Earning by Learning

If you haven’t finished school, your opportunities are limited – no matter where you live.

In Mexico, while most young children attend school, less than half of all students receive a high school diploma. And the dropout rate is even higher among those living in poverty, as economic hardship, family instability, and other factors make consistent school attendance a challenge.

This is true with many of the families we serve, whose lack of formal education is not a reflection on their intelligence, nor on their ability to work hard. Instead, time and again we are reminded how resilient and hard-working these men and women are, brimming over with creativity and street smarts.

And, it turns out, they’re great students when given the chance.

Thanks to an innovative partnership between Mexico’s Secretariat of Public Education and 1MISSION, 79 people in Puerto Peñasco have earned their ninth grade certificate and another 25 students – ranging in age from 12 to 55 – are currently enrolled in the program.

Education certificates are required when applying for many preferred jobs in the area, like maintenance and security positions at resorts and a variety of positions at restaurants. We have seen people whose dreams, deferred for years or even decades, have finally come true.

This education program is one of the ways people earn the 200 hours each family needs to qualify for a house through 1MISSION – along with gardening, sewing, health training, and other community service initiatives.

A safe and secure house, combined with the renewed sense of dignity and empowerment that education brings – these are the building blocks for stronger families and communities.

By joining the Supply Yard at $10 a month, you’ll be partnering with these families in building a better future for themselves and their neighbors.