Here in El Salvador, public high school and university are free. However, the staggering majority of students stop studying after 9th grade (if not earlier). Why? A combination of reasons. But mostly, it is that families cannot afford to not have their children working and bringing in money, and on top of that they can't afford to pay for their child's transportation and school supplies. Therefore, thousands of kids who want to continue studying are missing out every year. In combat of this, Peace Corps El Salvador has a committee called Women and Youth in Development (WYD), which grants high school and university scholarships of $250 and $450 respectively per year to outstanding applicants who demonstrate academic prowess and financial need. Scholarship recipients go through a rigorous application process that involves many essays, recommendations from professors, and a financial need assessment. As you may know, this year I inherited a WYD scholar, Sofia, from the volunteer who was in the site over from mine. Sofia is incredibly intelligent, shy, funny, and beautiful. If it weren't for WYD, Sofia would be working full time in a pupuseria and helping her mom around the house. Instead, she is about to enter her second year of high school with plans to attend university after that. Please consider donating to the WYD scholarship fund this holiday season so that the committee can grant more scholarships to deserving kids like Sofia all over El Salvador. It is tax deductible and every little bit counts.
Merry Christmas! :)
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| Volunteers and WYD scholars at the WYD camp in December |
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