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This scholarship program was
developed in response to the concerns of families in Las Marias
and the visit of an ex-Peace Corps Volunteer. During this
visit the state of primary school education in Las Marias
was discussed with a variety of community members. Much concern
was expressed about the poor attitudes and behaviors of teachers
assigned to their remote community school. The
parents determined that the principle causes of these teachers
not fulfilling their duties were 1) they were fresh out of
school and too inexperienced or 2) they were assigned to the
remote location as a punishment for poor behavior in other
schools and they did not want to live and work in the community.
As a result, over the past six years
teachers have spent between 30 and 50 percent of the time
that should have been dedicated to teaching duties outside
of the community. These teachers
have demonstrated very little dedication to the community
and her children. The students have suffered as a result and
no lobbying of the regional superintendent has produced any
significant change.
As an alternative to this continuing
problem, one potential solution was discussed: the formation
of teachers from the community who could return and
dedicate themselves to improving the quality of education
in the community. Unfortunately, there are very few
opportunities for children to continue with their studies
beyond sixth grade. This is due to the distance between the
community and secondary educational institutions and limited
financial resources of parents within the communty.
Although many parents wish to support
the continuing education of their children, the logistical
and financial obstacles are insurmountable. As the desire
to form teachers from the community was discussed, the subject
that there are no professionals of any kind in the community
(such as biologists or agronomists) was also touched upon.
The parents felt that such trained individuals would be indispensable
in the community to address the needs of managing wildlife,
ecotourism, and agriculture.
The ECOS Río
Plátano scholarship program was developed by
the parents of Las Marias through a facilitated process that
began in November of 2000 and was completed April 22, 2001.
The parents met twice in formal meetings to develop the details
of the plan. During the final meeting, the parents signed
a document stating that they were committed to making the
program work and to rewarding those deserving students in
their community. It is their hope that those individuals who
know Las Marias or who are committed to supporting indigenous
education will involve themselves with ECOS
Río Plátano
as donors. It is also hoped that tourists and tourism agencies
can become supporters of the scholarship program as well.
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