Providing Educational Opportunities
Otates y Cantarranas, which translates to “Bamboo and Singing Frogs,” is the small rural farming town which is the historic center of population closest to Playa Las Tortugas. According to the 1990 census there were 184 homes in Otates y Cantarranas, with 829 inhabitants, 402 of them male and 427 female.
On the 4th of July, 2002 the “Escuela Telesecundaria” (secondary school with classes mainly given via television) of Otates y Cantarranas celebrated the graduation of its Class of 2002. There were a total of 14 graduates, including eight girls and six boys, completing the equivalent of what we might call junior high school in the United States.
Of the 14 graduates, only six (all girls) went on to the next level called “preparatory school,” equivalent to senior high school in the U.S. The boys had gone in search of work, having reached the age of 14 or 15 years and under pressure from their families and peers to help with the cost of maintaining the family. Some went to work as helpers for their fathers as brick and stone masons, while others work mostly as field and ranch hands earning possibly $150 pesos per day with typically no health or other benefits. To the best of our knowledge, only three students from the previous graduating class of 2001 had continued their studies.
Many families in Otates y Cantarranas subsist on an income of some $900 to $1000 pesos per week, slightly less than $400 USD per month or $4800 USD per year. Since there is no preparatory school (senior high school) in Otates, any student who wishes to continue his or her education must attend a school no closer than some five miles away. The family has to pay for transportation and meals away from home for the student, as the school system does not. This can place a back-breaking burden on the family, as costs of transportation and meals alone for one student range between $150 and $250 pesos per week, equaling possibly 25% to 30% or more of a household income.
With a desire to further education and opportunities for the people of Otates, on May 18th, 2003 the Developer of Playa Las Tortugas, in conjunction with Playa Las Tortugas property owners, embarked on a program to help send more students from Otates to further their education. Initially, the idea was to try and fund all of the costs of a student such as school uniforms, tuition, transportation, lunch, books, and supplies. Over time it became apparent that more students could be helped to continue their education by subsidizing just the cost of transportation and lunch. This new approach also helped assure that the students (and their families) who were really interested in continuing their education were the students we would subsidize.
The grant program started providing the amount of $140 pesos weekly to nine students: eight girls and one boy. By August 24th, 2003, the program was helping 12 students attend classes, and in January of 2004 we had 13 students enrolled in three different “preparatory schools” including agricultural, general studies, and technical classes.
During 2004, one of our students began attending the University of Nayarit. Since 2004 we have maintained from nine to twelve students and today two of those students are attending the University of Nayarit.
As of July 2006, participants of the grant program had donated some $18,000 USD over the course of about two and one half years.
The basic cost of providing transportation for one student throughout a year of school is about $760 USD, so our goal is to raise at least $9,120 USD for 2007. To qualify to receive funding each student is required to provide a copy of their current enrollment letter from the school, a copy of their grade reports each quarter or semester as issued, and maintain at least a GPA of 8.0 (equal to approximately a “B” average in the U.S.).
In order to reach the goal of helping 12 students further their education, during 2007 the developer of Playa Las Tortugas is sharing in 35% of the cost of each student grant up to the 12 students. This means that for each $494 USD donated, the developer will match it with $266 USD to complete funding for one student.
A number of the Playa Las Tortugas owners are participating during 2007 with a donation of at least $494 USD, and we hope to see others from nearby “touristic” developments help the kids in our neighboring community to receive a better education.
A special thanks goes out to Robert Norton, Michael and Pat McDonnell, Dave and Cheri Werbeck, Mark and Carol Shaff, Bob and Jann Lobb, Brad and Michelle Hoover, Rob Hancock and Karen Nelson, who all are sponsoring at least one student during 2007.