In December 2016 and January 2017 (the winter and summer holidays in Nicaragua), CGTEN-Anden organised a summer school in La Dalia for two groups of 30 children who left school early or are at risk of dropping out of school.
" Many parents take their children to work during the holidays, sometimes in coffee plantations located in other regions. Sometimes, the children do not come back in time for the start of the school year and thus begins a process of early school leaving, explained Bernarda López, the project's national coordinator within CGTEN-Anden. Our members have organised themselves: each teacher taught a day of summer school, sometimes with help from parent volunteers. Thanks to this project supported by EI, we were able to give each participant a small snack. The children's days consisted of games, dancing, storytelling, a fun method for learning math, etc."
The experiment was very positive: 14 children (including 9 girls) who had never been in school enrolled in the school after participating in the summer activities, and all the children at risk of dropping out continued their schooling. " Since the start of the school year, we have noted an improvement in the grades of the children who attended the summer school, in particular because they came into contact with other teachers during the summer", concluded Bernarda López.