A visit to scholarship recipients in La Loma
by Cody Rothschild
Intern and study tour participant
Halfway into this year’s WCCN women’s empowerment study tour, group participants visited the rural town of Malpaisillo, Nicaragua, and the Xochilt Acalt Women’s Center. Xochilt Acalt, which was named after a powerful indigenous chief’s wife, works with women of all ages in surrounding areas to promote citizen participation so they can organize and campaign for their rights independent of Xochilt Acalt’s help. It also provides agricultural instruction and youth and adult gender training. Additionally, it runs a free clinic in the town center that offers gynecological services and family planning education.
After a brief introduction of a few of the members of Xochilt Acalt at its meeting center, the study tour headed out to an even more remote community called La Loma. Upon arriving, we were greeted by about 20 young women in a small, open-air gathering room decorated with balloons, streamers, welcome signs in English and a few dance presentations. These young women, who range in age from 13 to 26, have regular meetings with the women of Xochilt Acalt and learn about sexual, reproductive and gender education, about their rights as women, and about the different forms of abuse.
Most of the girls that met with us benefit from the WCCN-Xochilt Acalt scholarship program initiated in 2007, which provides funds to cover the annual fees of going to secondary school and university. These fees include everything from school uniforms and transportation to supplies and registration costs. The young women were very thankful to WCCN and the participants on the study tour for our interest and generous financial assistance. However, they also spoke freely about their desire to learn basic skills and experiment with the Internet, as almost none of them had ever had that opportunity and the older ones that are currently enrolled in university said that their chances to use computers at the university were minimal. The university students also mentioned their concern about not being able to complete their university studies because, right now, the scholarship program does not pay for the final six components required to receive their diploma, which each cost US$100.
These young women were incredibly inspiring to me. They are struggling to overcome deeply embedded cultural gender beliefs, and to learn more about their rights and their bodies. Also, because they live in such a remote community, they must, or will eventually have to, travel for two hours each way in order to attend university in León. It would be a shame if, after all they went through to get close to finishing university, they could not get their diplomas because of a few fees. It is because of my encounter with these bright and optimistic young women that I want to bring this issue to the attention of others and try to raise the money necessary to allow them to accomplish their goal of graduating university. If you would like to make a donation to this cause, you can do so by visiting WCCN’s website at www.wccnica.org or by using the reply form on page 11 and indicate that you would like your donation to be used for the Xochilt Acalt Scholarship Program.
Photo by Carlos Arenas.