Building New Hope

The Fair Trade Coffee Project continues to be a cornerstone of Building New Hope's work in Nicaragua and Pittsburgh. BNH supports the El Porvenir worker-owned cooperative in a variety of ways. Namely, BNH pays an above-fair trade price for organic coffee, and honors fair trade practices of pre-paying a significant part of the harvest so the farmers can avoid going into debt. BNH also provides funding for special projects. This past year additional funds were provided for the cooperative to repair their water tanks, which are essential to the community's drinking water and to irrigation of crops, thus critical to their livelihood. Support was also offered to the community to help them with bird-friendly certification for the coffee farm. Building New Hope also provides an education fund for the community, which the members of the cooperative direct. These funds are used to provide access to high school education, which otherwise would not be available, and to support college education for youth from the community who are selected by the cooperative. At present, university students are studying business, nursing and engineering; in exchange for scholarships, students are expected to return to the community and to apply their knowledge. At present one previous recipient who studied education is employed as the grade school teacher, serving as a great inspiration to younger children in the community. School supplies such as notebooks are also provided twice a year. Further, occasional medical support is provided to the cooperative, namely in the form of medicine and medical supplies that are directly donated to the community by BNH.

Escuelita Yo Puedo is a supplemental school providing educational support to approximately fifty children of elementary and middle school ages; students come from a diverse set of neighborhoods, including la Sabaneta, which is a poor neighborhood on the outskirts of the city. Students receive curricular reinforcement for their regular studies, with focus and attention being given to their homework, assignment and test preparation in order to ensure their success in public school. Students also receive support in the form of school supplies at the start of each semester. School programming also incorporates activities throughout the year to enrich the curriculum, including arts workshops, poetry workshops and a field trip to a cultural site. Teachers also plan cultural activities in conjunction with parents and students, for example teaching students traditional songs and dances which they perform for their families and friends in a recital outside of regular school hours. Parents attend monthly meetings with the teachers, and are expected to actively support their children's education. Teachers at EYP this year also participated in workshops run by the Ministry of Education and a local literacy program. This provides them with opportunities to continue their professional development.