) -- The Sit and Learn Program sponsored by the Miami-based international Christian relief agency Food For The Poor recently donated 200 desks to a needy school in Nicaragua. (Pictured: Lilliam Arguello addresses the children who received the desks).

This program was initiated in 1999 to rehabilitate low-income schools with desks and other primary equipments, in response to the high deficit of the country’s equipment supply. The need is evident as children are sitting on the floor, in cement blocks or in desks that are in bad condition.

The desks are collected by Food For The Poor and distributed in Nicaragua by the American Nicaraguan Foundation. The ANF is searching for the transportation funds for distribution. With the help of the Nicaraguan private sector, ANF hopes to distribute more than 15,000 desks in the year 2002.

In one specific case, PETRONIC, the Nicaraguan Petroleum Distribution, Inc company will contribute to the distribution of 2,000 desks to 17 poor schools in Managua, Masatepe, Chinandega, San Rafael del Norte, Granada, Matagalpa, Bluefields, Puerto Cabezas and others.

The first donation took place June 6 at Jose Dolores Estrada School, located at Los Brasiles, 16 Km. from Carretera Nueva Leon, and was attended by Viceminister of Education Myriam de Bandes and representatives of PETRONIC. The educational center has a student body of 630, among which are preschoolers and primary students. The center received 200 desks, which will contribute to better education, and more motivation.  (Pictured: Some of the students attend the presentation ceremony).

According to Lilliam Argüello, General Manager of the American-Nicaraguan Foundation, “The objective of the foundation is to reduce the number of students in classes who are sitting on the floor or on cement blocks, or are sitting at desks in terrible condition. The desks donated through ANF are collected by Food For The Poor throughout the United States, and are distributed in Nicaragua with the assistance of Petronic.”

Addressing the assembled students, José García Casas, General Manager of Petronic, said: “We are aware of the deficit and it is for that reason that we support the program. We will continue to help in any what we can so that the children can attend classes in a decent manner.”

Victoria Bonilla, principal of the Jose Dolores Estrada School, commented: “We had many children who sat on the floor because of a lack of desks, but thank God this has now changed. The children now all have desks. We promise that the children will take good care of the desks so that they will not have to sit on the floor again.”  (Pictured:  Nicaraguan student tries out one of the new desks donated to the Jose Dolores Estrada school).

The American Nicaraguan Foundation has plans to distribute 15,000 desks in 17 school districts, including Managua, Masatepe, El Crucero, Chinandega, Matagalpa, Granada, Puerto Cabezas, Niquinohomo and Matiguás, among others.

Food For The Poor (FFP), the 4th largest international charity in the U.S., is a Christian relief and development organization that has developed a fhighly efficient strategy for aiding the destitute of the Caribbean and Latin America.

In the last 20 years, with the partnership of its many donors, FFP has shipped over $1 billion in aid to the region ($273 million in 2001). FFP provides emergency relief assistance, education, housing, health care, sustainable development, and micro-enterprise development assistnce to hundreds of thousands of the poorest of the poor in the region.

FFP generates 90% of the aid it delivers from the private sector and maintains a low overhead ratio of under 10%.

Visit their website at http://www.foodforthepoor.org.