1. Help Educate • University Scholarships in Nicaragua

2. Background The need for education in Nicaragua • No financial aid and few scholarships • Limited access to high school in rural areas but increasing • Generational and gender gap: youth more educated than parents • Education eradicates poverty: • Only primary school: over 50% below poverty line • Attended College: 6% below poverty line

3. Help Educate • Mission: To provide Nicaragua’s future leaders access to higher education. • Vision: A new generation of educated and empowered community leaders driving social and economic change in Nicaragua • Core Value: Access to higher education is a human right.

4. How Help Educate Works • Local Committees (rural areas) select scholarship recipients • Universities in Nueva Segovia, León, and Rivas receive direct deposits for tuition only. • Student counterpart: community service, high grades, and all other costs of schooling • Peace Corps Small Business sector selects one student among the Business Competition finalists! • Founded in 2003 by RPCVs, has supported over 30 students

5. Student Selection • Merit • Demonstrated Need • Community Involvement • Leadership

6. Why Help Educate? • Tuition-only scholarships range from $250-$500 • Each donation goes a long way towards supporting a student • $2,000 - $3,000 total investment per student • RPCV staff is entirely volunteer, and keep with Peace Corps ethic • Empower youth to make positive impacts in own community • Give secondary school students an incentive to do well academically

7. How can I Help Educate? • Make a tax-deductible donation at: www.helpeducate.org • Help Educate: International Education Aid Service 1391 Pennsylvania Ave SE, Unit 417 Washington, DC 20003 • Spread the word • Join us on Facebook Causes • Suggest Corporate Sponsors