Problem: 42% of all children along the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua drop out of school by sixth grade, if they ever enroll at all. (The Guardian)
They drop out because they don’t have shoes to walk to school, because they have to watch their siblings while their parents work, or because they themselves have to work to support their families.
They drop out because they see school as pointless.
Guess what? They’re right.
There are no jobs waiting for students if and when they graduate. Which means poverty will live on in Nicaragua forever.
Solution: Our project aims to start to reverse this cycle of poverty by driving social good tourism to the South Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region (RACCS) in Nicaragua via the island of Corte Magore at Hog Cay, Nicaragua. At minimum, our project works like this:
Tourists visit the island, driving revenue to fund…
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Jobs and job training for locals seeking to better provide for their families, such as eco-building, island maintenance, security, hospitality, transportation, and cooking – skills that parents can take back to their communities to show their children that job security is on the way.
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Education for students, like a floating educational barge to deliver school supplies to remote areas, after school sports and crafts programs that only students who stay in school can partake in, or on-island biodiversity research camps for older students.
By providing job opportunities for parents and making school meaningful for students, the island will free students to stay in school, go after their dreams, and spread prosperity as they become business-owners, entrepreneurs, tourism professionals, artists, scientists, coders, teachers…
We believe the dreams of children are the most precious resource in Nicaragua – but also the most squandered. So many dreams go unfulfilled due to poverty. Every child deserves a shot to go after their dreams, and the Finding Corte Magore Project intends to give it to them. We believe that achieving their dreams can not only elevate them above their birth circumstances, but also their communities and, over time, their nation.
We’ve secured the island – how would you like to help?
Project hyperlinks
Finding Corte Magore – findingcortemagore.com
Tonia Allen Gould – toniaallengould.com
FCM Twitter – @cortemagore
Tonia Allen Gould 