Scholarship stories

Everyone thinks they know why it's hard for youth in this country to succeed. They don't have money to go to the university. Give them money, a scholarship, problem solved.

Except not.

Take these stories from my community:

Luis started studying dentistry at the national university on a scholarship that is supposed to pay for tuition, transportation and materials. But dentristry is an expensive major to have, and his textbooks are more costly than those of the other students, plus the university makes him buy his own dentistry equipment, which costs upward of $1,000. The scholarship doesn't pay for all that, so Luis doesn't have the materials he needs. Nor does he have family in San Salvador, like the other students, to stay with, so he gets up every morning at 3 a.m. to travel to the university from the village, and doesn't return until about 6 p.m. His eyes are always bloodshot; he never sleeps. He's taking hard courses at the university, courses like chemistry, which he was never introduced to in the useless village schools. Luis lives with a family that's not his and does housework for them to pick up a little extra cash. But he and the family start to fight and the personal issues distract him, bring his grades down. Finally, he loses the scholarship.

Veronica gets a scholarship to study at a private university, and is thinking of studying business administration, or maybe getting a teaching certificate. She has always been one of the most motivated youth in the village, but her mother doesn't let her stay active with the youth group and wants her to maintain the household and take care of her younger siblings rather than continue her education. Vero starts at the university nevertheless, but there is a problem with her birth certificate; someone screwed up and the last names are incorrect. Vero is told she will have to pay hundreds of dollars for a lawyer to fix it, money her family doesn't have. They can have it done for a notary for much less, but that will take 9 months. So Vero drops out, planning to start again next year after the notary fixes her birth certificate. But because of the clerical error, she can't work either, so she hangs around the village with nothing to do but spend time with her boyfriend. In about a month she is pregnant.

It takes so much more than $1,000 or $1,500 a year for these deserving kids to succeed. What they need are universities that are more willing to reach out and help students with no financial resources. What they need are elementary and high schools that prepare them better, demand more from them. What they need are supportive families and a culture that holds education in higher regard. But they don't have that, and Peace Corps volunteers and scholarship donors can't give that to them. I wish we could.

Paz y amor.