The Carmelites provide educational scholarships to children in El Salvador who would not otherwise be able to afford to continue attending school. Pictured above are some of the students who have been helped.
Some stats about education in El Salvador (from Stanford University):
- Education is free through the 9th grade (age 14). 82% of children make it this far.
- 6% of the children never attend any school.
- 33% of the young people who are old enough for secondary school actually attend.
- The adult literacy rate is 79% for men and 73% for women.
From the US Agency for International Development:
Other challenges facing Salvadoran families are the high rates of crime and gang violence, early pregnancy, and limited employment opportunities. There are over 300,000 youth aged 15-24 that neither study nor work. El Salvador has the highest homicide rate in the world for youth under the age of 19. Physical and sexual violence towards minors are becoming more and more frequent in the country.
An estimated 10,000 young people between the ages of 16 and 18 belong to gangs (“maras”).
The Salvadoran workforce lacks the skills needed in the productive and business sector.
El Salvador is the smallest country in Central America but also the most densely populated. It is also amount among the most violent countries in the world. An estimated 4 out of 10 inhabitants of El Salvador live in poverty. Half of all the country’s children and teenagers live on less than US$1.25 per day. Many people lack access to sufficient nutrition, water, or sanitation services.
