We send approximately $30,000 to Nicaragua for scholarships each year.  Nicaraguan academic costs are so low that a typical college student can go to school for a year for around $250.  The money which Jubilee sends, given by friends and donors specifically for Walk in Peace, makes it possible for about  100 young Nicaraguans to stay in high school, college, and trade school.  About a third of Nicaraguan children and youth have never been to school, so the 100 scholarships provided annually really do make a difference.  The scholarship recipients are living seeds of hope, working to rebuild their country and social structure in the face of ever increasing poverty and violence.

Scholarships are provided through these two excellent organizations, whom we have worked with for many years:

• Vida Joven Nicaragua (Young Life) works with youth from all over the country.  Music, games, camping, drama-all are used to help these young people find God's love for them in the middle of poverty and other results of war.  Besides scholarships, we also provide money for their emergency medical fund.

• Batahola Norte is a barrio of Managua, where Catholic church workers have built an island of hope in a sea of extreme poverty.  Music, painting, worship services, and lots of love, are given to the youth in God's name. 

Because the unemployment rate in Nicaragua is more than 60%, not all of these young people are able to find jobs after they graduate.  Some of them do, but others live in typical extended family situations with 8 or 10 people where only one may have a steady source of income.  Yet all of the scholarship recipients are making significant contributions to others, whether paid or volunteer, in youth work, churches, community development, music, charities, and educational projects.  Many thanks to the Walk in Peace supporters who have made this ongoing commitment possible.