Biblioteca William Minor Tutoring Program – Jinotepe, Nicaragua (est. 2017)

The tutoring program has completed its sixth year with great results. The program works with students from the nearby Elias Serrano Jimenez elementary school who are behind or at risk of failing. Every year, nearly all the “Amigos de William” (a name the tutoring students chose for themselves) pass their exit exams and move on to the next grade. Several of them are now even top students.

Biblioteca William Minor – Jinotepe (est. 2013); Tres Emes-Matagalpa (est. 2017); Sor Maria-Matagalpa (est. 2019)

The library and study center in Jinotepe serves the “Amigos de William” tutoring program as well as the community. The libraries in Matagalpa serve the students in The Hope Project’s tutoring program. Daily the libraries are filled with students reading, using computers, and studying. Each library has a librarian who monitors the library activities, helps students locate homework and study materials, aids in finding research materials for reports and papers, and encourages students to read. The Matagalpa librarians also lead reading clubs for young readers with the goal to help students progress in their reading skills and hopefully to spark an interest within them for reading.

 The William Minor Scholarship Program (est 2019)

The Foundation partnered with The Hope Project in Matagalpa to establish a scholarship program for their tutoring students in Tres Emes and Sor Maria. The program’s counselor works daily with the teachers and students. Students with strong academic potential are encouraged to take advantage of the tutoring and training courses available to prepare them for university level work. The possibility of achieving a scholarship and attending the university has inspired many students to take seriously the tutoring and training courses at the center in hopes of earning a scholarship award.

The counselor works with the potential scholarship students through the scholarship application process as well as the university placement exam process. Even after a scholarship is awarded, the counselor works closely with each university student and their families to help them in their academic pursuit. Unlike in the US, the scholarship is not an award of a certain monetary amount, it is an award given out monthly for books and fees; living and transportation expenses; as well as an amount to make up for loss of income for their families—many times a student can’t go to the university because their families need them to work or to take care of younger siblings while their parents work.

There are currently eight students attending the university on William Minor Scholarships and all are doing well.